by Julia Mills
As the revelry died down, Carolyn pulled another pair of sweatpants she’d made longer with flannel from the sewing basket beside her chair and threw them at him. “I somehow figured you’d need a spare pair. I was hoping Donovan would get home with some that were actually your size but,” she turned and looked out the window, “looks like a storm is blowing in.”
“Thank you so much and don’t worry, from what you tell me of your mate, he’ll find a safe place to bed down until the storm passes and be home straight away.” He looked around the room then back to the matriarch and with a huge smile reassured her once more, “He’s got too much to lose here to take any chances. He’s a very lucky man.” Standing and taking the pants from her outstretched hand, he took a step towards the stairs, stopped, looked at Elsa and with a raised eyebrow said, “I’m going to change pants, then you and I are having a conversation.”
Not waiting for her answer and grinning from ear-to-ear at her sisters’ unison taunt of, “Ohh, you’re having a conversation,” in that sing-songy tone only girls can make, the Guardsman stepped into the guestroom, changed pants and was back downstairs in less than five minutes.
Holding out his hand for Elsa, he nodded when she patted the couch cushion next to her and said, “Have a seat. Everyone will just find a way to listen anyway.”
Snickering, Quinn took a seat next to his elf and immediately asked, “First things first, what year is it?”
The room was suddenly silent. He could feel the tension, not only from his mate but from her entire family. Elsa turned to face him, patted his arm with her free hand and matter-of-factly said, “2016.” Then rushed to explain, “I know you asked before and probably thought we were giving you the runaround or ignoring you but we weren’t. I was afraid you’d freak out. I could tell from what was left of your clothes, the length of your hair and beard and just how thin and sickly you were when I found you that you had been in that,” she shivered, “evil box a long time. I wanted to make sure you were better before giving you even more crap to deal with.”
She gave his arm a little pinch then chuckled when he jumped and rubbed the spot, pretending to scowl before she continued, “But since you ran off after Auntie Geneva and well,” she blushed a beautiful shade of red while ignoring her sisters’ giggles and adding, “well, you know…anyway, I guess you can handle most anything.”
Loving that his kiss had flustered her but working hard not to overreact at the information he’d just received, Quinn winked at Elsa, nodded and calmly said, “I understand but admit to having a hard time processing the fact that I was in ‘cold storage’ as you call it, for a hundred and one years.”
“What?” Carolyn gasped.
“No way!”
“That’s bananas!”
The elves were all commenting and gasping but it was Elsa’s reply that brought everything into perspective. “You were frozen for as long as I’ve been alive.” She quickly asked, “Hey wait. How old does that make you?”
“A hundred and eighty-six…no seven, one hundred and eighty-seven,” He smiled remembering a time when he’d thought he wouldn’t live to be a hundred then laughing when Harmony, the second oldest elf swatted Mona’s arm and laughed out loud, “Dang, Mona, we’re older than he is.”
Shrugging, Elsa’s oldest sister shook her head and grinned, “Good genes, I guess.” Which had all her sisters cracking up again.
Glancing to the side, he found his elf deep in thought, brows furrowed as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. Squeezing her hand, he asked, “What’s wrong, mo ghra’?”
Slowly turning her head towards him and raising an eyebrow, she grumbled, “I know what you just called me. We speak Gaelic too, ya’ know and we,” she motioned with her index finger between them before going on, “will be talking about this whole mate thing, cause I know what it means to elves and I have a sneaky suspicion what it means to dragons, but for right now, I want to know what happened all those years ago and how Auntie Geneva was involved.”
Turning in her seat, the elf speared her mother with a look and said, “And you better be ready to tell me when the heck your sister went all dark and evil on us.” She had just started to sit back when she popped back up and said, “Oh! And where the hell did those wings come from? You’ve always said if the Goddess wanted us to have wings, we would’ve been born fairies and I know darn good and well, Geneva is no blasted fairy but I bloody well saw wings.”
