“Of course. Most of it is from instruction I had as a child.” Thalia rubbed her ear, flicking the lobe.
“Not as an adult?” Mikkel asked, wheezing no longer as Rafe had managed to cure the beating Thalia had inflicted—Rafe made a mental note not to piss their mate off; she apparently had no problem fighting dirty.
“No. You’re kidding, right?” she scoffed. “My parents didn’t want to make me anymore dangerous. I had lessons from my guards when I was younger, and then a few of them would spar with me when I hadn’t misbehaved and wasn’t on my parents’ radar.”
“What does that mean?” Theo asked, a frown puckering his brow.
“It means her parents are dicks,” Mikkel retorted succinctly.
Thalia’s lips twitched. “That they are. But with three dicks among them, is it any wonder?”
Mikkel narrowed his eyes. “You’re surrounded by three dicks.”
Her smile shone brighter than the sun peeking through the clouds on an overcast day. “I know.”
Mikkel grunted. “Be grateful I don’t fight with girls.”
“My butt tells a different tale,” she sniped right back, prompting Rafe to cease seeking out any further sources of discomfort Mikkel had and shuffling over to their mate.
As he pressed his hand over her heart, she placed her fingers on top of them and the smile she shone his way was warm, caring, and loving.
It amused and amazed him how her relationships with each of them were individual and unique.
She’d never hurt him the way she’d just hurt Mikkel. He doubted she’d fell Theo the same way either. That wasn’t to say her relationship with Mikkel was weaker, or lesser, simply different.
“Hey, what did you do to my knee?” Mikkel grumbled as he jumped to his feet.
Rafe blinked, jolted from his focus on the bruising Thalia had on her hip and butt, as well as some weakness in her ankles from the way Mikkel had tossed her down to the ground.
“You had the start of arthritis,” he said quietly, his attention elsewhere. “I healed it. It will require frequent treatments.”
Mikkel let out a laugh. “That’s awesome. I haven’t been able to bend it properly since 2005 after a fight in Basra.” He rubbed his chin and the sound of his palm scraping over his stubble was loud. “Thanks, man.”
“You’re welcome,” Rafe said easily, turning to look at the human male who was bending his knee and stretching his quads.
The arthritis hadn’t been advanced, otherwise Rafe wouldn’t have been able to help. Mikkel was still human, after all, even though his strengths as Thalia’s mate had yet to manifest.
Like minds and all that because Thalia scowled. “Wait a minute, aren’t you supposed to be faster and stronger now you’re claimed?”
“You claimed him as a human,” Rafe told her. “You need to nip him in your She-Wolf form. Remember?”
Silence fell at that, and she let out a shuddering breath. “I forgot.”
Theo cleared his throat. “Explain.”
“It’s only when both sides of the soul claim a non-Lyken that they’re truly bound.”
“But we’re linked,” Mikkel said gruffly, and Rafe could hear the stirrings of unease in his voice.
“You’re definitely linked. I’m sure you’re strong, you just held Thalia above your head like she was a carton of milk. The bond is there and it is working on you, but it is not fully complete, yet. Only her human has taken you as her own.”
Thalia sucked down a shaky breath. She pulled away from Rafe and dropped her head between her raised knees. “This can’t be happening.”
The quiet that surrounded them was cloying, and Rafe wished he hadn’t said a damn thing even though it was the truth—a truth none of them had considered in the wake of Thalia’s She-Wolf’s disappearance. Not even Rafe had thought of it—until now.
Theo rubbed his forehead, the move caught Rafe’s eye because the gold of his hair glinted in the light that shone through the stained glass lining the huge atrium where they’d gathered. The wall of glass depicted a huge building that shone like fire with the light—with Lyken sight so strong, Rafe found it hard to look upon the glass without wincing.
“This presents more complications than I’d anticipated.” Theo’s voice was low, concerned.
“Why would you know about Lyken traditions? It’s not your job to be an Oracle,” Rafe excused.
