Anne noticed that Kendrick’s entire body had become tense. He kept his head down, concentrating on his soup.
She leaned closer to him. ‘Dinner can’t be that fascinating,’ she whispered.
Kendrick’s mouth moved, and Anne had to assume it was his attempt at a smile. Amelia was practically vibrating in her chair as she made introductions, and Meryn looked like she was two seconds away from sliding under the table.
She and Kendrick had chosen to scoot down to open up seats for Lily and Marshall next to Amelia and Darian. This put Kendrick at the end of the table opposite Aiden with Amelia sitting to his left. He didn’t look like he was happy with his new seat.
Lily had her arms around Amelia and was brushing away tears. ‘Thank the Gods that you’re safe! Caiden waited until we called to tell him we had arrived in Lycaonia to tell us about your kidnapping. It’s all our fault!’
‘Lily.’ Marshall called her name sharply.
Meryn sat up, bristling. ‘She can say whatever the hell she wants to.’
Anne grinned. There was the pint-sized whirlwind she had come to know. Beside her, Kendrick snorted.
Marshall turned to Meryn, a look of shock on his face. ‘Of course, she can,’ He stopped and raised his right hand. He began to whisper, and the air seemed to shimmer. ‘There, I’ve soundproofed the room. I was simply warning her that we could be overheard, sweetheart. I wasn’t trying to censure what she was saying. Once you get to know your aunt, you will realize that would be an impossible task.’
Lily beamed at Meryn. ‘You don’t act a thing like your mother,’ she said laughing.
Meryn shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t know; she died when I was little,’ she mumbled.
Lily sobered instantly. ‘I wish you could have known her. She was sweet and kind. She never had a bad word to say about anyone, much like my Amelia here.’
Meryn stared down at her plate. ‘I’m not like her at all.’
Lily smiled. ‘No dear, you’re not.’ Meryn winced. Lily continued. ‘You’re just like me.’
Meryn looked up, eyes wide. ‘Really?’
Marshall chuckled. ‘Gods help us all, but I think she’s right. Lily would have put me in my place exactly as you did just now. She’s very fierce about the ones she loves.’
Amelia stared at her mother in shock. ‘She is?’
Lily cuddled Amelia closer. ‘It’s time we told you the truth about what is happening. You and your brothers are already being targeted, there’s no reason to hide what we’re doing anymore.’
‘Mother?’ Confused, Amelia looked from one parent to the other.
‘Yes, Lily, Marshall, please share what you mean.’ Kendrick sat back and crossed his arms.
Marshall glared at her mate. ‘I don’t have to answer to you Kendrick Ashwood, despite you being my daughter’s athair.‘
Kendrick laced his fingers behind his head. ‘I think we’re all very curious as to what you meant by your statements, that’s all.’
Lily pulled back and took Amelia’s hands in hers. ‘Your father and I haven’t been traveling around communing with nature all these years.’
‘What have you been doing?’ Amelia asked.
Lily looked over at Marshall who nodded encouragingly. She took a deep breath. ‘Right before you were born, we were tasked with a very important mission. We’ve been tracking down Storm Keep’s missing royal couple.’
Beside her, Kendrick exhaled slowly. Anne looked up and saw that his jaw was clenched and the muscles in his neck were strained. She reached out, took his hand, and slowly began massaging the center of his palm. She was satisfied when he relaxed a fraction.
‘I thought you were eating alfalfa sprouts and learning yoga!’ Amelia exploded.
Lily shook her head. ‘It has taken us decades, but we’re close to finding our king and queen.’
Gavriel leaned forward. ‘Kiran and Celeste disappeared over five thousand years ago, just after the Great War and the creation of the four pillar cities. Their castle had just been finished when they were attacked and forced to flee.’
Marshall nodded. ‘That was when the council rose to power. The royal house fell, and the heads of the two noble houses were murdered.’ He looked over at Amelia. ‘That would be your great-grandparents and the Ashleighs’ great-grandparents. The two noble families wouldn’t be able to return to Storm Keep for nearly one hundred years, and even then, they weren’t allowed to move back into the royal palace. So, the surviving family members slowly bought up most of the land around the castle and built the two enormous estates that still stand today, the left and right sides that create the gate tower for the upper city.
