Last of the Temple Line

by Nicole Bedford

  She sucked in air. "You want me to burn your face? I cannot disfigure you!"

  He laughed, a flash of fangs that transformed the handsome, inhumanly perfect visage into something godly. He finally settled down to a wide smile. "Trust me in this, Emersyn. Aegwin will agree when it is his time to feel your claiming. Give to me the same measure. Let males know jealousy that such a beautiful female would flaunt her power over me so completely. Allow the crass hearts of low-caste females to burn knowing how completely the gentle flutter of your mana has seduced my Ki."

  Emersyn's heart stuttered. The way he looked at her. Her pulse jumped. She had asked what he wanted. What he needed. Looking into his eyes she knew he was not saying it for her benefit. He wanted her marking. It was not human. But he was not human.

  "Can you trace the lines on my face, one more time?" she asked him softly. She closed her eyes when his hand rose to her inquiry.

  His claw complied. Ear to cheek. Cheek to nose. One line across the bridge. Two curved arches over and under her chin to stretch down her throat in swirls.

  He pulled away. "Can you sit?" she asked him. He was too tall for her to comfortably reach his face without him bending down, and she wanted to concentrate.

  Dalaric seated himself on the edge of the bed. Embarrassment forgotten in the face of what she planned to do, despite her very human reservations, Emersyn stepped between his spread legs to look down on the perfect, unflawed skin of his upturned face.

  "You are sure?" she asked one last time. He nodded. She called the mana to her fingers. Unsure how it could even work, after all her mana had not burned his fingers, she touched the small place behind his ear. Where one of her marks began.

  She was surprised to see the skin glow green against her fingers. Smelled the fine hairs on his skin sizzle. She pulled away. Silver to match the marks on her met her eyes.

  "My Ki responds to your intent, Emersyn. It allows your marking when it would heal anything but a mortal wound or some toxins without a scar. The privilege only a mate can claim."

  She nodded to show she understood. She took a deep breath and recalled the barest hint of mana to trace the pattern he had given her across his beautiful face. As the silvered lines grew in numbers, she was surprised by how it changed him. Transformed the perfection into something more primal. More ruggedly masculine. Rather than detract from his looks, his features became more pronounced for them. He bore it all in perfect stillness, eyes never leaving her face.

  As she traced the final swirl, the mana bled away while Ki came forward to touch her bare flesh. It sent sparks up her spine. She shivered. "I am finished," she declared in a breathy whisper, drawing her hand back. She would have stepped back as well, but his arms stopped her. They wrapped around her, holding her firmly in place.

  Can you feel me? A voice whispered in her mind.

  She gasped. Dalaric?

  He pulled her down to his lap and tucked her beneath his jaw. She felt his chin rub against the crown of her head while his large, clawed hand covered hers.

  His voice skittered across her heart. I admit I had not sought such a union. I was content. You caught me unawares. Soon there will be no you without me. I do not understand how you can be so completely accepted in this bond, but I feel only gratitude that it is so. Once Aegwin joins with you, he will also be able to communicate through our bond. The gift of our Sydae-Va.

  Emersyn swallowed. His presence filled her so completely. The intimate embrace would have been overwhelming if it were not for how familiar he felt. How right. I will try to be a good mate, she sent him. I do not know what it means. Everything it entails. But I will try for both of you, she promised. Though I cannot promise not to make a few mistakes along the way.

  A thought occurred to her. She asked aloud, "What will this mean for the Rite? I can still help them, can't I?"

  Dalaric stopped rubbing his chin against her soft hair. His heart beat strongly against her ear. The tickle of Ki that lived beneath her skin answered his call. Her mana followed it willingly as it was tugged along to flare to life once more within their joined hands.

  "A mating gift beyond price," Dalaric growled out. He could now call the mana out of her without causing her pain. He would serve as the bridge between her and the younglings who sought Ascension. She would be hurt when her mana was sent into the child and touched by their Ki, but perhaps with Aegwin’s help that, too, could be tempered. He knew his Sydae-Ta would not hesitate to shoulder the burden of her pain if it were possible. Only time and the next attempt would disclose the full possibilities of a temple line mated to Akkadian blood.

