Royally Elected

by Catherine Banks

“Sam!” Dad yelled.

  Sam entered the throne room, having been just outside the doors. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

  “Tell everyone we are having a feast tonight! Tell the chef to get to work, immediately.”

  “You’re leaving tomorrow?” Sam guessed.

  I nodded. “I need to return home.”

  He scowled and said no more, turning and marching out to follow Dad’s orders.

  “Go and rest,” Dad said. “I’ll have Sam collect you when it’s time for the feast.”

  We all bowed to him, and then walked to my chambers. My body and mind were still reeling from everything that had happened. Plus, I’d used my powers and that had significantly drained me.

  We lay on my bed, my head on Rhys’s stomach as he slept perpendicular to me. Fox and Deryn slept parallel to me, spooning their bodies to mine, while Nico lay at my feet, hugging them like a teddy bear against his chest.

  “Thank you,” I whispered to them. “Your memories were just what I needed.”

  “You need to rest,” Fox whispered and stroked my hair.

  “You four have no idea how much your love means to me. I don’t think I can ever express how much I love you. I owe you so much. You’ve done so much for me in such a short amount of time.”

  “And we’ll keep doing them, for the rest of our lives,” Deryn whispered, his voice groggy with sleep.

  “Sleep, my queen. We have plenty of time for everything else. But, you need to recharge,” Rhys ordered me, his chest rumbling beneath my head.

  The feast and dance afterwards had been a ton of fun. We invited the entire Atlantis population to the royal courtyard and Dad reinstated the merchants’ rights to sell once more. It brought some color back, but there was still a lot of work to be done. We ate, drank, and danced, celebrating my mates, the defeat of Brayden, and the new heir.

  Leona pulled me aside, near the end of the feast, and held out a leather journal. “You should take this.”

  At first, I thought it was the journal Brayden had given me, but this one was larger, a true journal size.

  “What is it?” I asked as I accepted it.

  “Everything we know about empaths. I wrote it all down for you,” she said with a smile.

  I hugged her. “Thank you, Leona.”

  “Anything for you, Jojo.”

  “I’m going to miss you,” I whispered into her chest.

  “What about me?” Colton asked.

  I turned and hugged him. “You too.”

  “Am I just odd man out? Or are you mad since I’m heir now?” Sam asked.

  I giggled and hugged him, then stepped back to look at the three of them. “Thank you, for everything. I couldn’t have wished for better friends.”

  I bowed to them and several people nearby gasped.

  “We don’t bow to each other,” Sam said, parroting something I had said to them as a child.

  I stood and held out my hand, palm down and horizontal. “Friends forever.”

  They placed their hands in a stack atop mine and said in unison, “Friends forever.”

  We converged for a group hug and I had to wipe my eyes when I stepped back. “Keep each other safe. That’s an order from your princess.”

  They smiled and nodded.

  I clutched the journal to my chest and sniffled. “If I stay longer, I’m going to cry.”

  “Come, my queen,” Fox said and draped an arm around my waist. “You need to pack or we won’t leave on time tomorrow.”

  “Until we meet again,” Colton said.

  My three childhood best friends bowed and left.

  “We’ll come visit,” Fox promised.

  I sniffled again and wiped at my eyes. “I know.”

  Rhys, Nico, and Deryn sat on the floor in my room, talking quietly when we entered.

  I sat beside Deryn and leaned my head against his shoulder. “What’s up?” I asked.

  “We were discussing how your title affects things,” Deryn explained.

  “Does it?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Nico said and nodded. “For one, you can’t be the human council member.”

  “Right, since I’m not human.”

  “You could be the siren council member, but you would need your dad’s approval for that,” Nico continued.

  “I can ask before we leave,” I said. I set the journal Leona had written for me in the center of our circle. “Here is everything known about empaths and some general siren knowledge as well.”

  Nico opened it and began reading. He paused and looked at me over the top of the journal. “This says you have difficulty getting pregnant.”

  I nodded. “We are almost infertile. One in three sirens are, actually infertile.”

