Warrior

by Lori Brighton

  His uncle had survived, or so the rumors claimed. Although the war had ceased, there were still skirmishes along the border. So much so, that it was said his uncle was building a wall. As if a wall could keep out Mak. But if it gave his people a false sense of safety, so be it. We hadn’t heard a word about his sister, until Mak had received that note a couple days ago.

  I heard the snap of a branch right before Bryn appeared. “Ready?”

  I swore he made the noise on purpose, to warn us. Or maybe because he didn’t want to catch us making out. I still saw Bryn often, but he also kept his distance. Helen said he was trying to get over me. I wasn’t so sure he was ever really that into me.

  I gave Bryn a nod, but lingered at Mak’s side. Despite his honeyed words, we both knew this might be the last time we’d see each other. Two months. We’d had two peaceful months together. It seemed like I’d known him a lifetime, yet it seemed like we’d just met. He took the initiative and stepped back. My hands slid from his. Only a breath separated us, but it felt like a universe.

  If I didn’t leave now, I never would. With one last lingering look, I turned to face Bryn. He waited stoically near the path. I could feel Mak at my back, watching me as I followed Bryn, and I knew he was memorizing every detail of this moment.

  Would we be together again? Mak seemed to think so. I hoped. For the first time I actually had something to fight for. The woods ended and the path opened onto the castle grounds. Helen was waiting, her little sister beside her. Next to them both was Helen’s girlfriend, Carmen. Helen dipped into a curtsey, then looked pointedly at her little sister.

  “My lady,” Anna muttered.

  “Helen,” I said with an exasperated smile. “I’ve told you at least a thousand times that I’m not the princess. Everyone knows that, yet you continue to treat me like I’m royalty.”

  Helen looked solemnly back at me. “You saved us, my lady. No matter what anyone says, you are royalty.”

  I had to resist the urge to groan. Helen was back working at the castle, but she’d become a guard, instead of a lady’s maid. And the guard position suited her much better. Anna was training under her. It was Helen’s hope to start her own line of female warriors. She wanted me to lead them, and I’d promised to, if I returned. Even my father had thought it a great idea.

  “Someday, I hope to find a husband who looks at me the way he looks at you,” Anna whispered, staring at Mak dreamily.

  I swore Bryn snorted.

  I couldn’t help but glance back at Mak. He was leaning against the tree where I’d left him, watching me. He smiled, but I couldn’t smile back. Couldn’t even lift my hand to wave. My chest felt tight, and my eyes stung. Damn, I wouldn’t cry. “Husband? Good lord, I’m only seventeen. He’s not my husband.”

  “Anna, shush,” Helen whispered.

  “But most Acadian women marry by twenty,” Carmen added, making Helen blush.

  Dismissing Mak, I moved onto the Castle grounds. “Well, not this Acadian woman.”

  “What will you do if you don’t marry?” Anna asked, a little too curious for her own good, it seemed.

  Despite the fact that it felt as if piece by piece, my heart was breaking with each step I took farther away from Mak, I grinned. “Whatever the hell I want to do.”

  “My dear!” Aunt Millie’s voice rang out.

  I paused next to a bed of roses, near the area where Mak had saved me from that arrow over a year ago. The castle loomed before me, always brilliant, always beautiful. But not mine. It had never felt like home. That painting of my parents had never felt familiar. Would it feel right to the real princess? Aunt Millie made it to my side, a group of matronly lady’s maids in colorful dresses hovering behind her.

  I dropped my pack and curtsied. “My lady.”

  “Dear, I told you to call me Aunt!”

  I smiled. “Of course.”

  She cupped the sides of my face. “It doesn’t matter if we are related, I’ll always be your aunt.”

  I nodded, feeling oddly emotional. “Thank you.”

  Two months since the battle, and I had more friends and family here than I’d gathered in the sixteen years I’d been on Earth. At times it felt amazing, other times overwhelming. It was difficult to accept that so many people actually cared about me.

  “You’re leaving?” Aunt Millie asked. “Why, I thought you were coming to dinner next week?”

  “I hope to be back by then.”