“And it’s not like you could have done anything any differently anyway,” Thalia whispered, her voice hoarse. “I’d still have been shot by those hunters, and you’d still have done whatever you could to save me.” She sucked down a shaky breath. “Why did I wait? I shouldn’t have fucking waited. So much lost time, and I’ve been pining for you for years… I should have pinned you down the minute I set eyes on you both.” She rubbed her temple then peered over at Theo. “There’s no ifs, buts, or maybes now, Theo. We have to find a way to get the She-Wolf back. The half-bond will do none of us any good.”
“Why? What difference will it make?”
Rafe shrugged, but unease slithered through him. “I don’t know. It’s never happened before. What’s happened to Thalia’s beast is…”
“Unprecedented,” Thalia finished for him. Her lips curled in disgust as she moved her hand to tug at her bottom lip. “Is there a Fae who could help us? Who could give us more information?”
“I don’t know,” Theo answered honestly. “What I did…” He licked his lips. “I don’t really know how I did it.”
Rafe’s eyes flared. “What do you mean?”
“The Fae can’t piggyback the way I did onto your talents,” Theo explained uneasily. “I think I could only do it because we are bound through Thalia.”
The embers of a headache were forming a fire in the middle of his forehead. Rafe moved his hand from Thalia’s knee where he’d placed it after she’d moved away from his touch. “You mean to tell me nobody can help us?”
“I don’t think so.” He licked his lips. “Even before Morningstar fell, we never had that many fated mates. We weren’t blessed in the way the Lykens were. We had them, just not so many. And I’d have heard if there was a match between a Fae and a Lyken.”
There was something in his voice that had Rafe’s hackles rising. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that to the Fae, mating with a Lyken would be like a human mating with a dog.”
The voice was unwelcome, but as Rafe looked over his shoulder he saw Kane, Theo’s father, approaching.
Theo tilted his head at his father. “Greet you, sir.”
Kane waved a hand. “Not so formal when your mother’s not around, you know that.”
Theo’s lips curved slightly. “It’s been a while. I forgot.”
“Well, remember. Fast.”
The male was handsome. His hair was as long as his wife’s, and they’d passed those golden locks onto their son. Theo had the look of Kane, but his eyes were more like Isaura’s. Kane’s were a deep, dark gray shot through with amber highlights that gave them the look of volcanic ash pierced with magma. It was a creepy contrast, one that spoke of a power far beyond anything Rafe had ever come across.
Kane, regardless of his age, looked as young as them all. At first glance, it would be ludicrous to even suggest that he was Theo’s father, but that he was.
“What are you doing in the Selection Chamber?”
“Selection Chamber?” Thalia questioned with a scowl. She didn’t leap up to curtsey at her new father-in-law, and Rafe couldn’t exactly accuse her of being rude because neither he nor Mikkel had bowed in greeting.
Why was that?
Kane was as imposing as his wife, but Isaura? There was something truly awe-inspiring about her.
And not in a good way.
Had she been there, Rafe knew they’d all have leaped to their feet to supplicate themselves before her.
Kane squatted down a few steps away from her. He rested his fingers on the marble beneath his dull black leather bo
ots. “Aye, the Selection Room. It’s a part of the training rooms.”
“Who selects who?”
“More like, what selects whom?” Kane corrected.
“Huh?” she asked, her frown deep and marring the silky velvet of her brow.
Kane’s smile was winsome. “You can’t believe our armory would be as bland as those on the human realm?”
She blinked. “To be honest, I never really thought about it. I didn’t even know I was in the armory.” She shot Theo a tight look but he just shrugged unapologetically at her.
Kane rubbed his chin. “I suppose this is further proof of the different ways in which you wage your wars.”
“We don’t really wage wars,” Mikkel piped up.
“Says the soldier,” Rafe said drily, but the human male shot him a glower.
“Soldiers wage wars, and the governments direct them through the generals—the leaders of their army.”
Kane inquired, “Does this not leave much to politics?”
