The Legends of Regia Box Set: The Complete Series. Books 1-7

by Tenaya Jayne

  “What the hell is tha—“

  She pushed X through the door to Regia and slammed it behind her.

  “Whoa!” he exclaimed as they landed in her bedroom. “Are we safe now?” his eyes cleared, and he looked around her room.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I can’t wait any longer.” He pulled her against him and kissed her mouth.

  It wasn’t soft or slow like before. It was desperate. She was quickly overwhelmed. It was too good. Too much. Too intense. She was losing herself inside it. Terrified by the force pulling her to him, she pushed him away.

  “Stop!” She was breathless. “You make me want so much, X.”

  “I doubt it comes close to how much you make me want… I’m sorry. I lost my head. I didn’t mean to show you any disrespect.”

  She was confused. “Disrespect?”

  “I have to be more…distant. I don’t want you to think I assume…” He paused, groping for the words. “You’re not mine.”

  She thought she understood, but she wasn’t sure. She wanted clarity, but it would have to wait. Or rather she figured it should wait for another time.

  “We are in Regia. How do you feel? Can you breathe easily? Are your senses disoriented?”

  He seemed to take stock of himself then. “I feel fine. My head is a little light, but maybe it’s just your lips that make me feel like that.”

  “This is my room in my parent’s house.”

  He cast his eyes around again. “It looks a lot more comfortable than my house.”

  “It is. Your world is primitive. Please don’t freak out. There’s so much here you will have never seen.”

  “I’ll try. What am I to do? How do I behave?”

  “Hmm…I hadn’t really thought about it. Just be yourself.”

  “But our cultural differences,” he argued.

  “I won’t leave you alone. I’ll help you avoid any missteps. But making friends or a good impression isn’t important right now. I wish things were that easy.”

  “Whatever it is you’ve brought me here for, I can tell you, me making a good impression might not matter to you, but it’s crucial to me.”

  “Why?”

  “Without it, how am I to…” He stopped and shook his head. “Never mind.”

  She smiled at him. “Okay. Don’t worry. Put your stuff down.” She looked out her window. “Let’s go outside. My mother’s out there. You can meet her.”

  X walked to the window and looked out. “That can’t be your mother.”

  “I can assure you she is.”

  “Your sister, perhaps. I’d believe that. She barely looks older than you.”

  “You’re the only human here. We age differently, and we live longer.” Tesla smiled. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

  “Stunning,” he agreed. “The second most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

  “Second?”

  “You’re the first.” He winked at her.

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re over the top.”

  “You’re over the top,” he countered.

  She looked at him seriously, her cheeks flushing.

  “What is it?” he asked quietly.

  “I’m sorry, it just really hit me again. I’m talking to you. Out loud…I love talking to you.”

  He leaned toward her, his lips an inch from hers. She closed her eyes, but he didn’t kiss her. She opened her eyes again.

  He backed away, shaking his head. “I love talking to you, too.”

  He set his things down on the floor, took his gloves off, removed the stones on his palms, and put them in his pack before slipping his gloves back on. “I brought a gift for your mother.”

  She continued to look at her mom through the window. Forest was decorating the garden for the party that evening. “What did you bring?”

  He took the knife out of the pack and held it out for Tesla.

  She raised her eyebrows and smiled as she took it from him. “Wow. You made this?”

  He nodded. She handed it back.

  “Clever choice. You’re going to try and make her like you, aren’t you?”

  “Shamelessly.”

  She chuckled. “I think you’ll succeed. Come on.”

  He followed her through the house to the front door, forcing himself to ignore everything he saw that he wanted to look at and ask questions about. He blinked in the alien sunlight, his eyes straining to adjust.

  “Stay right here for a second,” she said.

  He hung back on the front porch while Tesla strode up to her mother.

  “Mom.”

  Forest jumped and turned around. “Oh! You’re speaking again!” She clasped Tesla against her in a tight hug. “Who’s that?”

  “That’s my friend, X. He’s going to help protect us from the wizards.”

