Essentia

by Ninana Howard

I ask the man "What is your name?" Trying to push persuasion on him. Praying that this works.

  He tilts his head as if he is thinking and says in a quiet scratchy voice "Barnos." He answered. Enre and the others eyes went wide.

  I continued asking Barnos questions "Who sent you after me Barnos?". This time, he didn't hesitate.

  "Morven, Ivar’s first" Ivar’s first. What does that mean?

  I look up at Enre, and he says "It means the head of Ivar’s men under him." As if reading my mind.

  I nod and push on with my questions. "Why did this Morven send you guys after me?"

  Barnos replies "Because he gave you the book." I look at Enre, and his face has gone ashen in color. He thinks it is his fault by the look on his face.

  I grab his hand and say to him "Don't, it was meant for me to be here. Therefore, it is not your fault." I know he feels bad, but I have to keep getting answers from Barnos, so I ask him "What are they planning on doing?" Barnos was slow to respond this time, but he eventually does.

  "He plans to kill you all and free Ivar so he can rule Aelmere." He can't do that; we can't let that happen. I can feel my temper rising. My skin getting hot.

  "That cannot happen, Aelmere will cease to exist if we die. Where are Morven and his men staying?" I ask. getting angrier by the minute. I can't calm down, this time, I can see the fear in Barnos's eyes. The men have stepped back knowing what's about to happen.

  Barnos says "In Aelmere at the southern base of the Asilion Mountains outside of a large abandoned cave system. Where they are keeping the prisoners." Good now we can get them.

  "That's enough Princess," Enre says in a calm tone.

  "One more," I say to him. I want to know why they had to kill my cat. I turn and ask Barnos almost yelling, my temper getting the best of me. "Why did you guys have to kill my pet?" He hesitates, and I yell at him "Answer me!"

  "He was a guardian and attacked us." I really didn't pay no attention at the time to his reply. I was so furious I couldn't concentrate. I got up and stepped closer to the man. I heard Enre hollering at me to stop, but I couldn't. I got closer and reached my hand out and touched the man's cheek. The next instant there was a pile of smoldering dust in the spot he was sitting.

  "What have I done?" I say as I drop to my knees. I just killed the man. He disintegrated into a pile of ash at my touch. I start crying. Cupping my hands over my eyes, I sat there on the floor.

  Enre came and sat beside me being careful not to touch me yet. He says "My Princess, it will be ok. He was an evil man. What you did was just." Just he says.

  "I didn't mean to kill him. I couldn't stop myself, it's as if the urge to destroy him overtook me." I say to him, tears blurring my vision.

  "He would have died anyways, My dear. If not by your hands, the men he works for would have tortured him to death because he talked. You saved him from all that pain My Lady." It does not make me feel much better, but he is right. They would have killed him their self for defying them. My body has cooled down enough for me to lean on Enre. He wraps his arms around me tight. The warmth in his arms calms me down quite a bit. "You are a formidable force My lady, remind me to not ever make you mad,” Enre says as he kisses my forehead. That makes me giggle.

  After a few moments pass, I turn and ask the guys "Did I get enough information out of him." Hoping that I hadn't messed up by killing him too early.

  Thegan smiles and says "More than enough, you done very well." I am relieved that I at least got what they needed.

  Thinking back on what Barnos said about Le'ander I ask Enre "What did Barnos mean when he said Le'ander was a guardian?"

  He looked at me with a faint grin and said "Guardians are creatures that protect the gods and goddesses, they can transform from small animals like your Le'ander to large, fierce creatures when their owners are threatened. But that is all I know about them. There may be more information on them in the books back in Aelmere My Dear. Maybe after all of this is over we can look into it for you." I had gotten Le'ander when he was tiny, but come to think about it I do not remember the day that I actually got him. I wonder if my mother gave him to me. Poor Le'ander. 'I am sorry my friend' I say to myself.

  Thegan walks up to us and asks me "How did you get him to talk my lady?" Honestly, I really don't know.

  I reply to him "It is going to sound crazy but, I heard a voice telling me to ask him." It sounds worse saying it out loud.