  "Dalaric?" she questioned. A soft hand hesitantly touched his jaw. His eyes met hers. Slowly, he lowered his head until their lips touched. The barest of caresses. Her eyes dropped closed. The hand on his jaw shook.

  He pulled back. His forehead touched hers. Their breath mingled. The Rite will still cause pain, but it will no longer threaten your sanity. Outside of the Rite, your mana is safely guarded by my Ki whether it rests within you or is called by instinct to your aid. It will no longer cause you grief.

  No more mana headaches? she questioned.

  No more headaches, he affirmed. His Ki would ensure she did not harm herself.

  She smiled widely and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. I am so happy! Wait until I tell Jaela and Sarah! It will relieve them to know I will not end up overextending again.

  Dalaric returned the hug, enfolding her in his strength. It was the first time she had initiated such close contact between them. His voice whispered across her mind, Jaela will not return until tomorrow and you will not go near Bannon in his present state. Perhaps not ever. Sarah is your sister, but you must respect that first she is his wife.

  She looked out the window at the far end of the room. The sun still shone brightly. "I never wanted to be the cause of trouble between them," she said. The sad look Sarah had sent her when Bannon pulled her away lingered in her heart. They had argued over something before she had made it to the table. They fought so much lately. "They were fighting. Sarah might want to talk to me."

  He arched a brow. "Only a worthless male would allow his female to leave his side in anger to seek the comfort of another, regardless of their relationship."

  She frowned. He tapped her nose with a claw. "Bannon may not have use of his Ki, but he is Annunaki. He holds the instinct to bond even if it will not be realized. This will make him more volatile. More possessive of his mate." He will never have this. Even without my seed, you call to my very being. His blood seeks what he will never have. She needs to accept this in him. And you will stay away from their arguments until she does.

  Emersyn's eyebrows furrowed. She said, "I understand what you are saying, Dalaric. But Sarah is human. She does not know anything about Akkadian or Annunaki ways. I only know the little that I have picked up since meeting you. If I avoid her, it will hurt her feelings. Women help each other in situations like that."

  "The one she needs to be helped by is Bannon," he stated. "If he fails to do his duty to her, or if his temper does not improve, then we will both intercede." He sighed at her troubled look. "Even in the few instances that I have been present around the pair, much of their arguments are over dominance. I will speak to him in the morning. He needs to accept the discipline I gave him and grow from it. He cannot deal with a female in the same way he would a rival male. With a wife and a whelp to temper his anger, there is hope he will prove amendable."

  "What were they fighting over, before I came down?" she asked.

  "He resents your bond to her," he stated baldly. "For you to intercede will only make it worse. He will see it as affirmation that you mean to use your bond, which he cannot compete with, to challenge his supremacy in her life."

  Her brows lowered. I do not like it. But I trust you know what Bannon needs. Her eyes grew wide. "Discipline?" She looked up at him. "When did this occur?"

  A fang glinted through the curve of Dalaric's lips. "Before the mea
l."

  "What happened?" Emersyn twisted around to look up at him. Her fingers tightened on his arm when he adjusted her to sit more comfortably on his lap.

  "He was made more aware of the consequences of his actions which led to your initial loss of control. It is a matter between males. Do not concern yourself with it, my Sydae-Va." He enjoyed the feel of the title as it rolled from his tongue.

  She nodded then yawned suddenly, hand coming up to hastily cover her mouth then blinked. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I guess I am still a little tired."

  "Rest safely in my arms as you regain power. Let my Ki heal knowing you are near."

  Emersyn flushed in embarrassment. She wondered if she would ever stop. Given what Meghara had said, and her own personal experience with seeing the ease with which Dalaric stalked about nude, she dearly hoped so. Add to that Aegwin's soon-to-be place in their shared life and she had a feeling a permanent blush was in her future. Paelia had despaired of her prudish ways around males.

