by L M Lacee
Ace looked at him as they moved along the wide stone hallway towards the family dining room. “You love her?”
“I have claimed her as mine and Sages.”
“Is this going to be a problem?”
“With any other it would have been but with you, as I said, no! Sage seemed to think you are the right male for Harper. You will understand her and I can already feel the love you have for her.”
“Thank you. It is amazing to think she is an artist?”
“As you have seen, a brilliant one. Harper is our resident dichotomy as my shadow would say.”
“Charlie does not strike me as one to allow her to do as she does, she must worry?”
“Charlie, most definitely does. I do not think she realized how much Harper would put into this. It worries her but she will not ask her to quit as much as she wants her too. They are still working on their relationship. It is hard for them both, betrayed, hunted, and alone in the world believing the other was dead. For many years they had no one, just their fear and pain to teach them and keep them safe. It is amusing or should I say intriguing how they both became hunters, maybe it is in the genes.”
“Maybe or could have been necessity.” Ace offered instead. Reighn smiled and inclined his head. “Yes there is that. So you will bond with her now she is home.”
“No courting?” Ace asked truly wishing to know. He had thought to court her for a few days or weeks until she accepted him…
Reighn looked out at the night and softly said. “Harper will not allow that. I feel she will take what you offer freely and hang on. She needs you probably as much as you need her. I have made it clear she is to remain here for the foreseeable future and that should give you ample time to win her heart.”
“Oh yes she is ours. We have hunted as long as you did for your shadow. We recognized her as soon as we entered our borders. What is that hum?”
“You can feel that?”
“Yes it comes from beneath us?”
Reighn nodded. “From the ancients beneath the castle, they sing every time she comes back. The old ones know she is home. Your song startled her, called to her soul it is not like you to lose control as you did tonight?”
Ace shrugged. “My dragon was overcome with joy, he is most repentant.” He looked towards the ceiling as Reighn hid his laugh at the obvious lie.
Rene` said as he came up behind them. “The ancients sing each time she comes home. I noticed it the first time she arrived at the castle it is that, I believe, which made my dragon unsettled that day.
Ace my son Harper is your shadow?”
Ace acknowledge his question with a dip of his head. “She is.”
Reighn smiled. “Papa admit it, she is the seeker, the ancients sing for her. It means something and you know what it means, the ancients told me and the histories speak of it.” He quoted for Rene` and Ace.
“Only when the seeker and the bringer of justice are together will the wild ones return.”
“Unbelievable that means Charlie and Harper will call all wild dragons home, are you certain this is what they said?” Ace asked thinking of the implications to Dragon’s Gap that could cause.
Reign smiled as he said. “Yes most definitely, there was no mistake. Keeper has researched the histories and there is mention several times of this possibility.”
“So does that mean there will be no more wild dragons?” Ace asked.
“Who is to say? I would assume that is what it means.” Rene` ventured his opinion.
“Well that is going to grow Dragon’s Gap in a major way. Are we ready for that?” Ace asked Reighn.
“Hopefully they will not return all at once.” Rene` muttered.
Reighn smiled. “I feel they will come as and when, they feel the call.”
“Lord Rene`!” Ace asked. “What are your thoughts on Harper now?”
Rene` rubbed his face. “She is more than a retriever or half-blood faerie, she is the seeker. The one spoken about in our histories. We must convince her to remain at Dragon’s Gap. You must!”
“I will do my best.”
Reighn said quietly. “You worry for nothing papa she will not leave, her home is here, and the people she loves are here.”
“She does not seem settled.” Rene` said with worry in his voice.
“Ace will see to that as her shadow it is how love works or at least that is what you told me!” Reighn challenged his father to contradict him. Rene` grinned and raised an eyebrow at the neat little trap his son had set for him. “I did and it does. Believe it or not. I do enjoy her as I do Charlie, she grows on one.”
“Yes she does.” Reighn agreed as he looked at the male standing beside them and nodded to him then Rene`, who nodded back.