‘To this day, we have carried out our sworn duties to protect the royal family. We, the Ironwoods, act as the royal shield; the Ashleighs act as the royal sword. We protect the royal family from harm and they destroy their enemies.’
‘Well, obviously y’all did a real bang-up job, seeing as how they were kicked out of their own castle and have been missing for five thousand years,’ Meryn said sarcastically.
Marshall winced. ‘I have spoken with Thane’s father and compared the journals that we have from our parents. There is more to the story than we know. Despite actually being there and witnessing everything firsthand, their accounts of the events of that night are sketchy. Even our covert interviews with the few remaining witches who were alive at the time revealed the same exact vague details. Whatever happened was so subtle and so precisely done that the entire kingdom failed to realize something huge had taken place. It was only after I compared my notes with Thane’s that we even saw the pattern. When asked certain questions, everyone gave the exact same response. It was as if one day we had a king, and the next, we had a council, and no one marked the change.’
‘That’s impossible! The people must have turned on the king, there’s no spell that can affect so many different people all at once,’ Kendrick insisted.
Marshall nodded. ‘You’re right, which is what led Thane and me to Noctem Falls.’
Kendrick sucked in his breath. ‘The vampires?’
Gavriel shook his head, his eyes flashing dangerously. ‘Wait a moment, what you are suggesting could be grounds for the next Great War; be very careful what you say.’
Anne gripped Kendrick’s hand tightly. He squeezed her fingers and covered their joined hands with his right hand. He turned to her, and she watched his lips move silently. She felt the pressure in her ears build.
He turned to her. ‘We don’t have much time before Marshall notices that I cast a soundproof bubble.’
‘What do you need me to do?’ Anne asked. Whatever was happening, she knew she would do anything he asked.
‘My levelheaded nurse.’ He smiled tightly. ‘I will have to reveal some things that may change our lives forever. But if you tell me right now that you don’t want any part of this mess, I won’t say anything. We can remain an archivist and a nurse and probably live a fairly normal life.’
Anne searched his face for a clue to what he was talking about; all she saw was sadness. ‘If you say whatever you were going to say, could it save lives?’
He nodded once.
‘If you don’t say anything, could good people die?’
He nodded again.
She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed his hand. ‘Then I think you already know what we should do.’
He turned their hands over and kissed hers in return. ‘I love you, Anne Bennett. I wanted you to know that before everything changes. I loved you from the moment I saw you in my dreams. I loved the way you wept for my brother because you saw your friend was hurt. I love how you can watch a love story and be swept away. I love how, in a crisis, you remain a rock in the storm. Fate could not have chosen better for me.’
‘And I love you, too, Kendrick Ashwood. I love how you can tease one moment and be serious the next. I love how protective you are of the ones you care about. I love how patient you were with me, how you weren’t pushy or angry about our situation. I love that you are probably the most powerful one at this table, but you’re also the kindest.’
‘I have to collapse the bubble now.’ He leaned forward and kissed her lightly.
She smiled. ‘Remind me to tell you about our sons later.’
‘What!’ Kendrick exclaimed.
All eyes turned to them. Aiden looked around as if evaluating possible threats. ‘Everything okay, Kendrick?’
Anne looked up at her mate and smiled. She reached up and patted his cheek. ‘He’ll be okay,’ she said casually.
Kendrick blinked, then blinked again. He turned, looked at everyone, and blinked again.
Anne, super nurse, one. Almighty Kendrick, zero. This will probably be one of the best moments of our relationship. I should take a picture!
Anne reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. ‘Kendrick, look this way.’
He turned, still looking shocked. She clicked the picture and put her phone away.
‘You are a very, very evil woman,’ he croaked.
‘Don’t be silly.’ She looked at Marshall. ‘I’m sorry, what were you saying? We may have missed a bit.’
Marshall had an amused expression on his face as he looked between them. ‘Kendrick, welcome to being mated.’ He tuned back to Gavriel. ‘As I was saying, we don’t believe that the entire vampire race is plotting against the witches. Hell, we’re not even saying a large faction even knows what happened, but the only explanation for that many people suddenly being perfectly fine with losing their beloved king is if they were manipulated by either a very powerful vampire or a small group of vampires working together.’
Amelia looked at her parents. ‘Why? Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you let me think that you just didn’t want me?’
