“Kyx, you are alive! You came back to me.”
Her eyes scanned over his scars and she cried harder as her fingers traced them. He closed his eyes in bliss at her light touch. As her fingers trailed down the scar at his jaw, disappearing into his scruff, he captured her fingers and pressed a kiss against her palm before burrowing his face against her neck, the fuzz of her hair tickling his nose.
“I will never leave you again,” he whispered, his voice choked with his own pain and grief.
37
Arie wept, her heart cracking open. Everything that she’d been carrying within her heart suddenly broke free from her control and shed with her tears. Kyx was a mess of scars, and it hurt her to look upon them and know what he’d suffered. She repeatedly pressed her lips against the torn flesh, praising the gods and the Mother herself that her triad was delivered to her whole.
She’d held bitter tears, locked and restrained within her when her grandmother led her down the stairs to the great ballroom. Her crimson gown had mocked her with every swish of silk. She had sneered at the material. The dress she wore was nothing but an affront to the gift she already gave, a mockery to the Mother in the farce of a forced joining. That feeling of resentment had only grown when her hand was placed within Edwar’s palm and the priest began the prayers of joining.
There had been no joy or peace in the act. It was nothing short of a promise of violence upon herself.
Yet, when her mates had thrown open the ballroom doors and entered, dispersing death among the huntsman or any man who attempted to attack them, her heart had jumped with the first sense of happiness that she’d felt since her capture. It had taken no encouragement for her to throw down her flowers and cast away the wig in a clear rejection of everything that their society stood for. She had stood bared, with the red stubble of her hair visible to all as she raised her hands in welcome to the Ragoru.
The priest, in his haste, had pushed her aside and attempted to escape the conflict, only to be snagged into Warol’s jaws at her shout. She’d verbally condemned him as a cruel violator and had watched Warol’s eyes glow with anger seconds before he’d dispensed justice. As the priest bled out, she watched the blood pool dispassionately, all the while recalling the cruelty he had inflicted upon her. But even that sight could not hold her attention long when the entire podium shook as Rager collided with Edwar. They were as a force coming together, Edwar’s sword against Rager’s claws and fangs as they battled across the stage that had been erected just that day.
The appearance of Kyx amid all of that had been a shock. At first, she’d thought she was imagining his presence until she took note of the network of scars over the side of his face and down his chest and belly. Shock and relief had consumed her, and she’d come close to fainting. She’d managed to battle it back, but not before she sank to her knees. Then Kyx had been upon her and they’d lost themselves in that moment. The screams of the elite as a crowd thronged in disappeared to her senses.
All there was for her was Kyx at that moment in time.
Only when he pulled back and yanked her out of harm’s way as Rager and Edwar crashed through did she become aware once more of the world around them. Both males bled from the numerous wounds they’d inflicted upon each other, but Edwar was at the disadvantage and knew it. He was tiring far too quickly, and Rager circled him like a predator scenting its kill. Edwar’s eyes flicked madly, looking for any escape or assistance. For a moment their eyes met, and a cruel smile sketched over her lips. Now he would know the same hopeless fear that she knew. He glanced away and his face paled as he saw the bodies of his men strewn over the ballroom, painting the floors and walls with their gruesome remains. Wild-eyed, he cast his sword aside and sank to his knees in supplication, his empty hands upraised.
“On the grace of the Mother, have mercy upon me!” he cried out.
Rager paused, a look of uncertainty on his face. Arie joined Rager’s side, cognizant of the fact that Kyx and Warol gathered behind her. She touched her fingers to the blood-drenched black fur of his lower left arm. He turned his head and looked down on her, his right secondary eye never straying from his enemy.
“Yes, rya?”
She smiled up at him, stroking her hand through his fur before allowing her face to harden. A hand stole over her belly as she spoke. “Show him not an ounce of mercy, as he would have shown me or our rog.”
Arie felt her males behind her cluster closer against her, and Rager’s eyes widened with surprise and then softened with pleasure as his eyes took in her gesture. She took a deep breath and continued.
