The members of the council were dressed in their royal robes or their decorated military gear. I didn’t put up a fuss about being given a long Renaissance-style dress to wear, but I couldn’t stop fidgeting with the revealing neckline, the capped sleeves, or the heavy black and gold material that made me feel like I was wearing curtains or something. The black felt appropriate for a funeral, but the gold swirls that started at the hemline and crawled up like vines to cup and brush over my breasts did not. It wasn’t until I saw Ezra’s matching tie and Ana’s black and gold baby gown that I realized the design must be a family thing. Ezra was seated at my left, his eyes bloodshot and expression vacant as he stared ahead at the millions his daughter had been sacrificed for over and over again. After all of it, she’d survived. It hadn’t been Terraway that killed her, but our world, or nature perhaps. No one had expected her to die in childbirth – except Sama, perhaps, who had warned me in my dream back when I was pregnant that Omens had a higher mortality rate during pregnancy than other women. The shock of Mariang’s death was still hitting us in waves. The world had left us bereft of her grace and kindness that only death itself could silence.
Von was behind me, wearing a fitted black suit, with a gold and black tie to match Ezra’s. He was holding Anastasia Grace with bags under his eyes and a fatherly protective air to the way he cradled her. We hadn’t slept much in the past month. Of course, no one slept well after Mariang passed, but we had been gifted the extra responsibility of taking care of Baby Ana. Danny could barely put one foot in front of the other, and couldn’t comprehend that Ana was very much alive and in need of her parent. Von, Danny, Ana, Ollie and I had been living at my house, with the Vandershot boys rotating to pull for Danny as needed, which was often.
“Motherhood suits you,” Finn whispered from his throne-like chair on my right. “You look lovely.”
I responded with a polite, “Thank you, Captain.” Everything I did was being scrutinized by the residents of Terraway, who were all sitting just a stone’s throw away on the grass at the foot of the steps. I didn’t feel the guilty thrill I usually did at being near Finn. My focus was on Von, Ezra, Danny and Anastasia. I hadn’t even been to visit Allie in her coma in days. Ana had a penchant for screaming from midnight until around four in the morning, and intermittently throughout the day, so Von and I weren’t sleeping much. Ollie had even bailed to spend a couple nights at Gabby’s just to catch up on his rest. Apparently braving the “where is this going” talk with his on-again off-again girlfriend was less horrible than a nonstop screaming baby.
Mason was on the clear other end, sitting next to a man that could’ve been his twin. While the people were still milling about and finding their space on the grass, I got up from my chair and made my way over to my other Reaper, knowing he was afraid to get too near the baby – though Ana was now a month old, and supposedly in the safety zone to escape stirring the fetus hunger of Matruculans.
I knew I was supposed to be some queen or whatever, but I didn’t care about decorum when it came to my Pullers. When Mason stood to greet me, I jogged forward after I passed the casket I didn’t want to look at too closely. I threw my arms around him, squeezing tighter than anyone would have the tolerance for, were he not part The Hulk. Mason possessed a super strength that had a way of making me feel safe. Perched above the whole of Terraway for everyone to observe and comment on, I needed that feeling he instilled in me just by being there.
I could feel his smile against my cheek, his quarter-inch beard scratching my skin in a way that felt like home. “I missed you, hani. I know you’ve been busy taking care of Anastasia, but I’m worried about you. You’re well? You’re in one functioning piece?”
“I’m much better, now that you’re here. This whole thing is horrible, and I’m sorry you’re dealing with it all alone. I don’t want that.”
“Alton said he’d get me a phone, so I was thinking I’d start calling you every night just to check in and make sure you’re alive. We’re not meant to be apart this long.”
I could feel him pulling for me, and I breathed for the first time in a while. “Mason, I missed you.”
“You’re a ball of anxiety. Haven’t Von and his brothers been pulling for you?” He ignored the millions of onlookers that were shifting around on the grass. He held me around the waist, moving his head back to examine my face. “You look exhausted.”
“Aw, you say the sweetest things. You look beautiful, too,” I crooned.
“I didn’t mean it like that. You’re lovely, as you always are. But you need more pulling than this.”
I shook my head, making sure to keep my tears sucked back behind my eyeballs. “Danny’s a wreck still, and Anastasia...” I gulped, fishing for the right way to word the issue. “Ana needs her mother. She’s colicky, so she screams a lot. Von’s pulling for her now just so we make it through the funeral. I don’t want to overtax the guys, making them pull for me, on top of all that. I can deal the old-fashioned way.”
“I see. Well, let’s see what I can do while I have you in my arms.” Mason hugged me tighter, kissing the top of my head and tucking me under his chin. Waves of peace shot through me, making my eyes flutter shut as I burrowed my cheek into his burly chest. I stiffened when I heard the “aw” and the whispers that broke out from the residents of Terraway, reminding me that I had an audience of millions. Mason was a feared and respected zombie killer, and I was cozying up to him like he was a precious bunny. Or maybe I was his bunny. It was hard to tell who took care of whom on any given day. “Better?” he asked, leaning down to peck my lips. He dropped his arms so he could offer me his elbow to hold like a gentleman.