Lily covered her face, and Marshall reached past his mate to run a hand over Amelia’s hair. Anne could tell Amelia had been hurt by her parents’ revelations.
Marshall smiled at his daughter. ‘Because my darling, it was the only way to keep you safe. There wasn’t a day that went by that we didn’t think of you.’
Amelia wiped at her eyes. ‘What about that day when I was little, in the forest, when you tried to teach me to commune with nature, and I ended up covered in bug bites? Was that just an act to make me believe your story?’
Lily shook her head. ‘We were being tracked and monitored. It was the only way I could think of to make you sit still. We didn’t come home for a long time after that.’
Darian held Amelia close. ‘Why now? After all these millennia, why did you have to leave right after Amelia was born?’ His voice was stern. It was clear he didn’t like anything upsetting his mate, even her own parents.
Marshall responded. ‘Thane Ashleigh had a vision that our king would return. So, we started searching for him while he and his brothers tried to uncover the truth about what happened five thousand years ago. We’re supposed to find our king and queen and protect them, and they are to eliminate any remaining threat to them.’
Marshall looked at Amelia with tears in his eyes. ‘The safety of our king and the future of our kingdom are the only things that could have taken us from you.’
Beside her, Kendrick took a deep breath. ‘What if I asked you to abandon your search? What if I reached out to Thane, Justice, and Law and called them in? What would you do?’
Marshall frowned. ‘Why would we give up now when we’re so close? Why should we abandon our missions? For decades we have sacrificed so much to see our kingdom restored. You may not see it Kendrick, but I do. Every day, witches are moving away from who we are as a people. They are abandoning the old ways, and the only thing that matters to them are their assessment scores. Storm Keep has become a corporation where the council is practically selling the services of our people to the highest bidder. King Kiran would never stand for this. He believes in the connection to nature and our Gods. King Kiran–‘
‘Is dead,’ Kendrick said softly.
Marshall stared at him. ‘You lie,’ he choked out.
Kendrick shook his head. ‘I wish I were. I buried them both, with my own hands, three hundred years ago.’
Lily began to shake. ‘But we found a cabin; we found King Kiran’s signet ring.’
Kendrick looked at her, pity in his eyes. ‘Do you think that the king would leave something so important behind?’
Marshall took a deep breath. ‘They have to be alive, or everything was for nothing.’
‘They are buried about a half mile behind the cabin, in a small clearing at the edge of the forest, under a large oak tree.’ Kendrick’s voice was calm, even gentle.
Marshall slammed his hands on the table. ‘How could you keep something like this a secret?’ he demanded.
Kendrick looked him in the eye. ‘Who was I to tell? Their enemies knew they were dead, and their people had long since forgotten them.’
Lily eyed him with suspicion. ‘Why you? Why did you know where they were? Did they contact you? Why couldn’t you save them?’ Her voice was filled with emotion.
Beside her, Kendrick clenched both fists. ‘You think I didn’t want to save them? That I wouldn’t trade places with them in an instant if I could?’ He threw his head back and laughed.
Anne’s eyes filled with tears. The laughter she heard wasn’t born of mirth; it was dredged from the darkest places of his soul, through pain and a sorrow so deep she couldn’t imagine ever smiling again after laughing like that.
Kendrick’s macabre laughter echoed through the room. When he was done, his eyes looked empty. He smiled, but it was hollow. ‘Forget about your grandiose dream of a kingdom that will never exist. Even if he was still alive, I would never stand by and allow him to give up his happiness to serve a bunch of weak-willed sycophants who allowed their one true king to be routed from his home and chased like an animal.’ There was a sharp edge to his words. ‘Storm Keep deserves exactly what they got, a council that dictates their lives according to the rule of power.’
Amelia stared at Kendrick as if she didn’t know him. ‘You don’t believe that.’
Kendrick sneered at her. ‘Oh yes, yes, I do.’
She shook her head. ‘No, you don’t! If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t have deliberately chosen to live in Lower City where you could help the most people. You wouldn’t have helped my brothers with the units. You wouldn’t have sent spell after spell to witches outside the city to keep them safe. If you truly didn’t care about anyone, you wouldn’t have raised such a loving and kind brother. And you wouldn’t have been my athair.’ Amelia’s voice broke, and sobbing, she turned to Darian.