Shaking her head with wide eyes, Carolyn could only shrug as she, not Elsa, motioned for Quinn to begin. Grinning, because the usually talkative matriarch was yielding the floor to him, the Guardsman looked at his elf, blew out another breath and began. His words turned to visions in his mind as he recounted that dreadful day all those years ago.
“We had just fought a bloody battle, saved a young clan and sent one of our own to the Heavens. You see, I am…I was…I’m not sure how to say it because I don’t know if my brethren are still alive, so I’m going with I am until I know differently,” hope was alive and well in his heart as he once again prayed to the Heavens that Drago and the lads were safe.
“I am part of an elite group of Guardsmen known as the Enforcers. We were all hand- chosen by our Commander from different clans based on our superior or unique abilities to serve as the Force they sent to the battles others feared or refused to take on. That was why we were there that night, other Forces from other clans had tried and failed to help the young ones and after battling the hybrid group of hunters and wizards, I now know why.
“After sitting around the fire and sharing stories of Samuel, Maddox left to make sure the young ones from the new clan had found shelter. Those of us that remained tried to get some rest. It took me a long time to fall asleep, I simply could not settle. You see, Samuel,” Quinn looked at Elsa, “he was like a father to me, had been there when my own father was called home to the Heavens when I was just a young boy. He was my teacher, my trainer, my mentor and most importantly, my friend. Watching him die at the hands of those treacherous bastards had been horrible, but it was even worse knowing I had failed him.”
He could feel Elsa’s compassion, heard her thoughts, knew she wanted to tell him he wasn’t responsible for what had happened and he appreciated it more than he could express, but it was her restraint, her ability to know he needed to continue his recollection that made him reach down and kiss her cheek. Grinning as she blushed, he whispered, “Thank you,” into her mind, loving the surprised look on her face that immediately turned into a pretend scowl, complete with a shake of the head.
Getting back to his story, Quinn looked around the room at his mates’ family, all waiting with bated breath for him to continue. “When I did finally fall asleep, my dreams were plagued with nightmares of battles of the past but in each alternate portrayal we did not prevail, many dragon lives were lost and the misery of the wizards spread far and wide.”
“I tried to wake up, tried to open my eyes, and when that was impossible I even tried to speak, to call out to my brethren to see if they were experiencing the same thing but nothing happened. It was then I felt the sting of black magic. The air filled with such a horrendous stench it was hard to breathe. I heard chanting that grew louder with each heartbeat. My dragon roared and pushed against the confines of my soul trying to break free but nothing happened. I was trapped in my own body.”
“Reaching out to the lads using mindspeak, our unique mind to mind communication…”
“I knew you guys had some jedi mind tricks,” Penelope commented, as she nodded from her perch on the arm of her mother’s chair.
“Jedi mind tricks?” Quinn asked.
Patting his arm, Elsa sighed, “It’s from a movie you missed while you were playing the part of a dragon popsicle.” She grinned and winked, “You have to excuse Penelope, she loves anything science fiction. Her favorite movie is Star Wars.” She tapped the fingers of her free hand to her forehead. “Which you also know nothing about.” Blowing out a breath, she went on,
“Just finish your story and then we’ll start catching you up on a century’s worth of pop culture.”
Nodding like he understood, when he really had no clue at all what they were talking about, the Guardsman continued, “As I was saying, since my mind was the only thing that was still my own, I called out to my brethren through our special connections only to have my words echo back to me as if they’d hit a wall or a barrier of some sort.”
“The chanting grew louder, the stench of evil magic stronger and the realization that we were under attack and helpless to defend ourselves unbelievable. My dragon and I fought the mysticism with every ounce of our combined strength and just when I thought there was no way out, we finally made a small crack in the powerful spell.”
“My eyes flew open. We were surrounded by a multitude of tall, cloaked figures, their faces masked, their voices low and ominous. I tried to open my mouth, tried to scream to my brethren, but I simply did not have enough power to fight them alone.”