  He just looks as though he is thinking and then says "The Goddess's are on your side, My Lady." Then he winks and walks away. This is going to take some getting use too. Powers, voices and this Goddess thing. Before all of this started my life was pretty boring. Typical at best. I use to long for the kind of adventures that I read about in books. Now I am living my own adventure. Full of magic, villains, different realms and don't forget the very hot Royals. I almost let a giggle out while I was thinking, but I quickly recover.

  After putting my Crown in Aiden's vault, we all sit and talk about what we are going to do next. Enre says "If we are to go to Aelmere, my lady here is going to need new clothes. The ones she has will stick out too much. And I believe that we will need some supplies as well Brother".

  Thegan scratches his chin and says "Your right Brother. We shall go this evening to get what we need." Enre nods his head and looks over at me and winks. Why does he have to be so damn good looking? It's very distracting. He could melt butter with the looks he gives me. It stirs up all these feeling I never really thought I had. While the guys are talking, I can't help but reflect on what my life is going to be like from here on out. Dating a prince of a different realm that will one day be king. What will happen if we fail to save Aelmere? Will he still want to be with me, if we survive at all? It is very concerning. I have always known what my life was going to be like until now. Until he came into my little shop. Now nothing is certain. It's a scary feeling, but on the other hand, it is a bit exciting not knowing what's going to happen next.

  Apparently, Enre had been trying to get my attention while I was spaced out thinking. Because the next thing I knew he was standing in front of me looking at me all concerned. "Umm. sorry, I was lost in thought." I say to him.

  "Everything alright Princess?" He asks me. Always attentive to me.

  "Yes. yes, everything is fine, I was just thinking, that's all." I flash a big smile at him. He does the same in return.

  "We are leaving now if you are ready My Dear" I nod my head and stand up. He places his hand in mine, and we head outside to where the car is waiting.

  Heading down the road, I ask Enre if we can go to my bookshop, just to check on it. He agrees a little hesitantly. When we get there, he tells me to stay in the car while he checks it out first, just to be on the safe side. Everything looks fine from here in the car, but I guess with everything going on that it is better to be safe than sorry. When Enre walks back to the car and gets in, I ask him "Is there something wrong inside?"

  He nods his head yes and tells me "Someone has been in there, nothing is torn up like at your house, but it felt off. I would feel better if you didn't go in My Lady." If it is worrying him, then I am going to go with his decision.

  "Alright I trust you, I won't go in," I say to him. A small grin appears on his face while he pulls away from the shop.

  "Oh here, these were laying on the floor by the door." He hands me a small stack of envelopes, bills probably. As I sort through them, there is the utility bill, invoices from orders and some junk mail. But there also was a letter from Abby. Huh, I wonder why she left me a note. I open it and try to read her messy handwriting. Basically, the entire contents of the letter were her griping at me for not being there and not answering my phone. It also says that Jeremy has been acting strange since I left. Always asking who I was with over and over. That is odd of him to ask her about me that much, he must just be worried. I mean it's not like me to just run off like I did. Oh well. I guess I need to text Abby so she won't worry so much. I will do that when we get back to the lo
ft.

  After we get back, I head to the bedroom and dig out my phone and try to turn it on, but the battery was dead. "Well, crap." I guess I can pick me up a new charger when we go to the store later. Not worrying about it at the moment I lay the phone back down on the nightstand.

  Enre peeks his head in the door and says " Thegan and Aiden are stopping to get food on their way home is there anything you want in particular?" I haven't really even thought about food much lately.

  "No, anything is fine. I'm not picky" I say as I fidget with the hem of my shirt, realizing that we are alone. He notices and slowly walks toward me. I look down at the ground shyly.