  Emersyn bit her lip, then, and nodded slowly. The powerful, thoughtful, and kind male who smiled down on her was her mate. After believing herself resigned to the fate of being alone forever, the feeling of him in her head and heart was a gift. And soon there would be another there with them. She had lost so much but now would gain more than she had dared hope for.

  He stood with her in his arms and moved to the head of the bed. Shifting her to rest easily in one arm, he pulled the heavy blankets back and slid the both of them beneath the comforting weight.

  He pulled her into his arms, chin resting on top of her head once more. Tucked into his side, the heat of his body combined with the strain of the past day. The weeks that had come before. A faint humming in her ears she had come to associate with his Ki lulled her eyes closed. She felt his muscles relax. Felt him let go of the tension he always seemed to own so effortlessly.

  She fell with him into dreamless sleep.

  The Fates

  “The worst of my weavings are nothing compared to the beautiful evil worked in our past. It inspires me to greatness.”

  -Nialle’s Grimoire-

  Dalaric transformed in mid-air to land with bent knees in the middle of the refugee camp.

  Bannon jumped up from his place in front of the fire. A rabbit was roasting on a spit. "Damnit, don't do that!"

  "Lord Dalaric," Alvin greeted with a nod. He had not stirred from the log he had claimed near the tent Emersyn rested within.

  Aegwin glanced up to smile at Dalaric from his seat near the sage. Dalaric sent his Ki to greet his mate. Emersyn's mana answered with a sweet brush of welcome. He had regretted the necessity of leaving her, but the route to the seers was not without dangers. Scouting the area had been the most prudent course of action. Once more, Dalaric’s decision to claim Aegwin as his second despite the opinions of the other First Sons had proven a sound decision. Emersyn had protection he would have been hard pressed to find otherwise.

  Dalaric told his second, "I came to retrieve Emersyn."

  Aegwin’s easy smile fell and he offered a frown to his Sydae-Ra. "There must be another way, Dalaric. This will not end well. I do not like her being brought before them, knowing their appetites. It could harm her spirit further."

  As the Sydae-Ra, Dalaric's word was law. That did not mean Aegwin, as his second and Emersyn's intended Sydae-Ta, was expected to blindly obey Dalaric. In point of fact, it was the male's penchant for speaking his mind that had gained Dalaric's respect many years ago.

  Dalaric explained, "Emersyn’s presence will be necessary to discover more information. They are ancients who may hold answers, but they cannot access their memories without a reminder of what is being asked of them. I know the value of what I will be guarding, Aegwin. Have I yet betrayed your trust in my judgment?"

  Satisfied, Aegwin stood and sketched a short bow. "I trust you as no other." He stroked the braid that laid on his shoulder and gave a self-depreciating smile. "You are faring with the responsibilities to Emersyn with a great deal more grace than I seem capable of at the moment."

  Dalaric looked around the small camp. Two dozen villagers moved around the tents Wulfram had sent to help them until the cottages could be rebuilt. All the buildings that had been invaded by the foul creatures had been burned along with everything inside them. "Given our current circumstances, your reservations are well placed and appreciated."

  His father, Varian, had sent a message to his mother that he would not be returning as promised. Important information had come to light. Too important to leave for another day. Jaela had returned to the palace with news of Gilvern. Welcome news. Alvin and Paelia had managed to place barriers over some of the villagers. His mate had cried tears of joy. Unable to deny her request when it was on the way to seek the seers, he had brought Emersyn and the others to the small camp that had been formed of the survivors of Gilvern. His mother had stayed at the palace to await his father's return and observe Caelwin’s recovery.

  Dalaric scented the air. Two were missing from the group who had been there when he left. "Where is your wife?" he asked Bannon. The other woman was missing as well but he assumed where one was, the other had followed.

  "She went with Jaela to send warning to Longmere. Narina is fast. They will be back soon," Bannon stated with a sour grimace.

  Dalaric quirked a brow. "You allow your wife to leave your protection?" He scented the air again. "With your whelp, no less?"

