Before we could walk up the rugged, well-worn steps to the rickety cottage, the door swung open. Maiela and Kysha, two of our friends who had found refuge at Nonna’s home after the Winged Soldiers had burned down their small house, ran out holding hands.
“You’re late,” Maiela scolded, tsk’ing as the two wives wrapped their arms around me, sandwiching me between them.
“How can we be late?” I asked, returning the hug. “We didn’t know you were expecting us.”
A deep, masculine voice boomed, “The two of you should know better than to doubt one Fortune Elf, let alone a pair of them.”
Maiela and Kysha released me, and I turned. Xander grinned, crossing the distance to the door in a few strides.
“Daegal,” Xander exclaimed, pulling the Fortune Elf into a hug and squeezing him tightly. “It’s been far too long. We didn’t know you’d be here.”
Warmth filled Xander’s voice, and the two males slammed their arms against the other’s back in a strange gesture that only seemed to belong to those of the masculine persuasion, before pulling apart. “We returned as soon as we heard the news about the High King,” Daegal said.
“We?” Xander asked.
A branch snapped from behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder as two small, hooded figures made their way toward us, a basket swinging between them.
“We,” Ryllae confirmed.
The Death Elf’s eyes had a sparkle that I had never seen before. When we left, she had appeared on the brink of insanity. Now, her blue eyes were clear, and she looked… happy.
That was interesting.
Do you see that?I asked Xander even as I went forward and wrapped Nonna in a hug.
His confusion was evident as he said,What?
I pressed a kiss to Nonna’s cheek before answering Xander.Daegal and Ryllae. There’s something between them. I’m sure of it.
Xander made a strangled sound that I was fairly sure meant “I don’t need to know about that”, but if he had anything to say, he kept his thoughts to himself. The next few minutes went by in a series of hugs and kisses as everyone said their hellos. By the time a roll of thunder boomed in the sky, warning of yet another unseasonable storm, everybody had hugged each other twice.
“Let’s get inside, young ones.” Nonna walked towards me and threaded her hand through my elbow. She glimpsed the tattoos peeking out from beneath my sleeve and raised a brow. “It appears we have much to catch up on.”
Lessons and Bloodshed
SAENA
Silence—thick and oppressive and utterly delightful—blanketed the expansive throne room. The seven remaining members of Edgar’s High Council stared at me with faces devoid of color. They trembled in their seats, their mouths opening and closing in shock.
This morning, when the sun rose, there had been twelve of them. Now, the blood of the other five ran like a crimson river on the stone floor before me.
They will all learn to fear us,the beast within me crooned.
My lips tilted up into a semblance of a smile. Nothing taught a lesson faster than a bit of bloodshed. Especially to males. There was something about them—it might have been the appendage dangling between their legs, or the vast size of their egos—but they rarely seemed to think properly when a female was around.
But blood?
That deep, crimson liquid taught lessons far faster than any words I could speak.
Not even the wind dared howl as I sat on the red throne, glaring at the ones who called themselves Lords of the High Council. They stood in a line in front of the dais, the bodies of their recently deceased comrades in pieces at their feet. Blood-spattered faces looked up at me, with expressions ranging from downright horror to fear.
Winged Soldiers lined the walls, their countenances impassive as they stared straight ahead. They would not move without my order. Ensuring they knew their place was the first thing I’d done. After all, what good was being queen if I couldn’t kill a few guards to get my point across?
Now, none of them would dare cross me.
It was time the lords learned the same lesson.
“Well?” I asked after a long moment passed. Red sparks flitted around my hands, matching the gown I had chosen for today, and dark power thrummed in my veins. “Does anyone else have any questions?”