  He hooks his finger under my chin and raises my head to face him "My princess isn't nervous about being alone with me is she?" He says in a husky tone, dripping in masculinity. Yes, I am nervous. I don't know why, though. My cheeks turn red and flowers start popping up everywhere. He flashes a hungry smile at me and leans in close and whispers to me "I love it when you blush." Then he kisses me on my earlobe, moving to the side of my neck, along my jaw line. The sensation of it runs tingles straight to my core. He pauses just shy of my lips and says "Still nervous?" I shake my head slightly no. And he gets a wicked grin on his face and presses his lips to mine, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me close enough to feel his body heat through his clothes. He slowly backs me up till I feel the cold wall on my back. He lets out a low throaty growl, like a predatory animal stalking his prey. I can feel it vibrate through his lips. A small moan of my own accompanies his growl. He pulls his lips just far enough from me that he can look me in the eyes. The hunger in his eyes paired with him licking his lips is enough to set my meter off. I wrap my arms around his neck and bounce up, wrapping my legs around him. He cups his hands around my backside to help support me then he kisses me deeper, this time, devouring me in such a way a woman can only dream of. I notice that the entire room is covered in flowers and vines, the floor, ceiling, and walls. It's our own little Eden. I run my hands through his hair, the clip that was holding it in place came loose falling to the floor, and his hair cascaded around his face and over his shoulders. "Mmmm damn." Yep, that works for me. I can feel him grinning against my lips. Moving us away from the wall and heads towards the bed. When we reach it, he moves one of his hand up to my back and gently lays me down on the bed.

  Hovering over me, he looks down and says as if saying to himself "So Beautiful." Running his hand over my cheek, he presses his lips back on mine. More gentle this time. Like he is trying to memorize every sensation. He softly places a kiss on my chin then slowly moves down to my neck and places another. He nibbles on my collar bone which draws out a gasp. The little animalistic sounds coming from him is about to much to handle. The sensation of him biting is causing every nerve ending to tingle and stand on end. His slides his hand down my chest to caress my breast, cupping it and squeezing gently. "Mmmm." He has the top three buttons undone on my shirt, kissing down my cleavage. exposing my bra. Hooking a finger under the top of the cup, running it across the material and my skin. He starts to pull it down to reveal my breast.

  "HEY, WE ARE HOME" Thegan hollers.

  Enre leans his head up and yells "AHHHHH DAMMIT." Then he takes a deep breath and starts to button my shirt back up. "To be continued, my Princess." Then he kisses me one more time. The look on his face is both mad and apologetic. 'I know the feeling' I think to myself. Why did they have to show up now? It was just getting good. As I sit up and try to calm myself down, taking long deep breaths. He sits down beside me and says "Well they have great timing don't they?"

  "Yep, they sure do," I say. We both start to laugh at the situation.

  He asks me "Are you hungry?" Not for food, I think to myself.

  I cock my eyebrow up and say "Yes. Very hungry." Then I wink at him. Knowing exactly what I was thinking.

  He plastered an ear to ear grin on and says "As am I My Dear, as am I. We should go eat before they barge in on us like last time." I smile at him, nodding my head. He stands and takes my hand, bringing it up to his lips and kisses my fingers. When I stand, he whirls me around and pulls me close again, placing a kiss on my forehead. Waving his hand towards the door, he says "After you My Lady." Yea. let me go first. My face all flushed, like what we were doing is plastered on my skin like a billboard. I take a deep breath and head towards the door with my prince in tow. If I have to be embarrassed, then he does too.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Enre

  Her skin was so soft, and she smelled like orchids. Such a tantalizing scent. If only my brother would have stayed gone longer, I could have indeed made her mine in every sense. 'One day' I say to myself. To truly have that beautiful creature wholly belong to me and I to her. Nothing could be compared to it, nothing could come close to the joy that will bring me. Watching her as she walks in front of me, her hips swaying back and forth. Mmm, I have to bite my tongue to keep from voicing my desire for her. 'Get it together man, she isn't going anywhere' I say to myself. No, she isn't, she is mine, and I am hers for as long as she will have me.

  We enter the living room, and I notice that Thegan and Aiden have a bunch of containers spread out all over the bar. "Do you think you got enough Brother," I say to him.

  He looks at me noticing my hair down and grins saying "I wasn't sure what My Lady would want, so we got a variety of items." I look over at her, and she is smiling, her face still a light pink color.