  They all had their different reasons for wanting to dine with me. My father wanted to get to know me, I supposed. Aunt Millie wanted to continue to pretend that all was normal. And I, well, I just wanted to please them.

  “Bryn says it will take two days to get to the spot where the layer thins,” I explained.

  She nodded, but I didn’t think she was truly listening. Despite the many people around her, I had a feeling she was lonely in this large castle, and had been for some time. She needed family. I was trying to fix that. I would fix it.

  “I will find her. I promise you I will find the princess.”

  And I could only pray that when I did, the Acadian fanatics who had tried to kill me, didn’t suddenly reappear. I shivered just thinking about it. We had never located the leader. Perhaps there had been fewer traitors than we’d believed and they’d died in the war. One could hope.

  She smiled, squeezing my hands. “I know you will succeed.”

  Bryn lifted my pack. “We need to go.”

  Aunt Millie gave me one last hug, then made her way back toward the castle, her lady’s maids following. My dad. Mak. Aunt Millie. Three goodbyes down. It was time to go.

  I turned to Helen, and pulled her close, giving her a hug. “Go with Mak,” I whispered just loud enough for her to hear. “Protect him.”

  She didn’t question me. She never did. She only nodded, without really realizing what she was agreeing to. Oh, she knew he was a dragon, but she didn’t truly understand what it meant. She had only heard the stories; she hadn’t been there to watch the show. Even I could barely remember the details.

  At night, when I closed my eyes, I could recall the feel of his smooth, warm scales, I could remember the euphoria of flying, and I could remember the fall. But that was it. I’d awoken ten days later, feeling like shit, Mak holding my hand at my bedside.

  “You ready?” Bryn asked, hefting one of the packs onto his shoulders. “We should leave soon.”

  My heart clenched. I hesitated. “Just a minute?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Go ahead.”

  I turned and raced down the trail. The desperation to see him one more time could not be denied. Mak still stood there near the apple tree. He didn’t seem surprised to see me, as if he’d expected I’d come running back. I didn’t slow, not even when I reached him.

  “Hello,” he said. “What’s—”

  I threw my body against him so hard, he stumbled back a step. Without explanation, I wrapped my arms around his neck and smashed my lips to his. For one long moment, I kissed him, soaking in his energy, his very essence. Kissed him until we were both desperate for air. Until our legs were weak and our hearts were pounding.

  And only when I heard Brynjar yell at me to hurry, did I finally pull back. His eyes were glowing. A beautiful glowing green.

  “You just couldn’t resist?” he whispered against my mouth.

  “I couldn’t leave.” I rested my forehead to his. “Not without saying I love you.”

  He grinned. “I love you too.”

  “I know.”

  He kissed me again. “Do you?”

  “Of course.” I pulled back and studied his face, memorizing every fine detail. Being near him, touching him, was right. So very right. I rested my lips on his once more, our breaths mingling. Everything clicked into place, the world made sense, when we were together. “I have to go.”

  “I know.”

  I slid down his body and stepped back. Before I lost my nerve, I turned and raced back up the trail.

  “So
on,” Mak called out. “I’ll see you soon, Princess.”

  And for the first time in two months, I didn’t doubt it.

  After all, you couldn’t stop fate.

  And we were fated to be together.

  The End

  Make sure to check Lori’s website for the release date of the next book in the series:

  Sorcerer

  About Lori Brighton

  Lori has a degree in Anthropology and worked as a museum curator. Deciding the people in her imagination were slightly more exciting than the dead things in a museum basement, she set out to become an author.

  To find out more about Lori visit her at: LoriBrighton.com

  Lori’s Other Young Adult Books:

  The Chosen Ones Series:

  The Beautiful Ones: Prequel (Free)

  The Chosen Ones: Book 1 (Free)

  The Forsaken Ones: Book 2

  The Mind Readers Series:

  The Mind Readers: Book 1 (Free)

  The Mind Thieves: Book 2

  The Mind Games: Book 3

  The Mind Keepers (Series-ending Novella)

  The Matchmaker Series:

  Make Me a Match: Book 1