  He went back to reading.

  “I need to pack,” I said and stood. A suitcase had been brought to the room for me. I packed the dresses the seamstress had made. They were too beautiful to leave behind. I also packed my copy of the picture Colton kept on his fridge, plus a few trinkets from my childhood.

  I put the packed suitcase by the door, then sat in Rhys’s lap, leaning my head against his chest.

  “Dan destroyed the office,” Rhys whispered.

  “What? When?”

  “When your dad and Trident Douche left with you. He roared and threw a chair through one of the building’s windows. Then he broke the table and threw a couple more chairs before Deryn got him to stop.”

  “You’re telling me that Deryn was calmer than Dan?”

  Rhys nodded.

  “He blamed himself for you being taken,” Deryn said. “I haven’t seen him lose it like that in a long time.”

  “My dad and Rhys’s dad weren’t much better,” Fox said. “They were glowing and shifting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my dad so angry.”

  “I’d be pretty angry too, if some random guy teleported into what should have been a safe place and interrupted my meeting,” I said.

  “By contrast, we were pretty calm,” Nico said, eyes still glued to the book.

  Wow. I knew they were fond of me, but I couldn’t believe the kings would be so upset over losing me.

  “They were probably mad that Trident Douche had been able to freeze them,” I said.

  Rhys shook his head. “It was you. They love you like their own daughter.”

  Three alphas roaring with rage and throwing tantrums when their son’s mate was taken. It was a sight I would love to have seen. It was also hard to believe.

  “I can show you the video when we get home,” Deryn said. “I can see that you still don’t believe us fully.”

  “Would you, if the tables were turned?” I asked.

  “I suppose not,” he agreed.

  “I don’t think you’re lying,” I added. “It’s just hard to believe it was because of me.”

  “You can make people hallucinate,” Nico whispered, eyebrows nearly touching his hairline.

  “Supposedly, but I wasn’t able to do it when training with Leona.”

  But Leona had been able to do it to me when Brayden took us to the dungeon.

  “Scary,” Fox whispered. I looked at him and he smiled. “Not you. The power.”

  “It is my power, it is part of me,” I said, stood, and walked to the vanity. Nothing about me had changed physically, but I felt different.

  “We’ll have to see if we can find an empath to train you,” Rhys said.

  “There aren’t many of us,” I explained. “Leona, old lady Anthea, and I are the only ones, as far as I know.”

  “Maybe we need to offer Leona a job?” Nico asked and looked up at me.

  I looked at him in the mirror’s reflection. “You’re scared of me,” I realized, whispering the words because they were painful to say.

  “You’re powerful, even more so with our powers also at your disposal,” he said carefully. “You need training, so you don’t accidently do something.”

  He hadn’t denied being scared of me. Wonderful.

  Nico set the boo
k down and came to stand behind me. He met my eyes in the mirror. “I’m not scared of you. I’m scared of uncertainty, and your new powers make you an uncertainty. You could enthrall Jinla without meaning to. You could project your nightmares and make us think they are really happening. I’m most worried about you doing something you’ll regret and end up wallowing about it. You are a wonderful person and I want to keep you happy and safe as long as I can. I know you would never forgive yourself if you hurt Gavin or one of the others. I’m going to go find Leona.”

  “He’s probably at his or Colton’s house in Shelnam,” I said.

  Nico hugged me from behind and kissed the top of my head. “Okay.”

  It was hard saying goodbye to my friends and Dad. Nico created a protective shield and we stepped through the portal. Nico’s shield kept us from drowning as we entered the undersea cave.

  “Pookie!” I yelled, then whistled.

  “A Kraken pet,” Deryn chuckled. “You should add that to one of your game’s storylines.”

  “That’s a good idea,” I said seriously, a story already forming in my head.

  Pookie swam to us and shrieked in joy when he saw me. He quickly used his magic to surround us and brought us to rest on his head.

  I patted him and murmured praises as he swam out of the cave and up the trench. Instead of waiting for our boat, I had Pookie take us all the way to the shore. People screamed and fled the beach. Many took pictures and I couldn’t wait for the headline tomorrow in the newspaper.