“So you had better tell my Verity Ace before she finds out from someone else, she will not be pleased if that happens.” Rene` told him in the voice he reserved for his sons when they had to front up to their mother about something they had done and they were dawdling over it.
Ace grinned a look they were all getting used to seeing on his normally harsh features. “I will, in fact I will go now and tell her.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
H arper was tired, deep down bone tired. Her body ached, her soul hurt and her heart was just ticking by one beat at a time. She had not even seen the inside of her workshop for so long she could not even remember what it looked like. If she could have ducked this dinner she would have but a promise was a promise.
Harper sucked air into her abused lungs feeling the bruising on her sides and back trying to stiffen her muscles. If she was lucky she may be able to get Ella to heal her quietly and quickly before Sage found out, or Goddess forbid her over protective sister and dragon-in-law Storm. Ever since they had reunited Charlie climbed all over Harper’s ass about her safety. It was unnerving because Harper liked it and that in itself told her it was weird and there was that other thing. Who knew she would be the best auntie in the whole of Dragon’s Gap? The one all young, blood related or not, came too! Not Harper that’s for sure. Frankie said she knew but she lied and badly, really badly. Absolutely friggin amazing! Harper grinned as she thought about the young ones.
Then there was Sage and Reighn, Goddess she shuddered to think what would happen if she wasn’t here to reel them in on the names they were trying to saddle their unborn or hatched twins with.
So here she was trying to walk straight and slip unnoticed into what used to be a state dining hall but was now the families private dining, lounge, playroom. Called of all things the Sunday family room. She just knew Sage came up with that name. Why June and Claire had not stopped her or even Edith she did not know. Seriously she had to stay here just to be the voice of reason because the others were all falling down on the job.
Secretly she did love Sunday family day, not that she would let Verity know. She loved the fact when here in this room with young ones and the older family members there were no titles. No lords or ladies, just family, and Harper liked everything about that. She was not the only one who did, happiness hung in the air all throughout the room. Harper spied Reighn. “Reighn call off your mama Verity. I am here!” She said as she slipped up beside him.
“Just in time.” He made a pretense of looking at his non-existence watch, much to Kelsey's amusement she hugged Harper around the knees. “You sore aunty Harper?” After the first few retrievals Kelsey had learnt to ask before she jumped all over Harper. Now she and the other little ones would hug her around her knees, unless she had been home for a few days, then they knew the pain was usually gone. She leaned down and hugged her niece back, not allowing the groan to pass her lips. “Yeah just a little.” She whispered.
“Okay, are we painting tomorrow?”
Harper always went to the playroom that the kids used for painting when she was home. “We will see in the morning don’t you have school?”
Her sad face which Harper was sure Charlie was teaching her, hurriedly changed to a smile. “Yep I forgot.”
“Well on Saturday you can still come and wake me in the morning but not too early.” She qualified when she saw the delighted eyes, she had made that mistake only once. She had woken one morning not long after she had arrived to find several young ones on her bed at four in the morning, much to their parent’s amusement and Harper’s annoyance.
“Yea!” Kelsey ran off. No doubt to tell every child there that Harper was home and they could go see her barn on Saturday.
“They love the barn, not me so much.” She told Reighn and Sage when she joined them who laughed then said. “Goddess you know nothing, it is not the barn. They adore you and miss you like crazy when you are away.”
Reighn agreed. “As we all do!”
Harper looked at the lovely Sage, who literally glowed since becoming pregnant, and said. “No! I dislike every one of them!”
“How do you know, some of the names are really good, you haven’t even heard them yet.” She pouted.
Harper asked. “Did you think them up?”
“Well yes. I found some in old books.”
Harper nodded. “Then no!”
Sage stamped her foot and stormed off. Harper grinned and said to Reighn. “Love her so much! She does try hard, you have to be stronger. Some of those names she sent me were ridiculous.”