  Forest looked him over thoroughly. She leaned over and whispered in Tesla’s ear. “Now I see why you wanted to borrow my shirt.”

  Tesla felt her cheeks heat up. “Mom! Please!” she whispered back desperately.

  “Okay. You’re going to have to explain how all of this works together and how you’ve managed to get a human to be able to survive here. I’m dying to know what kind of ability he could possibly have to help us, but at the moment, I’m just going to tell you, nice work. He’s cute.”

  “That word is not adequate to describe him,” Tesla said.

  “Well, I was trying to not embarrass you too much, but you’re right. He’s hot.”

  She nodded emphatically in agreement. “He’s nice, too. Complicated, maybe a little brooding at times. He’s been magically altered. He won’t shake your hand. His hands are dangerous; he won’t want to hurt you. That’s why he’s wearing gloves. He can’t hurt me, just as I can’t hurt him. It’s him, Mom. He’s the reason I can speak to you right now. Something about him balances me.”

  “Well, introduce us. Goodness knows what he’ll think if we stand here whispering about him much longer.”

  She waved at X to come closer. He walked up to them and put his hands behind his back. Forest smiled at him.

  “I’m Forest. It’s nice to meet you, X.”

  “Thank you. It’s very nice to meet you as well.” He inclined his head in a little bow. “Tesla has told me all about you.”

  “Really? She hasn’t said a thing about you. She’s kept you a secret.”

  “I’m sorry if my presence is an untimely surprise.”

  Forest chuckled. “You can relax. You’re welcome here.”

  “Thank you,” he said again.

  “It seems like perhaps I should be thanking you for coming here. Giving Tesla her voice.”

  “I don’t feel like I can take any credit for that. I don’t understand how it works…I…um… brought you a gift.” He held the knife out. “Hold out your hands flat.”

  She did. He laid the blade in her hands without touching her at all.

  Forest held it up, pleasure plain on her face. She gripped the handle and moved it back and forth so the sunlight flashed on the blade. “Nice balance, especially for the shape. Beautiful work. Thank you. I love it.”

  “X made it,” Tesla informed her.

  Forest raised her eyebrows and looked closer at the knife. She tossed it in the air and caught it. “I’m impressed. I’ve been known to make blades from time to time as well.”

  “Really?” He smiled broadly. “That’s something we have in common then. Would you show me some of your work?”

  “I will later. Did you make that axe strapped to your back?”

  “Oh, yeah. I meant to take it off in the house. Here.” He unfastened it and handed it to Forest to look at.

  She gripped it with both hands and nodded approvingly. “Pretty badass…” Her eyes narrowed. “Use it much?”

  “Just for work.”

  She glanced over at Tesla, and then back at him, her expression turning shrewd. “How did you get to be a headsman?”

  “It’s a long story. I don’t get a
ny pleasure from taking life. I just…”

  Forest shook her head and handed the axe back to him. “It’s okay. It can wait.”

  He looked uncomfortable and slightly dejected.

  “Go and put it in the house, ’cause you know what can’t wait? These lights I need to hang in the trees. Could you help me, X? I’d appreciate it,” Forest said.

  “Of course.”

  When he went back into the house, Forest pinned Tesla with her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me he was an executioner?”

  “Are you judging him?” Tesla fired back. “Cause the last time I checked, you sentence people to death in your line of work.”

  Forest smirked. “Touché. Actually, the only thing I wanted to judge was how you would respond if I criticized him…I like him, based on my first impression at least…and it’s a pleasure hearing your voice tinged with a hint of indignation.”

  “Mom!”

  Forest closed her eyes and smiled. “Ah! That’s great! Just like that! I love it.”

  “I’m just going to quit talking now.”

  “Don’t you dare. I need to hear you. I don’t care what you say, just talk to me.”