  Pookie used a tentacle to lift me off his head and bring me to his eye level.

  “Thank you. You’re the best Kraken ever,” I said.

  Pookie made a cooing noise and set me down on the beach next to my mates, who had leapt off Pookie when he stopped. I waved and Pookie waved a tentacle back before diving into the waters and disappearing.

  “Ready?” Fox asked.

  “Wait for it,” I said, a smirk on my lips as I stared out to sea.

  “For what?” Rhys asked, squinting as he looked out.

  Pookie shot up and out of the water, his entire body in the air for a moment before he fell back down.

  “Goodbye,” I whispered and laughed, surprised the Kraken remembered me teaching him to do that.

  “Your Highnesses,” someone panted behind us.

  We turned and looked at the wolf before us, panting hard.

  “What is it?” Deryn asked.

  “The alpha has lost it. He’s destroying your house,” the male panted.

  Rhys shifted, and we climbed onto his back. As fast as possible, we raced to the pack.

  The house was completely destroyed when we arrived and Dan, in warrior form, stood in the rubble howling.

  I leapt from Rhys, letting dragon wings form to slow my descent and landed in front of Dan. He looked at me and cocked his head, pausing his howling.

  “Dan, what’s going on?” I asked.

  Martin, Sharla, and the twins stood off to the side, safe, but upset.

  Dan growled and walked up to me. “You can’t be her. She’s gone.”

  “I’m back,” I assured him. “Smell me.”

  He did and his eyes widened.

  “Jolie” he asked. “I heard you were dead.”

  “From who?” Deryn asked as he came to my side.

  Dan pulled Deryn into a bone-crunching hug and shifted back to human form. “Son, you’re alive!”

  Deryn hugged his dad back. “Dad, what’s going on?”

  “We received word that you’d been killed in Atlantis. Your bonds are gone,” Dan explained. He opened his mouth, then closed it. “No, they’re back now.”

  “Search the compound!” I screamed. “He’s here!”

  Someone laughed off in the distance. Rhys roared and took off after him, but Brayden had a few tricks up his sleeve. With a burst of light, he disappeared.

  Dan pulled me into a hug, inhaling my scent deeply. “I’m sorry, Jolie.”

  “Why are you apologizing?” I asked, hugging him back.

  “We let you get kidnapped. We’ve become lazy and overconfident.”

  I patted him. “You have no reason to apologize. They surprised us all. Besides, I needed to go home.”

  He pushed me back. “So, it’s true? You’re a siren?”

  I nodded. “An empath, actually.”

  “So, you’re Princess Jolie of the Sirens and Four Clans of Jinla?”

  “Apparently,” I said and sighed. “My life is always so complicated.”

  Thor and Ezio ran from the gathered pack’s mob and hugged me between them. They rubbed their faces against mine silently.

  Deryn growled and they both released me.

  “Sorry,” Thor said and canted his head to the side in submission.

  “Jolie, you’re okay,” Ezio said and hugged me again.

  “I am,” I assured him.

  He released me and looked at Deryn. “No disrespect.”

  Deryn sighed and rubbed his hand down his face. “She’s your alpha female. I get it.”

  Dan looked at the rubble at his feet. “Guess we’re getting a new house.” He looked over, meeting my eyes. “I thought I had lost you and Deryn. I thought you were dead.”

  I thought he had used Leona to make me hallucinate, but this made it apparent that Brayden had the powers of hallucination as well too.

  “He’s a manipulator,” I said. “He makes you do and believe whatever he wants.”

  Dan asked, “And what about you?”

  “Me?”

  “You’re a manipulator too, right?”

  I supposed I was.

  “I guess, technically. But, I haven’t been able to.”

  Dan shifted again. “Get off my land.”

  “What?” I asked, staring in disbelief as Ezio and Thor shifted and growled at me, too.

  Tears slid down my cheeks.

  “You’re no longer welcome here,” Dan said, snarling.