Reighn spread his hands. “How? She is carrying my hatchlings. I do not want to hurt her.”
Harper blew air out of her mouth. “Yeah I see that, just as well I am here then?”
“It is, isn’t it?” Reighn agreed, refraining from telling her Sage and he had spent nights scouring old manuscripts for the worse sounding names to send her just so she would return home. It looked like their mission was accomplished, he was glad, he was starting to worry Sage might actually like some of those names.
“You live a dangerous life female, going up against my Shadow.” He growled at her.
“Huh! I am doomed for shadow hood apparently, so got to get my kicks where I can.”
“Doomed, you amuse me female.”
“I live for that alone.” She quipped back. “Oh wait! I meant to ask you. What is the hum I heard earlier when I got home? I do not mean the dragon song.”
Reighn rubbed the back of his neck as he told her. “You have been touched by the ancient ones, this castle is built on the bones of dragons of old. They sing to you Harper, it has never happened before to anyone, not even me and I am the Dragon Lord.”
Harper looked up into the eyes of the dragon who had broken into her heart and helped start the healing. “So why me?”
“You are the seeker, the ghost. The fighter of demons.”
Her breath whooshed out of her as her mind wobbled. She struggled to regain her equilibrium as she asked faintly. “Oh you know about that?”
He placed his hand on her arm and there came a just audible growl from Ace standing in the corner, half in shadow. Reighn raised one brow at the dragon who sighed and returned to watching the unicorns in the meadow below the window as his brothers surrounded him. Harper unaware of the silent conversation between Reighn and Ace regained her balance and looked at Reighn, who said. “I do, it is not public knowledge if you are worrying. It was incredibly brave of you and Charlie.”
“Yeah, maybe or one could say, too young and stupid to know better!”
“I think not. You have paid for that decision you need to tell Charlie why you pushed her away.”
“Yeah I did mostly. I also need to talk to Scarlett and Elijah can you set that up please Reighn?”
“I am shocked you called them by their names and not, those damn faeries!”
Harper smiled “Kelsey growls when I do.”
He laughed. “I adore her.”
“You adore all young.”
“That I do. I will set the meeting up.”
“Thank you, better include Charlie so she won’t yell at me.”
“That is what you hope!”
“Well you can come and protect me and bring that crazy shadow of yours too.”
“We will accept you gracious invitation.” He half bowed.
“Ha ha! I laugh at you!” She scoffed.
He grinned as he left her to find his shadow and make a phone call. Harper took a careful breath looking around for Frankie. When she then felt Charlie throw an arm around her shoulders which is another thing! They were always hugging, even friggin Charlie, and she was still not comfortably with it.
Secretly she was a little in awe of Verity so she sucked it up as that Lady had told her too. Charlie grinned as she said. “So sis how is it going?”
Harper just managed to hold back her groan of pain as she answered. “It is going!”
“Good, good so there’s this thing?” Charlie said hesitatingly. Harper sighed inwardly as Charlie who is the commander of the retrievers having taken over from Sage about six weeks before Harper and Frankie had arrived. She had officially taken Command when Sage happily found out she was pregnant all about the time she and Frankie had arrived at Dragon’s Gap. Fortuitously some might say, Harper was more suspicious, she believed someone was tampering with her and her family although she kept her suspicions to herself.
Harper the Knife had many friends amongst the warriors and retrievers. The people of Dragon’s Gap had absorbed her and Frankie like missing pieces of a puzzle which still made Harper scratch her head in wonder. Not so much Frankie, which she understood! Everyone liked Frankie, she was weird but this town accepted that and Frankie with Johner’s help shone here. But for all intents and purposes Harper was still a stranger so it was with a healthy dose of scepticism Harper believe it was just her and not some divine intervention that was meddling in her life.
Harper eyed her sibling and said. “Spill it, don’t dither Charlie it is most annoying!”
“I will have you know I do not dither.”
“Yeah you do and more so recently. Dear Goddess has Storm knocked you up?”