“He planned to rip our young from my belly, but was only dissuaded by the efforts of the good doctor. Even then, Edwar had terrible plans for our offspring once it was born.” Her eyes fastened on the First Elite and she smiled once more. “Since he sought to cut our young from us, we shall cut the evil from him.” She drew closer to Edwar, staring without blinking. “There was a story, once upon a time, of a girl in red who was consumed by the evil wolf. She was lost until a man of the woods cut her from the wolf’s belly to set her free. The Order is the wolf, and the Citadel is the girl, and now the males of the wood, the Ragoru, shall liberate her.”
With a flash of her red skirt, she stepped aside as Rager leaped forward, his upper hands pinning Edwar in place as the claws on his lower hands cut into his belly with the ease of a knife cutting into fat. Blood splashed up on Arie, but she did not step back or even give it notice. Edwar’s screams turned into gurgles. Rager did not stop until the First Elite’s bowels lay on the floor beside him. Only then did he step away, his breath coming out in ragged pants. He ducked his head down as he drew up beside her, nuzzling her jaw. She brought a hand up and stroked the soft fur of his face. Warol and Kyx dropped their muzzles against her and they stood there, the four of them, giving each other comfort and honoring their reunion over the remains of their enemy.
Behind her she heard a delicate cough. “Well, this was a bit more… gruesome… than I expected.”
A broad smile broke over Arie’s face as she turned and nudged her mates aside to embrace her cousin. Maddi looked a bit dirty but unharmed. “I was so worried about you,” Arie said, her arms tightening around the smaller woman. Her cousin chuckled.
“The men refused to let me join the conflict, so there was a little risk on my part. Trying to find the guild was scary until your mate, Kyx, found me outside the temple and brought me to Cyrus, the Guild Master. I dare say, your mates did as much as they promised.”
“Pardon me, ladies,” Cyrus announced as he pushed toward the stage, his eyes twinkling with humor. With one hand, he hauled up their grandmother. Her black gown was ripped in several places, her face streaked with blood and dirt, and her hair had fallen from her bun, leaving little more than a limp knob of hair hanging from her head. “I do believe her ladyship belongs to you. What would you like to do with her?”
Maddi inclined her head to Arie. “I yield to your just decision, cousin.”
Arie stepped forward, her eyes meeting the dark gaze of her grandmother. The woman looked… broken. Arie understood why. She had said herself all her sons were huntsmen, and no doubt they were among the multitude of faces lying dead in the ballroom. Because of her greed, she had now lost everything.
“I suppose you will kill me now,” Vera muttered. “Might as well get on with it. I will join my children in their peace.”
Arie pinched her lips together and shook her head. “No, Grandmother. I do think that will be too kind for you. You will live,” Arie said and she held a hand up against a protest that rose through the room. “Lady Vera will live. She will be relocated to a small cottage where she will have to care for her own needs in the shadow of the greatness of the Citadel. She will know poverty, she will know suffering, and she will have to live with all her memories and regrets for what she wrought.”
She stepped back away from the bitter old woman. “Grandmother, I hope you find as much happiness in your fate as you we
re eager to give others.”
Cyrus and several of the Guild members closest to the stage chuckled; even Maddi nodded her head with a small smile. Lady Vera bolted forward in fury, her long fingers hooked into claws, but Cyrus snapped her back with a rough jerk of his hand.
“Come then, dear Granny. I know the perfect spot to get you settled,” he jeered. His smile turned genuine as he glanced up at Maddi. “My lady, would you care to accompany us to see to your grandmother’s… ah… resettlement?”
“Yes, I think I will,” Maddi said as she stepped down from the stage. She paused as her eyes flicked over to the Ragoru triad. “Remember your promise. We will gather in front of the Temple of the Mother at the dawn. The people will be summoned, and we will show them a new future. One without the Order.”