“It was then a small woman wearing a purple robe stepped out of the circle, pulled a large silver disc from under her wrap and shouted over the chanting, ‘Today we claim victory over the forces that seek to extinguish our beliefs, that choose to look to the light instead of the dark, that denounce the ways of old. Today, we lay to rest eight of their finest, their elite, their Enforcers, so that we may spread the power and glory of the darkness to all the lands.’”
“I couldn’t believe they knew who we were. We had operated in the shadows for so long, a mystery to even those of our own kin, but yet here was this woman, this wizard, spouting her rhetoric with full knowledge of our number and our mission. It was one of the only times in all of my life I had been truly scared.”
“Watching silently as she walked to each of my brethren, knelt down, placed the now glowing silver disc upon their chests and utter words in a language neither myself nor my dragon had ever heard, I tried to scream. I fought and pushed and beat against the spell holding me hostage but it was no use, I couldn’t help myself much less my brethren.”
“Finally, she came to me with an evil smile on her blood-red painted lips. The wizard, who I now know was your auntie,” he looked at Elsa, whose anger was palpable, before continuing, “looked me in the eye and said, ‘How does it feel to be helpless, to know there is nothing you can do but accept your fate? Know that you will not die, for death is too good for one of your kind, one that has fought against and killed so many faithful servants of the dark. No, mighty warrior, you will live forever, locked away in a tomb of my own design with the knowledge that you failed and that darkness has gloriously prevailed over the light on this night.’”
“Her arrogance was astounding as her diatribe continued. ‘You will all be locked away and strewn like the wind to the farthest reaches of the Universe where you will simply exist, not able to escape, unable to die. Now, close your eyes and sleep, for when you awake your true hell on earth begins.’ And that is what happened until you found me and saved me.”
He smiled at Elsa, who was looking at him with a plethora of emotions churning in the depths of her deep blue eyes all for him and what he had endured. He wanted to be alone with her, to explain what she meant to him and dispel any doubts she had that they were meant to be together but it would have to wait, he needed to finish what he had started. Caught in her gaze, Quinn was perfectly content until the sound of Carolyn’s voice broke the spell.
“Have you been able to contact the others? Do you know if they’re okay?”
“Mom,” Elsa chastised. “Weren’t you listening? He doesn’t know where they are.” She patted his arm and once again looked at him, “I’m sure they’re fine.” Then in a soft, almost whisper, “I am so sorry for what you’ve been through and even sorrier that someone from my family had something to do with it.”
Her expression hardened. She let go of his hand and arm and turned towards her mother, scooting to the very edge of her seat and demanded, “Now, it’s your turn, Mom. What the hell is Auntie Geneva and how long has she been more than just a kleptomaniacal elven bitch?”
Chapter Seven
Elsa waited, not so patiently, while her mother squirmed in her chair like she was awaiting execution. The elf felt bad for being so direct but things were spiraling out of control. She needed answers and more importantly, she needed to speak to Quinn…alone. There had been no doubt of her attraction to him. The dragon had been like a magnet pulling her towards him, making her feel things she’d never felt before, making her believe there might just be life outside the frozen winter land she’d always known since the moment she laid eyes on him.
She’d heard all the stories about the one man in all the world she was fated to be with, but in all honesty had thought it was just some fairy tale the old ones told the children as bedtime stories. Never in Elsa’s wildest dreams did she think he actually existed, much less that she would dig him out of snow drift, but here he was and to make matters all the more difficult, he was already saying the ‘m’ word and making her all warm and tingly with his dreamy emerald eyes. It was all too much to deal with. She needed to figure out what to do about her Auntie Geneva and stop that evil little elf in her tracks.
Looking at her mother, who was still not talking, Elsa stood, crossed the room and after kneeling said, “You might as well tell us what’s going on. I’m not giving up until I know and if you won’t spit it out, I’m gonna have to call Dad.”