Charlie frown at her. “No! Even if he did, what is it with the face?”
Harper quickly removed the look of horror from her face. “There was no look and it is obvious isn’t it, if you get egged up, who looks after the retrievers. It is not going to be me!”
Charlie teased. “But you would be really quite good at it.”
“So he did get you egged then?”
“No!” snarled Charlie. “Don’t call it egged, is that what you say to Sage and Reighn?”
Harper grinned. “It wasn’t but it is now.” She laughed at the horrified look she knew Sage would get when she said it. A sight which caused Charlie to just stare at her and then remove her arm. “I will get Ella, never mind about the other matter.”
Harper sniffed. “Oh shut up, I laughed I am not hysterical, seriously Charlie lighten up.” She looked at Charlie and saw the wounded look that came over her face which was quickly gone and softened her voice. “I am glad to be home truly. I have spent the last few weeks thinking and sorting out my feelings. That is all and truthfully I feel good about my decisions and apparently I am to be bonded to some dragon that sings to me!”
“Oh Harper and you are not angry?”
“No.” She smiled at Charlie. “If I can be half as happy as you are with Storm how can that be a bad thing? Now give me the details so I can go. Is it time sensitive?”
“Yeah aren’t they all?” Charlie grimaced. They both jumped a little when June stepped up to the two of them and slipped the paper from Charlie’s fingers.
“I will go. Reighn has said Harper is not to go out again.”
“June that is not a good idea.” Charlie said, Harper agreed saying. “Sage will not be happy!”
June looked at Charlie and Harper. “Excuse me, I was with Sage when we first started this and I am quite able to look after myself.”
“What will Sage and Fin say?” Charlie asked softly, everyone knew, well everyone but Harper that Fin was trying to court the wily wolf.
“Why will they say anything? I am not a young one to be askin
g permission, I am capable and healthier than Harper. No offense!”
“Oh none taken, truth is truth.” Harper said with a grin.
“Charlie I will get it done. I will make it okay I promise.” June murmured.
Charlie smiled but it did not reach her eyes, she was not happy but in truth she could not say no. June was as far as she knew a very good retriever and as she said, she was no child.
June whispered. “Charlie I need this. I need to go out for a while. I need to clear my head please do not make me beg.”
“Oh June never. Go… Go and stay safe please, get dead and I will kill you myself!”
June nodded. “See you in a few days and thank you Charlie.” She hurriedly slipped from the room as both Charlie and Harper watched her go.
“Do you think I did the right thing?” She asked Harper.
Harper said quietly. “She is an adult, slightly crazy even for a wolf but still a deadly female. Yeah you did, why Fin?”
“He is trying to court the crazy bitch and thanks. Now go sit down before you fall. I will send Ella to you.”
“Yeah…Yeah! Nag…Nag!”
“Do not make me get Frankie!”
“Sure pull out the big guns!”
“So funny!” Charlie grinned as she moved off to get Ella. Harper walked over and eased herself down onto a window seat that was bathed in the last rays of the evening light and closed her eyes.
She was sure she had only shut them for a minute when she felt her wrist circled by fingers, not bothering to open her eyes, she just went along with the healing. Feeling the warmth from the healing magic flow up her arm and into her body, finding all the places she had been hurt she heard a sharp in-drawn breath and frowned. Sharm never made a noise when he healed and she knew it wasn’t Ella, because like Frankie Ella had to talk especially if it was to scold Harper, which she did frequently. But it had to be someone she knew, her internal alarm had not gone off, plus the family had not killed whoever it was.
So raising her heavy eyelids because sleep was near impossible when she wasn’t at home now, also the weight of her injuries caused her to feel her exhaustion. She was, and was not surprised to see her Dragon. Damn it, did she just think her Dragon? Ace Battle the fire dragon, the one she had squared off against last time she was here, and the very same one Sage had sent messages about extolling all his virtues. Apparently there were many, many virtues, although she never mentioned healing as one.