Moving to one side so that they could easily pass, Kelton said, “Welcome to the Sons of Satrina Academy. Please, come on in.”
The woman and the girls nodded at him politely and the driver paused at the entrance, “Thank you, Sir. Where shall I put the bags?”
“If you could leave them over there, we’ll deal with them shortly.” Kelton pointed to the space next to the security desk. He watched as the driver carefully piled the bags and then moved to the door to apparently get the next load.
Kelton turned back to watch the females. They were stood confidently with their mother, backs straight, heads held high. Again, it was different from when Aisline had walked into their academy. She had been abandoned by her family, cast out and left to fend for herself. It meant that her self-confidence had taken a battering. Sure, she had held herself well and the good breeding had been evident, but not like this. The twins almost had an air of arrogance about them, as if whatever they had coming to them was their due. That life owed them all the good things and they were more than happy to take it. Kelton worried about how well they would take to the training here.
It was true that they were beautiful. The pair of them would be real heart-breakers when they grew up. Hell, they already probably had boys lining up at their doors. He had anticipated some trouble when Ash had turned up; he could almost guarantee it with these two.
From the way that their hair fell forward to frame their faces, Kelton couldn’t see the warrior mark that identified them as his new trainees. Frowning a little, he turned to welcome them all and to address their mother.
He froze.
“Hello, Kelton. It’s been a long time.”
He didn’t move. He didn’t speak. This was the very last thing he had expected.
Kelton was a warrior of worth, but he was also a man of principles. He had morals. He knew what was right and wrong. He tried to do right by himself and by the people he trained and the people he protected. But, still, he was just a man. Sometimes, wanting to do the right thing wasn’t enough.
His past shame was coming back to haunt him.
“Cassandra.” He croaked.
The girls’ mother smiled sweetly. “At least you remember my name.”
“How could I forget?” Kelton didn’t smile. She seemed to take that comment as a compliment. He had not meant it that way.
Kelton couldn’t believe that this was happening to him. If he had been less honourable, he would have kicked her ass out of the academy there and then, but he couldn’t do that.
A stress headache was creeping its way into his mind. That wasn’t much of a surprise, considering. He’d had a hell of a time of it lately and this was the icing on the preverbal cake.
Cassandra was part of his past that he had tried his damnedest to forget. It was his one transgression. It was the one thing that he had wanted to forget out, to erase from his past. But, no matter how much he tried to scrub his memory and conscience of what he had done, it was always there. No matter what he did.
This was the woman he had cheated on Kayleigh with. This was the woman who haunted his nightmares.
It happened way back when. It was a time when they were going through a rough patch. They had spent many a night arguing over the fact that she couldn’t let her human life go. Kelton didn’t think it was healthy for her to hang on to it like that. Also, it made him feel like he wasn’t enough for her. Hell, what man wanted the love of his life going back to check on the well-being of their ex-husband?
Not that it was any kind of excuse. There was nothing he could do or say that would make any of what he did right. He had done wrong and it was something he couldn’t excuse or take back.
It had happened one night when he was out on patrol. They had a call come in, saying that there was a Mortuorum nest nearby. It was also reported that the monsters were possibly holding hostages in there. That happened sometimes. The Mortuorum would save a snack for later.
This time, it wasn’t a member of the Matris that they had taken this time. It was Cassandra.
After battling their way through the barricaded doors, the warriors eliminated the enemy. There had been three hostages. Two of them were Matris and he selected two other warriors to escort them safely home after they had been checked out by one of their doctors. Kelton agreed to safely escort Cassandra home. Dixon had been his partner that night and he was going to accompany them, but another call came in and he had to go and hook up with another group of warriors elsewhere.
Cassandra had clung to him all the way back to her house. The fear of what she’d been through made her shake uncontrollably. It was understandable. The Mortuorum weren’t exactly known for their gentle ways.
When they reached her house, which was a small, modest building in a moderately decent area with a small front lawn that was edged in a well-kept flower boarder, Kelton put an arm around her to steady her shaky limbs.
He couldn’t just leave her there all alone in her state. She was a sobbing, shaking mess. Kelton left her shivering in the living room to make her a hot, sweet tea and he sat with her until she began to calm down.
That was when one thing led to another. Sure, it sounds like a cliché, but occasionally, these things really do happen. Kelton wasn’t one for acting impulsively. He was a planner. But, this? He couldn’t have planned for this. She was a master of seduction.
He hadn’t meant for any of it to happen. She was a beautiful woman who had been through a horrific ordeal. It wasn’t until after that his mind finally cleared and he realised what he had done. Kelton left her there in her bed in a peaceful slumber with a small satisfied smile on her face.
After leaving her house, Kelton didn’t know what to do for the best. All he could think of to do was to speak to his friend, confidante and leader, Bartholomew. Even without talking it through, he knew that it was Kayleigh that he wanted. That one night stand had tainted him, making him feel unworthy of her. Bartholomew had sat and listened as Kelton had ranted over what he had done. Just the memory of it made him feel dirty.