A cheer rose from the Guild and they parted as Cyrus and Maddi left the ballroom. The living slowly trickled out, leaving none remaining in the ballroom except the dead, Arie, and her mates. She did not fail to notice that a good many of those leaving had arms laden with stolen goods, but she couldn’t care less. She wished them well with their gains and dismissed them from her mind. As far as she was concerned, they were welcome to pick the entire mansion apart piece by piece.
Once alone, Arie turned to face her triad. She cursed her too few arms that inhibited her from touching them all at once as they crowded in around her. They crooned to her, and she kissed each of them as their hands all at once reached for her and stroked her body over her red gown. One of Warol’s hands brushed the top of her head, and she turned tear-filled eyes toward her mate. Her lips quivered, feeling a sense of loss that he couldn’t thread his fingers through her hair as he so often did. To her surprise, he smiled and leaned his cheek against hers.
“You are beautiful, mate. I am so happy to have you in my arms again,” he whispered.
A sharp cry broke from her and she pressed against him. “I thank the Mother to have you again. All of you. I can’t believe you are here. I knew you would come for me,” she choked out. “No matter what anyone said, I knew you would.”
“Nothing could keep us from your side. We had to wait a few days to pick up the trail and give Kyx time to heal, but then we began our hunt for you. We would never leave your fate unknown, and never would we have left you with the huntsman even if you had perished from the earth. You are ours, Arie. We will always hold you close to us and never part from you.”
“You, and our rog,” Rager amended, his palms dragging across her belly reverently. “The Mother has truly blessed us. We have regained our mate, and our den will have new life greeted within it soon,” he murmured. All four of his glowing blue eyes met her gaze. “Thank you, rya, for keeping our little one safe despite everything you faced.”
“If it weren’t for the help of the doctor—uh, healer, I don’t know what I would have done,” she admitted. “I was so scared.”
“We will secure the wellbeing of this human who aided you. That they attempted to safeguard you and our young, they have earned our gratitude and protection.” Kyx and Warol voiced their agreement, but that faded to a gasped sound of awe. Arie looked over to see what captivated their attention, and smiled.
Just behind them, half-hidden behind a mass of curtains at the back of the stage, the great icon of the Mother, which had been transported from the temple for the occasion, sat enthroned, a huge veil covering her face as a multitude of arms pushed out from her torso holding the holy symbols of her governance. Her veil and dress were the brightest hue of red, and green jewels dripped from her neck and wrists.
“The Mother,” Arie breathed. “She holds all the multitude of life within her hands and nurtures them at her breast.”
Arie bowed before the image, feeling the weight of the Mother’s presence suddenly, more than she ever had. A presence that was familiar that she had felt many times before, most immediately during the sentencing of Edwar. Arie wondered for a moment how much of that was her and how much was the Mother. Until that moment, she would have laughed if anyone had suggested that the goddess had orchestrated events to suit Her purposes, but now her awareness seemed to unfurl from its tight bud in her conscious mind. The maternal grace seemed to settle all around her.
To her surprise, the Ragoru also inclined their heads in respect to the image, their hands clasped in front of them. The wide-eyed expressions on their faces showed they too were under the power of their own experiences of her.
At long last, the power retreated and Warol snapped his jaws excitedly, letting out an uncharacteristically youthful yip.
“Did you feel that? The Ragoru possess no image of the Mother and the Fathers, at least none within our memory, but I could swear that I felt the Mother of the Ragoru here with us.”
Arie nodded. “Yes, I felt Her too. I have no doubt now that she is the same, and she has been working to bring her children together for our mutual salvation. We had but a small part to play in all of this, but an important one, I think, that was orchestrated by her hand. Everything that has passed was to tear down the Order that kept our kinds apart.”
“Mother would love all of this if she were here,” Kyx said, his face relaxed into a smile.
Arie’s eyes widened. “Your parents! How could I have forgotten about them? Did the huntsmen get them too?”
Kyx shook his head. “They were taking another route to our territory. My guess is that they are waiting in a cave at the border for a sign of us. No doubt my fathers are going to be quite distressed that they missed all the excitement.” He chuckled. “My mother may be a bit alarmed when she sees me,” he said with a wince, “but she will forget her unhappiness when she learns of the events that have transpired and news of our rog growing within you.”