  Forest couldn’t remember being as happy as she was over the next two hours while Tesla and X helped her decorate the garden. Just listening to Tesla talk as easily as if she’d always been able to, her voice cheerful and flirtatious, sent waves of overwhelming happiness through Forest. X had been a surprise, but she was fast growing to like him. She liked the way he treated Tesla and the respect he showed. He was unique, but that fit with Tesla. It was obvious he had romantic intentions, but Forest found that didn’t bother her as much as she would have thought.

  “Looks like we’re all done,” Forest announced when they ran out of decorations. “Thank you for helping, X.”

  “You’re welcome. It was fun.”

  “Tesla, your dad is going to be home soon. Why don’t you and X go watch a movie or something? The party will start at dusk.”

  She watched Tesla thread her fingers through his and pull him back into the house. She had a little twinge of objection in her chest that was outweighed by her joy that her daughter could hold a boy’s hand at all. She shook her head, bemused, when the door shut behind them.

  Forest fussed over the details of the place settings on the tables while she waited for Syrus. He showed up a few minutes later, striding through the garden gate, a case of beer tucked under his arm. Forest laughed and took it from him.

  “Where did you get that?”

  “Don’t ask.” He rolled his eyes, before swooping down on her. He picked her up by the waist and kissed her mouth, hard.

  “It looks great.” He glanced around the garden. “I can’t believe you got all this done by yourself.”

  “I had help.” She smiled.

  “Oh? Who?”

  She put her hands on his chest bracingly. “Well…your daughter has decided to bring a date to her party.”

  Syrus just blinked at her for a second. “What?” he exploded.

  “Calm down.”

  “No! No! Don’t tell me to calm down.”

  “Calm down!” she said again, emphatically. “His name is X. And he’s very nice. She brought him here from another world. He’s human, sort of. He has magical abilities.”

  Her words did the opposite of calm Syrus. His eyes lit up, and lightning snaked over his hands and forearms. “Well she can take him right back where she found him! This is totally unacceptable!” he yelled.

  Forest gave him a droll stare. “Why?” she said slowly.

  “She’s just a little girl!”

  Forest sighed. “She’s eighteen. She’s a grown woman.”

  He shook his head. “No, she’s not.”

  She put her hands gently on his cheeks and looked deeply into his angry eyes. “She is.”

  “I’m very, very unhappy, Forest.”

  “Yes. I see that. And I get it. It’s not easy… Everything Tesla’s been working on…she told me Regia needs him. I believe her. So this is bigger than your protective, shotgun feelings.”

  “My what?”

  “Never mind.” She smiled broadly, her eyes dancing. “I like him. And there is something precious you can now experience that you never could because of him.”

  “What’s that?” he said through gritted teeth.

  “Her voice. When Tesla is near him, she can speak.”

  The anger drained from his face, replaced by awe. “She can speak?”

  “Yes.”

  She watched his eyes slick over with tears, feeling her own tears begin again as well.

  “She’s been out here helping me put all this stuff up, just talking as if it were nothing, Syrus. It’s beautiful.”

  “Where is she?”

  “They’re in the house.”

  Panic flashed in his eyes then as he looked at the closed front door. “You left them alone in the house?”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “So?” he strode quickly toward the house. “Goodness knows what they’re doing!”

  Forest followed. “Ah, yes. I see where you’re going with that.”

  Syrus burst through the front door like an old school comic book super hero. Forest had to stifle a giggle as she imagined him yelling Ah ha! But they didn’t catch them doing anything. X stood at the counter in the kitchen while Tesla handed him a mug of coffee.

  They both turned to look at Forest and Syrus. Syrus barely glanced at X before locking his gaze expectantly on Tesla. She smiled and ran to him.

  “Daddy!” She caught him around the neck.

  He laughed through his tears just as Forest had the first time Tesla spoke to her.

  “Oh! Talk to me, sweetheart. Say anything,” Syrus said hugging her tightly.

  She giggled. “Wee willy winky, running through the town, upstairs, downstairs, in his nightgown.”

  He laughed again. “Goofball. How is this possible?”