  Bannon snorted but kept his eyes down. The burns on his back still ached. "Sarah is a human woman. You don't know human females very well if you think we 'allow' them to do anything," he said bitterly.

  Alvin smiled. "You will learn soon enough, Lord Dalaric, that what your mate lacks in spirit many human women possess in tenfold. Although," he added, "do not let Bannon fool you. He fought her decision long and hard. Sarah held firm and left with Jaela to give warning to Longmere." Alvin slapped Bannon's back and grinned widely at the younger male’s ineffectual ire. "The joys of marriage. She will give you many merry rows, my friend. But what man would want it any other way?"

  Aegwin flicked his eyes to his Sydae-Ra. Dalaric's features remained closed. They found Emersyn lacking in spirit? The green dragon huffed in amusement. It was just as well, Aegwin decided with a shake of his head. No human male would have ever deserved to be gifted Emersyn's hand in recognition.

  "I will return within the hour," Dalaric stated, dismissing the drama he had no desire to be further drawn into. Bannon had married the woman. He had chosen a female to suit his human mother, but his Akkadian father had given him the instinct to resent a loss of control. It was a hellish situation.

  He stepped into the tent. Emersyn looked up from the book she had open in her lap. Her grimoire. Paelia had given it to her. Her cottage had been one of the few to remain unburned. He cocked his head to the side at the lingering scent of her blood. His eyes narrowed. "You are hurt."

  She shook her head in the negative and pulled up the tunic sleeve to show him an already healed cut along her arm. The faint scar was almost invisible against the lines of his marking that it bisected. "It heals quickly and does not hurt anymore." At his continued frown, she explained, "It is a sacred thing to me. I wrote our story. How we met. My feelings for you." She closed the book and stroked the cover. "It seemed appropriate. This is all I have of my mother and my father. And now it will house our tale too."

  Dalaric kneeled to stroke the soft skin, just over the scar. His eyes met hers. "I am not as your father. We will have no secrets between us."

  Emersyn gave a nod of her head. She smiled and showed him a page of her grimoire. He scanned a page and saw it was a memoir of sorts. A detailed account of what it meant to be a Sydae-Va as he had described it to her.

  She smiled into his eyes. "You should know that you can only read it because I will it to be so. I do not want to hide anything from you." She hesitated. "I know it is forbidden to share such with those outside of their coven or if demanded by Wulfram. And sages gu
ard their spells and weapon crafting dearly. But I think it is wrong. And I know eventually my parents would have shared everything too. Allegiance to an idea should not have come before their hearts. Their love was true."

  Well pleased with her response, Dalaric traced a claw over her bottom lip. "We will see the seers now," he told her. "I will need to place you into a deep sleep. They are old and prone to fits. If you awake while they are over you, it could end badly. I would not take you before them except for the hope that they have information that can help me protect you. Protect the clan."

  Emersyn nodded. "I know. I trust you." Meghara had warned her that the seers had a taste for human flesh. Regardless of Dalaric's status, they were almost senile and could become violent if she pushed them to it even accidentally. They had decided it would be best to allow his Ki to protect her while she slept through the examination. Despite their odious tendencies, the seers were still respected, and it would be a shame to lose their memories to Dalaric's temper if she were to be threatened.

  Dalaric gained his feet and pulled Emersyn into his arms. He brushed a kiss across her forehead. He drew his Ki forward and pulled her closer to his chest. "Sleep, my little jewel. I will be here when you wake."

  Emersyn looked frail, almost childlike in his much larger arms. Her eyes glowed up at him. "I don't think I want to remember anymore a time when you weren't here," she said sleepily, the Ki beginning to work upon her hold on the waking world.

  Dalaric nosed her cheek. She held still. Completely trusting in his ability to protect her even when so vulnerable. Emersyn tucked securely against his chest; he left the tent.

  Aegwin stepped forward and brushed a knuckle across her cheek. His eyes were soft on the sleeping features of the woman Dalaric held. “Return quickly. She will not stay under for long and has not yet recovered from the use of her mana,” Aegwin warned.