“Much.”
“Would you like to meet my younger brother? This is Carter, King of Hayop. Carter, allow me to introduce Lady October.”
Mason’s double stood, showing off his midnight-colored royal robe overtop his black tunic, and matching fitted pants that were tucked into his sturdy boots. He had dreads tied back with a leather string, looking like Mason used to, back when I first met him. Carter tilted his head to me and dipped his chin, and I did the same to him, thinking that was probably the right thing to do. I really had no idea about the proper politics of Terraway, and now was a bad time to ask Ezra at what times I was expected to bow. “Pleased to meet you, Lady October,” Carter offered kindly. Carter had a boyish light to his caramel eyes that Mason just plain didn’t. Mason had been all Viking from the get-go. Carter had the same build, but looked like he preferred the hard work being done from his throne. “My brother speaks very highly of you.”
“Oh, well now I know you’re lying. Mason hates me. I mean, one look at me and he starts ralphing.” In hindsight, making jokes about puking the first time I met Mason’s only living relative was probably not the queenly thing to do. But you know, whatever. It was either make playful banter or burst into tears. I batted my hand at Carter’s grin. “But don’t worry, the feeling’s mutual. I mean, would you look at this guy? Barfalicious.”
“Hey!” Mason bumped me with his hip, narrowing one eye down at me before his smile got the better of him.
Carter started to laugh, but then covered his mouth with his hand and faked a cough. “Excuse me. I didn’t realize anyone on the council knew how to make a joke.”
“Who said I was joking?” I motioned to Mason’s perfect physique that shone even beneath his outfit that matched his brother’s, but included gold cuffs around his wrists. “I mean, hit the gym once in a while, am I right?” The gold on his cuffs made it look like Mason belonged with me, with my family. It was a sweet assurance in the midst of the bleakness. I fished around for shtick, so I didn’t plunge back into despair.
Carter’s eyes were dancing with the light he seemed to travel with. “Oh, Mason. You said she was beautiful, but I didn’t realize she was witty, too. Perhaps I won’t avoid the council as much anymore.”
“Yes, well.” Mason smiled down at me, and I could feel the love beaming from him that I was making nice with his brot
her. “If you’re finished bewitching Carter, perhaps you’d like to meet the other kings of Terraway who’ve been too busy to show up for council meetings.”
I curtsied like I’d seen people do in movies and moved on down the line, shaking hands, bowing and making as pleasant of chitchat as I could.
Mason gave me one more solid pull in his parting hug when we reached the midpoint of the stage. “This is as far as I can take you. Anastasia’s still too young for me to be near.”
“Oh, sorry. I’ll talk to you after.” I leaned up and blessed his lips with a closed-mouth kiss. “Love you, Mason.”
“Love you, too. Now go shake hands, and tell Von not to listen to you when you say you don’t need more pulling.”
It was just my luck that Aranya’s was the next throne I came to. Aranya was the jaggoff who’d helped his father, King Geon, lock me in their dungeon in Sakuna, trying to keep me as a prize for Sama. I wanted to punch him, but knew that would probably not be good politics. Lang rose to his feet beside Aranya, along with their sinister sister, Luna. They were dressed in matching brown royal outfits, and a smattering of bees circled almost pleasantly around Aranya’s head. Lang was no doubt anxious I might throttle his tool of a brother right there with a whole sea of witnesses. The three bowed, but I refused to tilt my head to Aranya or Luna. Luna noticed the affront, but Aranya brushed aside the offense, extending his hand to me instead.
Boy, do I wish I would’ve passed on shaking it. I couldn’t stifle the anger that flared in me. I gripped Aranya’s hand and jerked him close, leaning up on my toes to whisper a threat to him and Luna. “Don’t you think I’ve forgotten the stink of your daddy’s dungeon. Make no mistake, as soon as things settle down for me, I’ll make it my life’s mission to make sure you’re taken off that throne and hurled into your own prison. Then we’ll have some real fun.”
Luna was snide, not bothering to conceal her snarl. “Step foot in Sakuna again, and you’ll see how fun things can really get when father’s not holding me back.”
Aranya’s black eyes widened. His brown skin had been scrubbed of mud, but he still felt dirty to me. He kept his voice low, but I moved on after I heard, “Listen you little...”
I wasn’t little, and I didn’t have to listen.
Kabayo rose, his left hand on the small of my back as he shook Aranya’s with his right, leaning in to whisper a threat of his own. He released Aranya with a look of horror on the man’s face that matched his sister’s. “Leave him to me,” Kabayo whispered in my ear, releasing me with a light push away from the man who’d helped abduct me, and the woman who’d delighted in my degradation.
I gave a slight nod to Lang, which he returned. I tried to appear professional, and not like I wanted to hug him. It was important to his family that he remain loyal to their cause. It could make things sticky for him if they knew we were friends. My upper lip curled at Luna’s pinched nose and waist-length curly brown hair, but I moved on down the line without further incident.