  She pulled out of his hug and directed his attention back to X, who watched apprehensively.

  “Dad, this is my friend, X. When I’m with him, I don’t hurt. Everything inside me clicks into place. His magic grounds mine.”

  X straightened his shoulders and inclined his head to Syrus. “Sir.”

  Syrus stared at him, trying to work through his tangled emotions connected to the presence of the young man. He took a deep breath and held out his hand in greeting. “Thank you.”

  X looked down at his hand and shook his head, then he held his hands out, palms up, the centers glowing blue.

  “Forgive me, but I can’t shake your hand.”

  Syrus raised an eyebrow as he looked at X’s hands. “Hm. Interesting.”

  He pulled his gloves out of his back pocket and slid them on. “I usually keep them covered, but my hands are no danger to Tesla.”

  Syrus scowled. “No? Well you might be in danger of losing your hands if you don’t keep them to yourself.”

  “Dad!” Tesla gasped.

  X had no visible reaction to the threat. He merely nodded. “Understood.”

  Syrus waited for X to try and sell him the typical lies that he had only the noblest intentions in regards to Tesla, and he would never, blah, blah, blah. X remained silent, earning him a tiny, grudging shred of respect from Syrus. But he still didn’t feel he’d made his point adequately. “This is my house. Tesla is my daughter.”

  X didn’t flinch from his ire or break his gaze. He just nodded again. “Understood.”

  “But…” Forest moved to stand between them and faced X. “You are a welcome guest.”

  “Thank you.”

  Tesla moved away from her dad and stood by X, reaching for his hand. She gave Syrus a challenging stare. “Surely you won’t object to us holding hands. Touch is what keeps my pain at bay and helps me maintain my ability to speak.”

  He grimaced like he’d just bit into a lemon. “Fine…Don’t push it.”

  “Okay, Daddy.”

  Forest brok
e the tension again. “We don’t have much time before the guests begin to arrive. Tesla, help your father with the food.” She laced her arm through X’s and led him away. “X, you come with me. I’ll show you some of my favorite weapons.”

  “Sorry about that,” she said quietly, once she’d pulled him into the other room.

  “Please do not apologize. I understand. His reaction to me was not at all unexpected. Thank you for your hospitality and for providing me a way out of the room. They need to be alone to talk.”

  Forest smiled warmly and nodded. “Yes. I’m glad you get it. And I really did want to show you my favorite sword.”

  X gave her the reaction she wanted when she pulled her obsidian glass sword from its scabbard. He was speechless and looked slightly winded as she handed it to him.

  “Careful,” she warned.

  “It’s…phenomenal. I’ll never be able to make anything like it, that’s for sure.” He handed it back. “Your skill far surpasses mine. Perhaps I could persuade you to teach me?”

  Forest sheathed it and set it aside. “I didn’t really make it. It was a group effort, and the glass chose me. I almost consider it alive.”

  “The lightning inside it, did Tesla do that?”

  “No. Syrus did. They have some of the same power. Hers is stronger, wild…” Forest gave a little gasp and put her hand over her heart.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Oh, yes. It was just a pang of what Syrus is feeling right now. He’s so happy. Having a conversation with Tesla is making him happier than he’s been in a very long time.”

  “You feel his emotions?”

  She smiled. “Yes. And he feels mine.”

  “Because you’re destined life mates? Tesla told me a little bit about it. How does it work? How do you know you’ve found your mate?”

  “There’s no doubt when it happens. Your first eye contact, your first touch, it binds you together, body and soul. It’s a singular feeling. There’s nothing like it. You know, beyond doubt when it happens.”

  “Hmm…” He looked at the floor, his shoulders slumping. “So, there’s someone like that for Tesla. She just hasn’t met him yet?”

  Forest understood his interest on the subject, and his dejection. She reached out and touched his shoulder for a second. “Don’t despair. Not everyone has a destined life mate. She might, and she might not. But whatever the answer to that question is, it doesn’t mean she can’t feel for you. I see she already does.”