Darian glared at Kendrick. ‘You’ve hurt her.’
Kendrick shrugged. ‘She’s a crybaby; she’s been hurting for other people her whole life.’
Amelia wailed harder, and Darian ground his teeth together. ‘You and me, outside. Now!’
Kendrick twirled a hand at him. ‘Sorry, old man, I don’t have time for a macho showdown.’
Anne twisted her hands in her lap. She had to believe that Kendrick was doing this for a reason, but what reason could he have to hurt Amelia? She looked over at Meryn. Meryn was watching Kendrick closely and not saying a word. It was as if she, too, was trying to figure out what Kendrick was doing.
Marshall stood, eyes blazing. ‘You’ve gone too far! How dare you hurt my daughter? You’ll make time for me, young man!’
Kendrick smiled lazily. ‘What do you care? You couldn’t protect your king, and you abandoned your own daughter in the process. Tell me, why I should take you seriously? What are you going to do?’ Kendrick stood, knocking his chair over. ‘Well? Your king is dead. You have no idea who your enemy is. You’re clearly outnumbered and outmatched. What. Will. You. Do?’ Kendrick drew out each word mockingly.
Marshall roared. ‘I’ll fight! I will uncover the truth, and when I do, I will destroy the ones who killed our king. I will make our people face the truth. I will erase every assessment test and protocol our council has put forth!’ Marshall drew in a shaky breath. ‘We’ll start over.’
Kendrick let his head fall forward, when he raised it back up, there was warmth in his eyes again. ‘Then it sounds like you have a plan.’ When he smiled, it was no longer empty or sardonic.
Amelia turned in her chair to face him. ‘I hate you!’
Kendrick winced. ‘Oh, my darling girl, I am more sorry than you will ever know. But I had to know how far your father was willing to go. You know I didn’t mean any of it.’
Amelia glared at him. ‘You called me a crybaby.’
‘Well, you are.’ Kendrick said, looking confused.
‘I am, but you said it to be mean,’ Amelia pointed out.
‘I said I was sorry.’
‘You owe me two rides,’ Amelia sniffled.
Kendrick sighed. ‘Fine. Two rides.’
‘Rides?’ Anne and Meryn asked at the same time.
Amelia wiped her face with her napkin. ‘Kendrick can fly.’
‘Seriously?’ Anne and Meryn asked in unison again.
Kendrick nodded and picked up his chair. ‘I picked it up somewhere.’ He sat down and placed his napkin in his lap.
Marshall remained standing, he stared at Kendrick as if he had never seen him before. ‘Who are you?’ he asked in a raspy voice.
Kendrick shrugged. ‘I’m just a poor archivist from the Lower City.’
Meryn gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.
Kendrick shook his head. ‘I should have known you’d figure it out first. What gave it away?’
‘Your name. Beth and I are doing the census; of course, I paid close attention to the family histories of everyone in this house. Keelan’s was the only one that came up with a dead end. I was going to ask you about it later but…’ Meryn blinked. ‘Holy shit balls,’ she whispered softly.
‘Oh, Gods!’ Gavriel and Beth exclaimed at the same time.
Anne turned over everything in her mind. The one word that popped out at her from the jumbled mess of confusion swirling around her mind was, heika. It meant…
‘Your Majesty,’ she whispered.
There was a look of pride in Kendrick’s eyes when he looked down at her. ‘I knew you’d get it.’
‘Holy shit balls is right,’ Colton echoed.
‘How?’ Aiden asked, looking from Meryn to Kendrick then to Marshall.
‘Your Majesty!’ Marshall exclaimed and bowed so deep Anne thought he was going to fall forward.
Kendrick shook his head. ‘Please don’t call me that.’
Lily stood quickly and curtsied low beside her mate. ‘Your Majesty, please forgive us.’
Ryuu swept in from the kitchen and looked around. He turned to Kendrick. ‘You finally told them?’
Kendrick grimaced. ‘Sort of.’
Ryuu placed a bowl of soup in front of Lily then Marshall. ‘You may want to get up; he really doesn’t like that.’ Ryuu refilled their water glasses and walked around the table to check on Meryn.
Marshall and Lily straightened then looked at Kendrick who motioned to their chairs. They sat down, looking completely dazed.