At the mention of Donovan, the O’Leary matriarch jumped in her seat, her eyes flew to Elsa’s and she started to stammer, “It’s just that…well, I never…I didn’t really… I mean I had my suspicions…”
“Stop, Mom. Take a breath. You’re not making any sense.”
Elsa watched her mother compose herself as best she could and then begin again. “I knew Geneva was messing in the dark arts. She always did, but I never imagined she would go so far. I mean, over the years I could tell things with her were changing, maybe even getting out of hand. I even called Alara, your grandma,” Carolyn nodded and Elsa shrugged.
She hadn’t seen her mom’s mom in almost fifty years. Alara MacCarthaigh was second only to the Elven Queen in the hierarchy of the Elven nation and as thus hardly ever left their homeland in Ireland. The only times Elsa had seen her grandmother had been when Alara needed something from Elsa’s parents or wanted to try to persuade her youngest granddaughter to give up what the Elven Prime Minister called ‘the country life’ and come to Court.
At a young age, Elsa knew she was different, at least from a magical standpoint, than her sisters. Her grandmother had called her gifted. The Elven Queen had called her a miracle, the gem of their future, at her christening and her parents had finally explained when she was ten and almost set the barn ablaze while throwing fireballs at Mona during a routine snowball fight that she had inherited the magic of her ancestors and would someday be called to lead their people.
At the time, it all seemed crazy but as she grew and matured Elsa had felt the power inside, knew immediately what she could do and for the most part had shoved it aside, forced into a metaphysical box deep inside her soul and refused to call upon it. She didn’t want to rule, she didn’t want to be powerful, she wanted to grow up, meet her Prince Charming and have him get her the heck outta the frozen north. Of course, that hadn’t happened…until Quinn, and now she was faced with a whole new set of problems. Shaking her head, Elsa tuned back into her mother’s explanation.
“You know we have always made sure you were wearing the charm she gave you at your christening, the one that would mask your magical abilities and keep them hidden from Geneva. Well, I called to be sure it was still working because it seemed like my sister was on the hunt for something and I knew,” she wrung her hands and bit her lip before taking a deep breath and continuing. “I just knew it was your magic.” She gave Elsa a half-smile. “But then she didn’t come back. We didn’t even hear from her again. I thought she had found whatever it was she was looking for and I had been mistake
n.” Carolyn looked at Quinn and her eyes filled with tears. “That was just a little over a hundred years ago,” A tiny sob slipped out as she wiped a tear off her cheek. “It had to be that she’d siphoned,” she held back another sob, “the magic,” and then more tears ran down her cheeks, “of you and your kin when she imprisoned you.”
Carolyn began all out sobbing as she tried to go on, “I am…so…very sorry…If I had…”
From one heartbeat to the next, Quinn was off the couch and on his knees on the other side of Carolyn’s chair. Elsa watched as he took her mother’s hand in his, waited until her tears had slowed and calmly reassured her. “It is not your fault Mrs. O’Leary. We are not our brother’s, or in your case, sister’s keeper. You could not have known.” He waited until she looked up at him and smiled as he added, “What matters now is what we do to stop her. Geneva cannot be left out there in the world unchecked, able to harm others less capable than my brethren and I.”
Elsa could feel Quinn’s fear mixed with hope that those he called brother still lived. She wished there was something she could do to help and decided as soon as they had figured out how to stop her maniacal, deranged, bitch of an auntie, she would do some research.
Carolyn nodded as she gave her last few watery hiccups, wiped her tears and sat up straight in her chair. Elsa could see the wheels turning, knew her mother was trying to think of a way to defeat Geneva and asked, “But why was she here today? Why was she trying to take Ivey with her?”
“I think, at least this is all I’ve been able to come up with, that Geneva knew you,” she patted Elsa’s hand on her knee, “would never let your sister go. That you would fight her and more than likely offer yourself up instead.” Carolyn gave her daughter a watery smile. “You do, after all, always have to speak your mind and would never let any of your sisters come to any harm. Geneva knows that about you and was going to use it to manipulate you.”