It was obvious, after the fact, that she had somehow hypnotised him, cast a spell or something. There was no way that a man like Kelton would bow so easily to a pretty face. It made him furious to think that he had been duped into lying and cheating like that.
It had been Bartholomew who had advised him to keep his indiscretion to himself. Not that he or Bartholomew liked lying to Kayleigh, but their leader was of the mind what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. They all knew that Kelton wouldn’t willingly do anything to hurt Kayleigh, but it had inadvertently happened. There was no point in her knowing something he couldn’t take back and something he couldn’t ever apologise enough for.
When he had finally got home that night, he had gone straight to the shower to scrub himself clean. He wanted to rid himself of the memory of Cassandra. He cleaned until his skin felt raw.
After, walking into the bedroom that night, he found Kayleigh. She was curled up on her side, fast asleep, her naked body tangled in the bed covers. The guilt of what he had done nearly broke him. He had betrayed her. The fact that he hadn’t meant to was irrelevant.
Kelton didn’t tell her what happened. There was no need to. All he wanted to do was to shower her with the love, care and affection that she deserved. He wanted to do his very best to support her in all that she did, even if it included keeping a watchful eye over her human family as it grew and expanded.
That was what she needed, support. She didn’t need anything that would heap more stress on her. She had enough of that going on already. At the time, Kayleigh was still going through a daily battle with the beast within her, not wanting to be anything like the monster that had made her. She said time and time again that she wanted to be like Kelton, which crushed him every time. She thought he was someone honourable. She wanted to be someone good, like Kelton…
Now, when everything had worked out, his world was once again crashing down around him. Cassandra, the one woman he had never,
ever wanted to see again, was standing in front of him, as large as life and just as threatening.
“Kelton?”
He swung around to see Kayleigh and Aisline walking slowly up behind him. She was smiling reassuringly at him, thinking that he was stressed out by the new trainee situation. Little did she know…
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
Kelton couldn’t speak for a moment. His mouth had dried up and he felt like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
Cassandra stepped forward, smiling warmly. She had no idea at all who Kayleigh was. Back then, they hadn’t exactly spent a whole lot of time talking about all things personal. Kelton hated the thought of the two of them being in such close contact. This was a situation from hell.
“My name is Cassandra Feelan. These are my beautiful daughters, Rhian and Cala.” She held out a hand politely to Kayleigh.
“Pleased to meet you.” Kayleigh smiled, scanning quickly over each of the girls. “Which one of you has received the mark?”
Cassandra smiled sadly as she reached forward, sweeping each of the girls hair behind their ears. “They both have it.”
Kayleigh stared open mouthed. Sure, they had been expecting two girls coming in, but for some reason she hadn’t expected them to be sisters. Twins! This was sure to be interesting.
Aisline stepped forward, sensing the unease in the girls. “Hey,” she gave an awkward wave to them both before pointing to her own temple. “I’ve got it, too.” The girls looked at her like they were entirely unimpressed and still didn’t utter a single word. Strange.
Ash stepped back again. She had the distinct feeling that these girls were looking down their noses at her. Who the hell did they think they were? She had grown up in a family with much more money, connections and luxury than these girls could ever wish for, but she understood that her priorities had changed somewhat since she had started training. Her clothes were a practical instead of stylish, her face lacked make-up and her hair was styled simply in a loose pony tail. But, that didn’t give them the right to think that they were any better than her. They were all here in the same situation and they’d better start sucking it up.
Noting the tension between the girls, Kayleigh stepped forward again. “Well, why don’t we take your bags through and we’ll show you your room. Would you like to follow me?”
“Room? Singular?” One of the girls asked with a slight turn of her nose.
Kayleigh dug her heels in a little, “Yes. You will be sharing.”
“I don’t think so.” The girl said in a snotty tone.
“Well, I do. Please follow me and I’ll show you to your room.” Kayleigh said firmly. Ash had to hide a grin. It was good to see that Kayleigh wasn’t going to let the girls walk all over her. If she allowed that to happen now, she would have been making a rod for her own back, but luckily, she was setting the standards from the get-go.
The girls didn’t look at all happy about it and reluctantly moved forward. Ash couldn’t blame them on some levels, after all it was going to be a massive change of life for them both. She was trying her hardest not to hold their sullen expressions against them. Not yet, anyway.
Kayleigh led the girls to see their new room, pointing out that Aisline was right next door if they needed her. It was clear that hell would freeze over before they went to her for anything and Ash couldn’t help but laugh as she walked away from them. They may have each other, but in a place like this, that wasn’t going to be enough. They were burning bridges before they’d even started. Sure, it was good that they had each other to rely on, but they needed to broaden their horizons. Even Caleb realised that.
Kayleigh left them to settle in and poked her head into Aisline’s room. “Be nice.” She warned her with a grin.
“I’m always nice.” Ash laughed.
“It’ll just take them a bit of time to settle in.”
Ash nodded and Kayleigh laughed as she left her to go and check that everything else was in order for their new recruits.
Kelton didn’t know what to say or do as he glanced at the empty space behind him. He didn’t know if he wanted Kayleigh to come back or if it would be easier for her to steer clear.
“You’re looking very well, Kelton.”