Aiden stared at Meryn. ‘How did you figure it out?’
Meryn smirked. ‘Their last name. Ashwood. He combined the names of the two loyal houses. Ash from Ashleigh and Wood from Ironwood, Ashwood. There are no documented births or deaths of anyone with that last name in any of our records.’
Marshall stared at Kendrick. ‘Prince Julian?’
Kendrick nodded.
‘Julian?’ The question was echoed around the table.
Kendrick shot Anne an apologetic look before facing everyone. ‘My name is Julian Stormhart, son of Kiran and Celeste Stormhart of the witch’s city of Storm Keep.’
Meryn turned to Anne. ‘This definitely increases his rank.’
‘Meryn!’ Aiden covered her mouth with his hand.
Kendrick winked at the small troublemaker.
‘But you were lost to us, how? When?’ Marshall stuttered.
Kendrick threaded his fingers together in front of him on the table and took a deep breath. ‘I never really fit in among the noble families. I didn’t look like mother or father; the rumors the nobles allowed a young boy to overhear were hurtful. So, I left as soon as I was old enough. Father had mastered mind magic before I was born and was an expert dream walker. Even though I travelled all over the world, he would reach out to me at least once a month to see what I was up to.’
Kendrick smiled at the memory. ‘For over a thousand years I trained with shamans, priests, monks, keepers of knowledge. I was in what is now called Japan when news of the Great War reached me. My father had kept all knowledge of the War from me to keep me out of the fighting. He insisted I stay away, so, of course I wanted to come home, but I was too late. When I finally returned home, a new city had been formed, a castle built, and my parents were missing.’ He took a deep breath.
‘Since I had been gone so long, no one recognized me. I wandered around the city for days looking for clues to what happened. When I heard about the deaths of my father’s most trusted and closest friends and their mates, I knew I had to leave the city. I traveled for weeks before my father reached out to me in my dreams. He said that they had been betrayed and could never return to the city. I argued and told him I would fight, but he said no. That it was impossible to fight an unknown enemy.
‘I had no idea what he meant at the time. I was young and angry, but I did as my father ordered and I stayed away from Storm Keep. Over time, my parents were forgotten, and we settled into a peaceful life. I still travelled, and they built a tiny cabin in the woods.’
His expression softened. ‘I think that the years they spent alone in that cabin were the happiest of my parents’ lives. They weren’t a king and a queen, they were simply Kiran and Celeste.’
He shook his head. ‘Anyway, everything was peaceful until the twins were born. Father didn’t realize how much power they were giving off. It made it easy for our enemies to find them. One night, during a dream visit, I finally was able to meet my baby brothers for the first time. Gods! They were so tiny and helpless, I fell in love the second I saw them.’ He swallowed hard. ‘Mother dropped out of the dream first, to put Kendrick to bed. Keelan stayed with my father since I was still playing with him. We heard a loud noise and a scream. I’ll never forget the look on my father’s face when he realized my mother had been killed.’ He squeezed his hands together tightly in front of him.
‘When my father realized that my mother was already dead and Kendrick along with her, he made a decision. He pulled out his dagger and sliced open his wrists. He called upon the Gods to grant him one final wish. Instead of using his vast power to fight his enemies, he offered up his life and pushed the baby and his grimoire to me. I remember screaming at him to fight, but the look he gave me was so peaceful and serene, I knew he wanted to be with my mother and brother more than he wanted revenge. He didn’t want them facing death alone.
‘When I woke, Keelan was in my arms, and my father’s grimoire was on the floor. My father made history that day as the first witch to pass physical matter across great distances in a dream state, but no one would ever know.
‘To keep us safe, I bound Keelan’s powers until he was old enough to do it himself and we moved back to Storm Keep. I figured that the enemy didn’t know that Keelan or I even existed, and if we did, what were the odds we would live right under their noses? I took my brother’s name, so that, in some small way, I could honor his memory and settled in as lowly archivist. I could monitor the council closely and slowly destroy the books of powerful spells my father was forced to leave behind.’
‘You don’t look like a Julian,’ Meryn announced.
Kendrick gave her a grateful smile. ‘That’s because I’m not, not anymore.’
‘But Your Majesty, this changes everything,’ Marshall started.