  She says to Thegan "Anything would have been fine, but thank you." Thegan still has a knowing grin plastered on his face.

  "Well, let's eat." My brother says to us all. We do just that. All of us fill our plates to the brim, even Terra. We sit in the living room and fill our bellies. After we all finish, Terra stands up and offers to take our plates.

  Aiden stops her saying “Allow me, My Lady." Not really giving her a choice, she hands them over to him, smiles and tells him thank you. Aiden nods his head at her. I am so glad she is starting to relax around us all. It must have been a shock to her, having to stay with three guys she just met, but I am glad she is adjusting to it. If I had it my way, Me and her would be off somewhere alone and safe. But as it is, it is going to be awhile before that happens.

  Thegan clears his throat, jarring me out of my thoughts. "Aiden knows a few Aelmereian shops that are in the next town over. We can go to them and get what we need. Whenever you all are ready to go, we will leave".

  After all of us agree that we were ready, we head outside to a waiting Suv. Aiden climbed in the driver seat with Thegan on the passenger side. Me and Terra get in the back by ourselves. There is an SUV in front of us and behind us with guards in them. Thegan thought it wise to bring extra security, being we are going somewhere unfamiliar. Even though they are Aelmereian stores, no one knows who's side they are really on yet.

  It only takes us about forty minutes to reach the first store called Novanes. One of the guards walked up to Thegan’s window, and Thegan motioned for him to go in. Probably to check the place out and make sure that it is safe. After a few minutes, he comes back out and stands by the door. I guess that was the sign that the coast was clear. We all get out of the vehicle and head into the store.

  When we enter an older woman says "Welcome My Lords, My Lady. What can I do for you?"

  I speak first "We are in need of some items for traveling." The woman nods her head and takes us to the back of the store where there is an abundance of Aelmereian stock. Clothes, shoes, herbs and remedies, Household items and more. "Take your time and get whatever you need," The shopkeeper says to us. While the guards are keeping watch, we all start looking for stuff we may need. I look over at Terra, and she looks lost. I guess she would be, considering that she is not familiar with Aelmere.

  I walk over to her and ask "Do you need some help picking things out My Lady?" A look of relief on her face.

  "Yes I do, I have no idea what to pick to wear," she says. I smile at her and take her hand. We walk over to where the women's clothing is,
and she says "it is mostly dresses and little ones at that."

  "Yes in Aelmere most of the women do wear these kinds of clothes, especially in the warmer areas. We can get you some pants and things as well so pick out what you like ok, anything at all" I say to her. I watch her as she goes through the clothes feeling the material and holding different pieces up to herself. I go and grab some clothes as well for myself along with some blankets, and gear bags for us all. Terra comes over with a couple dresses, two pairs of shoes, two shirts and a couple pairs of pants.

  "Is this too much?" I kinda laugh a little at her standing there with a sheepish look on her face.

  "No, My Dear, that is just fine. We need to find you a cloak as well" I say to her. Maybe two.

  "A cloak, Really, like a cape?" she asks. I nod my head. "Ok. Whatever you say," she says with a smirk. I go over and pick her out a long cloak lined with fur to keep her warm since we are going to the snowy frozen part of Aelmere, a white one with embroidery around the hood and hem. And I pick her a thinner green one to wear as well. I think they will look good on her. And serve her well.

  After we gather everything, we need we head to the front of the store. The shopkeeper smiles at us and starts bagging everything up. I ask her "How much do we owe you?"

  "No No No. You do not owe me a thing, consider it a gift," she says back.

  "We have to pay you something madam. We cannot accept all of this for free" Thegan says. We have got a lot of stuff.

  The woman looks at all of us and says "You can pay me by Healing our home so we all can return someday. That will be payment enough. My Lords, My lady." Bowing to us all.

  "That is very commendable of your madam, we will do our very best to restore our homeland. You have our word" Thegan tells her. With that, we leave the shop. When we are in the SUV on the way home, I say "I am glad that we could find what we needed at that shop without there being a scene."

  "As am I Brother" he replies. The rest of the ride home was pretty quiet.