He looked over at Cassandra wordlessly. She was looking good as well. The last and only time he had seen her, she had been mistreated and abused by the Mortuorum and was clearly not looking her best. She had the same luscious blonde hair and blue eyes as her daughters. There was no denying that she was a beautiful woman. Not that it mattered in the slightest. He only had eyes for one woman.
He looked over at the empty space again before saying, “How have you been?”
“I didn’t let what they did to me ruin my life, if that’s what you mean.” Her laughter tinkled softly.
Kelton nodded. “I’m glad about that.”
“You’re doing well for yourself. The head of all of this? I didn’t know at the time.”
Kelton winced, hating the reference to that time.
“Look, Kelton. It’s plainly obvious that you are feeling very uncomfortable. I’m not here to make your life difficult. I’m here so that you can help the girls.”
Her little impassioned speech hit home to him. He was here to do a job. Kelton was the head of the warriors and the head of the Sons of Satrina as a whole. He had a job to do and he had taken on a care of duty to the trainees. He never let his personal life interfere with his work before now and he wasn’t about to let it start now.
“Please, take a seat.” He said, remembering his manners. They had a lot to get through in such a short space of time. It was late and he wasn’t entirely sure that Cassandra and the girls were used to a nocturnal schedule.
“Thank you.”
“The girls are Rhian and Cala?” He waited for her to nod in confirmation, “How old are they? And when did they receive the mark? How did you know to identify it as a warrior mark?”
Her laughter caressed the air once again. “I’ve seen enough of the Lamia warriors to know what the warrior mark is when I see it.” She gave him a private look that he chose to ignore. “It appeared on them both suddenly when we were travelling around India. Hence the reason why it has taken so long for us to get back here.”
She made it seem like they had travel problems, but Kelton found that hard to believe. “You were on vacation?”
“Yes. They didn’t want to cut it short.”
Kelton raised his eyebrows but made no further comment.
“I was sorry to hear about the death of your leader. This is not the kind of magic that I have any kind of understanding. It’s a little out of my field of knowledge.”
“So, you are a….? Um… and your daughters are…?” Kelton wasn’t often lost for words, but he couldn’t remember the correct term for what she was. Saying ‘witch’ sounded a little politically incorrect and massively disrespectful if he was wrong.
“Do you mean an enchantress? A sorceress? Yes, they are.”
Kelton fell silent for a moment. He could feel her eyes on him. It was all he could do not to squirm uncomfortably in his seat. He didn’t have that kind of luxury. He was the head of the goddamn academy and here he was acting like some awkward teenager when he was confronted by an ex-lover. It simply wouldn’t cut it.
The warrior on security detail was doing a very good job of being invisible, but Kelton knew that he was there and was very self-conscious of the possible turn of conversation. The last thing he needed now was a rumour to start circulating. He didn’t need that kind of thing for Kayleigh.
“Has your driver left or is he waiting for you?”
“He’s waiting.”
“I’ll go and get a message to Kayleigh to bring the girls back so that you can say goodbye.”
“I’ll take that as my cue to leave.” She smirked unattractively.
Kelton ignored the comment, “We have a great deal of work to do.” He said by way of a lame excuse. They both knew that
he simply wanted her gone out of his life. This was too difficult for him to work with. Once she was out of sight, he’d try to put his betrayal out of his mind. He would get on with overseeing the girls’ transition but that would be it. He wouldn’t have to set eyes on Cassandra again. The trainees were his priority and that was how it had to stay.
He got up to cross the room. Kelton was going to call anyone he could think of to find Kayleigh so he could get this woman out of here. He wasn’t heartless enough to kick her out without saying goodbye to her daughters, no matter how tempting that idea was.
“They have your eyes.”
Kelton stopped dead. He didn’t turn to look at her. He couldn’t.
“What? What do you mean?”
“I think you know exactly what I mean. They have your eyes. They’re yours, Kelton. They are your daughters.”
The world began to swim around him. The words knocked him sideways. There was no way that this could be true.
No way.
“Kelton. I know that this is a lot to spring on you, but I have had no way to find you before this. It is like it is meant to be.” Her voice sounded scarily genuine and the words chilled him to the bone.
“This can’t be true.” He muttered, more to himself than to her.
“It’s true. They are your daughters. Our daughters. Kelton. That night was the worst and the best of my life.”
He put his shaking hands to his face. He wanted to put hands over his ears and sing so he couldn’t hear her. He didn’t want to hear any of this.
“Kelton. They are your daughters!”
A gasp from over the other side of the reception area had him whirling around. His heart sank to his boots as he saw Kayleigh standing there. She looked with wide eyes from Kelton to Cassandra and then back to him again. Confusion and fear clouded her eyes.
“What? What did she just say?” Her eyes were locked on Kelton. He didn’t know what to say to her.
“I’m sorry, but we are trying to have a private conversation here. We would appreciate it if you left.” Cassandra said in her most haughty tone.
“Well, it’s not private anymore.” Kayleigh growled at her in such a menacing manner that the woman took a step back. “Kelton, what is she talking about?”
Dawn of a New Age: A Sons of Satrina Novel Page 27