“Of course. War is always a matter of politics, isn’t it?” Mikkel grumbled irritably.
“Not in Heden,” Theo said on a low voice.
“No? Then what kinds of wars have you waged?”
“We wage wars against the dark arts. Between good and evil, there are no politics,” Kane said somewhat piously.
“How often do you fight these dark arts?” Rafe asked, curious.
“Every millennia or so.”
“We’re due a battle,” Theo said drily. “Before my mother’s reign, battles over politics were commonplace, but no longer.”
“You fight those on Morningstar’s side?” Thalia questioned, her tone dubious as she tried to make sense of what they were talking about.
Rafe couldn’t blame her.
Ever since Theo had informed them all of the truth of the creation story, putting it together was tough. Making sense of it was even more difficult.
“It is more complicated than that.”
“But who is there to fight? You don’t birth any more Fae, so who doesn’t just toe the line?”
Kane shot Theo a look. “You haven’t explained to them?”
“No. I didn’t have time.”
Kane sighed. “You brought them here and didn’t have time to explain the dangers of this realm?”
“You interrupted me, father, in the middle of my first lesson,” Theo snarled.
Kane held up his hands. “My apologies.”
“Thank you. Thalia is only just ready to be trained. Until now, her health wasn’t as strong as I’d have liked.”
“I think it is time you tell me why this Lyken Princess scents of nothing. No beast. Nothing. She doesn’t even present as human.” Kane cocked a brow at his son even as his nostrils flared delicately as though sifting through the different essences in the room.
“I am a Wolf Lyken, Kane,” Thalia explained softly. “A powerful one, normally.”
“Normally? What does that mean?” Theo’s father demanded, his weight rocking forward onto the hand propping him upright.
“It means that before I came here, I was shot with mercury and to save me, Theo and Rafe worked together.”
“Yes, this I remember. The disiungere, but still, I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I,” Mikkel grumbled. “But Thalia’s She-Wolf is wandering around the Cosmos and we have to train her so she can defend herself without relying on the beast.”
Kane’s head tilted to the side as he looked up at his son. “Did you pull on dark elements to save her?”
Theo’s expression turned thunderous. “No. I did not.”
“Then why are you so hesitant to explain what you did?”
“Because I do not know what I did,” Theo snapped and from nowhere, his wings burst free.
Mikkel, Rafe, and Thalia all jolted. Not just at the sight, which was something they were still growing used to, but also at the noise. The sound of the wings dropping, and springing upwards and wide made a booming sound that came as a shock.
Only Kane appeared unsurprised and, comically enough, unimpressed.
“Calm down, son,” he said blandly.
“I will not calm down when you accuse me of saving my mate using means that are illegal to our people. What do you think I am?”
“I asked because you were desperate.”
“I was desperate, but even in my desperation, I never thought to call on the dark energies.” He scowled. “I wouldn’t even know how. I have never been tempted.”
Kane studied Theo for what felt like an endless second—and considering how time ran here, that was a distinct possibility.
Then, he nodded. “I believe you.”
“She doesn’t scent of the darkness. Why would I believe your faith in me is true?” Theo scoffed.
“Because dark scents can be hidden—and Thalia has no scent whatsoever. It is faith I have in you, child, when taking the sheer nothingness she represents into consideration.”
Theo narrowed his eyes and made a mocking bow. “Tis proud I am then, father, to have you on my side.”
“And so you should be,” Kane snapped. “Your mother has sought me out several times since your first meeting with her to discern what is happening with the female. But I’ve managed to assuage her concerns. Grateful is more than you should be. You’re aware of what she’s like when she has the bit between the teeth.”
Theo’s eyes darkened, but even as his nostrils flared in annoyance, he bowed his head in concession. “I apologize for my outburst.”
“Put them away, son,” Kane told him good-naturedly.
Somewhat sheepishly—an expression that was both bewildering and amusing on a male who’d seen more millennia than human civilization had—Theo did as he was bade.