  No. This wasn’t real. Dan wouldn’t do this.

  I had to be hallucinating.

  Closing my eyes, I focused on the magic within me. There, Brayden still had a piece of magic inside my head. He’d camouflaged it well, but now I had it. I squashed it like a bug and opened my eyes.

  Dan cradled me in his arms, worry lines marring his forehead.

  “Hello, alpha,” I whispered.

  He rested his forehead against mine. “Daughter, why are you crying?”

  I told him, and he wiped my tears away.

  “You are pack. Forever,” he whispered.

  Dan held me for several more minutes, even growling at Deryn when he tried to get close. Everyone left us alone and for the first time, I felt what a father’s love should be. My true father loved me and I couldn’t blame him for banishing me, since that had been Brayden’s doing. Yet, I still hadn’t felt true, fatherly love until Dan.

  “Where?” Emrys roared.

  Dan leaned back and scowled at Emrys who shoved wolves who were too slow to move out of his way. Dan stood, releasing me, and took a step back.

  Emrys’s eyes were dragon’s eyes and smoke billowed out of his nostrils. He growled and Dan backed up more, his hands raised.

  “What’s going on?” I asked softly, not looking away from Emrys as he approached.

  “Same as me,” Dan whispered. “His alpha protective urge is in full swing. Someone must have reported your return and he rushed here. Normally, this would be an act of war, but I know what he’s going through.”

  “What is that? What are you going through?” I asked.

  “We thought we had lost our daughter. Thought we would never see her again, thanks to our failure to protect her. Her return is something we have to see. We have to smell and touch you to ensure that you are real. We have to know we didn’t completely fail and that you are truly here. Truly safe.”

  “Shouldn’t you be happy instead of angry about my return?” I asked. Emrys was almost to me now, his eyes glued to mine.

  Dan chuckled.
“The fury is for those keeping us from you or trying to take you away.”

  Emrys stopped before me and reached out a trembling hand. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him, my head against his chest.

  He inhaled my hair at the top of my head and a single sob broke free before he wrapped me up in his arms and held me silently.

  I let him hold me as I had with Dan, letting him absorb my presence.

  “Daughter,” he whispered. “Are you hurt?”

  “I’m fine, Father,” I replied and smiled up at him. “I told you I would come back.”

  He set his hand on my cheek and tears glistened in his eyes. “I thought I’d lost you. I’ve never lost a child and I thought you would be my first. Those two siren males surprised me and I realized, for all my lectures to you about remaining aware, I was not.”

  “Dad says he’s sorry by the way. He was under mind control, but he still feels bad about breaching your territory,” I whispered.

  Emrys smiled. “You are back and safe. All else is irrelevant.” He looked over my head and scowled. “Dan, what happened to your house?”

  “Jolie!” Katar yelled.

  “Oh, sure, everyone just breach my territory. No problem,” Dan said, throwing his arms in a gesture of frustration, but he smiled at the same time.

  “You know why,” Emrys said. “Would you have stayed away if she were at my place?”

  Dan waved his hand dismissively.

  Katar reached for me, still with Emrys’s arm around me and Emrys growled.

  Katar growled back and began to glow.

  “Whoa!” I yelled. “Emrys!”

  Emrys stopped snarling and shook his head. “Sorry.” He released me and went to stand beside Dan.

  “Jolie,” Katar whispered.

  I turned and bowed. “Your Majesty.”

  He went to grab me for a hug, but Kara, Katar’s mate and Fox’s mother, snatched me first, embracing me tightly.

  “Jolie,” she cried, tears streaming down her face. “You’re really back.”

  Katar growled, and Kara flinched, releasing me quickly so Katar could hug me. “I didn’t realize he was so far gone,” she whispered.

  “I didn’t know elves had the same problem,” Emrys said.

  Kara nodded. “It’s very rare, that’s why I didn’t think about him having it.”

  Katar held me, then pushed me out to arm’s length. “If you ever sacrifice yourself for me, Emrys, or Dan again, I’ll lock you in my cells for a month!”