In the front row of the millions sat Ollie, Lynna, Boston, Graham, Alton and Ms. Vandershot. It was the first time I’d ever seen Von’s mother. I was afraid to look at her directly, though my eyes felt tethered to her face, bouncing back whenever they wandered too far. She’d come in for the funeral, and to meet her first grandchild. There was much of Von in her face, the angular cheekbones, the black hair that was thick and did what it felt like. Her long, dark waves were pulled back and pinned elegantly, making her look like a model for hairspray or something. She was beautiful, and second only to Sama was my fear of her.
The ceremony finally started a few minutes later. Some guy I didn’t know gave the eulogy in a long black wizard’s robe, performing several herb-centric rituals over Mariang’s body. She lay like Sleeping Beauty inside her clear casket for all to admire, palms open and feet bare – as was the tradition in Terraway. Even in death, she was beautiful. I hated how lifelike she appeared, and gripped my fingers in my lap to keep them from clawing at my arms. I wanted to be there for Ezra and Danny, and knew I couldn’t do that if I fell apart.
Danny was in a world unto himself, unable to speak, eat or make a decision unless someone helped him. The only time he slept was in my arms after Von pulled so hard, Danny had no choice but to go limp. I alternated between rocking Ana and holding Danny all the hours of the day I wasn’t reaping. Now he stood at the head of Mariang’s casket, facing the people with soulless eyes in a tailored black suit with gold cuffs that I knew he’d never wear again.
The service lasted two hours. Two whole hours I prayed Ana would sleep through. I didn’t want her seeing any of this, and since she was a colicky baby, I worried about Von having to miss the funeral if she woke. Two whole hours I willed with everything in me that Mason and Ezra would have the strength not to shapeshift with a new baby so near them. Ezra was more controlled, his years giving me a little solace that he wouldn’t lion out and try to eat my niece (I really hope that was the weirdest sentence I’d ever thought). Mason and Carter’s chairs had been strategically placed at the far end by Kabayo, keeping as much distance as possible between the fresh newborn and my favorite Viking.
Finn had been assigned to watch Ana and me for the duration of my time in Terraway that day. The council worried that Sama’s spirit or his whole friggin’ army might make an appearance, since I was in Terraway, ripe for the abducting. It made for a tense funeral, as if we didn’t have enough to stress about. Had I a solid two hours of consecutive sleep in the past month, I might’ve been able to be worried about Sama, but lucky for my sanity, I couldn’t feel much.
I didn’t understand the different steps of the ritual, but I managed to stand when the other council members did, and murmur the things I was told to say. Finn was my coach at my side, making sure I didn’t embarrass Ezra or the council.
I was pretty sure I was blending in until the grand wizard in charge announced the procession of the hiya. I didn’t know what that was, but I knew I was not all that comfortable around the silver-haired guy doing the funeral. Von had informed me he was Mangkukulam, which I knew was what Sama was. While this guy seemed on the up and up, I was positive I’d never be comfortable around any of the few warlocks of Terraway.
The Grand Mangkukulam in charge of the funeral raised his arms, allowing the last row of civilians to make their way past the casket to pay their respects first. I bowed my head and paced myself for the first of millions to make their way past Mariang in all of her sleeping ballerina beauty. What made my chin jerk up with sudden rage was when I heard the distinct sound of spitting in Danny’s direction as they walked by.
Finish the series and read Trap today.
Other books by Mary E. Twomey
The Saga of the Spheres
The Silence of Lir
Secrets
The Sword
Sacrifice
The Volumes of the Vemreaux
The Way
The Truth
The Lie
Jack and Yani Love Harry Potter
Undraland
Undraland
Nøkken
Fossegrim
Elvage
The Other Side
Undraland: Blood Novels
Lucy at Peace
Lucy at War
Lucy at Last
Linus at Large
Terraway
Taste
Tremble
Torture
Tempt
Treat
Temper
Tease
Trap
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Also by Mary E. Twomey
Cursed Beauty
Beauty's Cursed Beast (Coming Soon)
Faite Falling
Ugly Girl
Lost Girl
Rich Girl
Stupid Girl
Broken Girl
Untouchable Girl
Stubborn Girl
Common Girl
Blind Girl
Savage Girl
Dangerous Girl
Other Girl (Coming Soon)
Terraway
Taste
Tremble
Torture
Tempt
Treat
Temper
Tease
Trap
Terraway Books 1-3 Bundle: Including Taste, Tremble and Torture
Terraway Books 4-6
Terraway Books 7-8 Bundle: Including Tease and Trap
Terraway Complete Collection
The O'Keefe Family Collection
Exploding
Escaping
Exhaling
Undraland
Undraland
Nokken
Fossegrim
Elvage
The Other Side
Lucy at Peace
Lucy at War
Lucy at Last
Linus at Large
Undraland Books 1-3 Bundle: Including Undraland, Nøkken and Fossegrim
Undraland Books 4-6 Bundle: Including Elvage, The Other Side and Lucy at Peace
Undraland Books 7-9 Bundle: Including Lucy at War, Lucy at Last and Linus at Large
Undraland Complete Collection
Standalone
Liberating Mr. Gable
Unraveling Molly
Heart of the Woods
Keeping Cole for Christmas (Coming Soon)
Tease Page 30