“Now, tell me what you did. And just reassure me that fire was not involved.”
At Kane’s words, Rafe stilled. Fire?
That answered a question that had been perplexing him since Theo had explained the creation story to him.
In Lyken lore, there were two Gods. Double the deities the humans believed in. Terra and Caelus were their Divinities, but, according to Theo, there was also Aer and Mare.
As a collective, their names and their beings seemed to represent the earth, water, and air elements, while Caelus ruled over the cosmos.
But what of fire?
Rafe had wondered at that.
Kane’s words made him question if fire was dark, but how was that possible? How could an intrinsic element be dark?
“Rafe’s a healer for Lykenkind,” Theo started to explain, and he cut his attention to the Fae male who looked a mixture of confused and uneasy.
Had he called on the dark elements, as Kane called them, to heal Thalia?
And if Theo had, could Rafe blame him?
Wouldn’t he, if he’d known of a way, have done the exact same thing? Have done whatever he could to save Thalia?
Living without her wasn’t a possibility. Not because they were tied now thanks to the full mate bond, but because he wouldn’t want to.
She was in his bones. A part of his soul. He needed her, and doing without her wasn’t something he wanted to even think about. Turning to the dark side à la Darth Vader wasn’t outside of the realms of possibility. Not if it meant saving her and keeping her at his, their, side.
“So?” Kane prompted when Theo fell silent.
Thalia reached for Rafe’s hand and Mikkel’s too when the human shuffled closer to her side. Theo’s position, as well as his own and Mikkel’s, had them surrounding her like a triangle with her at the center. When Mikkel’s hand came to cup the ball of her shoulder, she turned into him—their argument of earlier forgotten it would seem.
“I don’t really know what I did,” Theo admitted, ducking his head.
“I don’t believe you, child,” Kane replied, his tone soft. “There is a reason your mother favors you. It is not simply because you are the eldest but because, of all our children, you were the one blesse
d most with our gifts.”
Theo rolled his eyes. “Aye, and I am a fifth of your years on this plane. Is it not possible to think I am capable of doing something without understanding how?”
“Break it down and let us see if we can figure it out. I heard you speaking of the unclaimed mate bonds.” Kane pursed his lips. “As a fated Fae mate, there are things we can do to complete your bond with Thalia, but Mikkel… I overheard your predicament. He will feel the ghostly specter of a total claiming. That is a fate I wish on no one.
“You might not have heard of something similar, but I have. As you charmingly put it, I have lived a longer life than you… Humans claimed in the way of Mikkel can survive their mates’ death. While this might seem like a positive, it isn’t. They lead half-lives still, and most commit suicide within a decade of their mates’ passing.” Kane released a deep breath. “It isn’t good to avoid something like this.”
“We’re not avoiding it. The She-Wolf just isn’t responding at the moment,” Theo bit off, but there was concern etched on his brow.
“And that is why, child, we need to figure out what you did to see if we can coax her into reacting.”
Theo let out a sigh. “We need to arm Thalia first.”
Kane waved a hand dismissively. “That can be done later.”
“How much later? I’ve already put this off because Thalia was recuperating. I took her to the birthing pools in the hope it would recharge her batteries.”
Kane’s eyes widened. “It worked?”
“Aye. She’s more energized.”
“She’s also here,” Thalia grumbled. “I can hear you both, you know?”
Kane, without looking at her, reached over to pat her on the knee. The sight of the other male’s hand on his mate’s knee had Rafe’s Wolf snarling. Considering the male was his father-in-law of sorts, he had to restrain himself—it was hard though.
Unaccustomed to his beast being this strong, it was difficult and unyielding to control. Kane, however, took Rafe aback. His attention, focused entirely on his son, turned slowly toward him.
“Your Wolf is growing in strength.” It was a statement not a question.
Rafe nodded slowly. “Yes.”
Thalia let out a gasp. “What? That’s fantastic news, Rafe!”
Triad (The TriAlpha Chronicles Book 3) Page 9