Kendrick shook his head. ‘This changes nothing. Without cutting off the head of the snake, history is doomed to repeat itself. I won’t reveal myself and put my loved ones in danger for nothing. Only after we identify our true enemies can we hope to make any changes.’
‘Not to sound like a smart ass…’ Meryn began. She had to stop when almost everyone around the table snorted. ‘As I was saying, I don’t want to state the obvious, but aren’t the ones in power now the ones who are responsible? Can’t we just go kick their asses and call it a day?’
Lily shook her head gently at Meryn. ‘You are truly my niece. I’m afraid the answer isn’t so simple, or I would have done just that years ago.’
‘Well, why not?’ Anne demanded. She didn’t like the idea that Kendrick was in danger.
‘Because, Your Majesty, the ones in power were most likely manipulated in the same way as the people.’ Lily explained.
Anne blinked.
All at once, the implications of Kendrick’s royalty hit her. ‘Oh, my.’
Kendrick reached over and began rubbing her back. ‘It’s okay, everything is the same as when we sat down for Ryuu’s wonderful soup. Breathe.’
Anne turned and slapped at him with both hands. ‘Don’t tell me to breathe, you royal pain in the ass! I’m fine!’
Meryn cackled. ‘I knew I liked her.’
‘Actually, Anne, you’re hyperventilating,’ Rheia called out from the end of the table.
Anne took a deep breath and held it before exhaling slowly. She did that a couple more times all while glaring at Kendrick.
‘Where’s my levelheaded nurse?’ he teased.
She flipped him off, and he chuckled. He winked at her and lifted his wine glass. She narrowed her eyes and leaned in close enough so only he could hear. ‘Keelan showed me a dream where I had triplet boys.’
Kendrick sputtered in his wine glass and began to choke, which caused him to inhale more wine. Smiling sweetly, she now rubbed his back. ‘There, there darling, everything is okay. Just breathe.’
Meryn licked her finger and drew an invisible line in the air marking Anne’s victory over Kendrick.
It took a couple minutes for Kendrick to clear his airways. His chest was still heaving as he stared at her in wonder. ‘Truly?’ Kendrick grinned at her with a goofy look on his face.
‘Maybe.’
‘Well, I know what I’m doing tonight,’ he announced.
She gulped hard and stared at him. The dark, heated look he was giving her reminded her of the way a jungle cat watches its prey.
‘So what do we do?’ Lily asked.
Kendrick broke eye contact with her and turned back to the others. ‘Do exactly what you have been doing. This secret cannot leave the room. If you don’t think you can carry on as you always have, you need to let me know, and I’ll erase it from your mind.’
‘I think I speak for all of us when I say that we will, of course, keep your secret,’ Gavriel replied formally.
‘Our mission is over.’ Lily turned to Marshall.
Marshall smiled at his mate. ‘And we have a daughter, a new son and niece to get to know.’
Aiden cleared his throat. ‘Actually, if you could call Caiden and resume your Elder role, that would help us out quite a bit.’
Marshall nodded. ‘Of course, but why is that a problem?’
‘Because we have multi-flavor douchebags from each of the pillar cities trying to cause trouble,’ Meryn explained.
Lily smiled and tapped her lips. ‘Really? That sounds like fun.’
‘Oh, Gods,’ Aiden, Marshall, and Elizabeth said at the same time.
Beside her, Kendrick stood. ‘Aiden, I’ll let you catch Marshall and Lily up on where we stand with the Committee. I have other pressing matters to attend to.’ Kendrick turned to Anne and bowed, one hand over his heart and the other stretched out to her. ‘My Lady, may I escort you upstairs?’
‘Bow chica wow wow,’ Meryn sung.
Anne felt herself blushing furiously, but didn’t care. She placed her hand in his and stood. Turning, she noticed that everyone at the table was grinning ear to ear.
‘Good night everyone,’ she said.
‘Sleep tight!’ Rheia called.
‘Don’t let the bed bugs bite!’ Amelia yelled laughing.
‘But let Kendrick bite if he wants to!’ Colton smirked.
Everyone was still laughing as they walked into the hallway. Kendrick was every inch the gentlemen until they stepped into the foyer.
‘I will give you a ten-second head start.’ His eyes flashed with lust.
‘Fuck!’
‘Exactly.’
Anne didn’t waste another precious second; she ran.