Arie leaned her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his thick upper bicep as his lower arm curled around her. She took one last long look at the icon and let out a long breath, releasing the last of her fear and anxiety. She smiled up at all three of her mates.
“I think I’ve had enough of this place. Let’s get out of here.”
Without a backward glance at the ruin of the mansion, or the bodies strewn throughout, they left the House of Anwar. The moment her foot stepped on the gravel outside the gate, Arie’s heart lifted and she truly felt free of her grandmother’s hatred and malevolence that had seemed to taint the entire premises. Her mates surrounded her like an impenetrable shield as they walked into the night.
38
The crowd in front of the temple was massive. Maddi hadn’t been jesting when she’d said that every man and woman of the Citadel would be present. A smoke plume rose from the remains of the Order Headquarters and the House of the First Elite. Arie hadn’t learned until that morning that the Guild had ransacked both buildings and let them burn through the night as a silent testament to coming change. Arie suspected that that message had done more to motivate the people to attend more than anything else ever could have.
The citizens looked up at Arie and her Ragoru with mixed expressions of fear, apprehension, and curiosity. They murmured among themselves, a loud drone of voices mingling together, but no one made a threatening move toward the temple steps where Arie and her mates stood with Maddi, Cyrus, and his chief officers. No one seemed unreasonably afraid.
If anything, Arie felt there was a sense of hope in the air.
Cyrus, being the more recognizable of their number among the populace, stepped forward and raised his hands to gain the attention of the crowd. “Good people of Old Wayfairer Citadel, long have we lived under the threatening hand of the Order. An Order that turned away from the edict of the Mother to protect her children. Instead of following the words of the reverent Lady Felicity Anwar, they established their own seer to hasten their own agenda. I am certain each of you has heard rumor of the return of the Lady Anwar. It is no mere rumor, but truth! It is my privilege to introduce to you a lady I fight beside and honor: Lady Arie Anwar.”
All eyes turned on Arie as she stepped forwa
rd, her mates close behind her. She glanced over at Maddi who gave her a thumbs up from where she stood beside Cyrus. The pair had seemed quite close all morning and Arie suspected there was more going on than her cousin would admit to.
Taking a deep breath, Arie closed her eyes and sent herself seeking for that touch of the Mother with which she was now familiar. The minute she felt the presence surround her like a comfortable mantle, she opened her eyes and addressed the people.
“Children of the Mother, the Order has deceived us all for generations for their own perversions and greed. By her will, the Order, which she instituted through the first Lady Anwar, has fallen—never to be reclaimed. The Order was meant to precede the coming of the Ragoru, not outlast their presence or hunt them. The Ragoru are her children even as we are, and we were brought together to complete and strengthen each other. This is her will: we are to be one people together. Care for each other. Protect each other. Together we are strong. I, Arie Anwar, stand before you mated to a Ragoru triad and say to you it is as according to her design. There are too many women who know only loneliness just as there are triads who fail to find their mates. We are not meant to be separate from each other. We fulfill each other. This is the new world for which we were destined.”
A stunned silence settled over the crowd. Suddenly, a mature woman in a warrior’s vestments stepped forward. A wicked scar cut down the side of her cheek, pulled further by her frown.
“Do you mean to say that I might have a triad that would want me despite my scars?”
Kyx shifted forward to stand beside Arie. “I have no doubt there is a triad who would cherish you as you deserve.” He glanced at Cyrus and Maddi. “I have spoken to Cyrus of this at length, and we agree that it would be beneficial to open the Citadel to the Ragoru that our kind might mingle with yours to see where bonds might naturally develop. My triad intends to spread the word in the eastern lands. Not all Ragoru are worthy, just as there is fault too with men, but I can see good things coming from such unions. My mother was human, and the happiness of her love with my fathers is all I ever knew as a rog… as a child.”
Red: A Dystopian World Alien Romance Page 29