Fae- Beginnings Read online

  Chapter 18

  Atreyu

  Atreyu had smiled to himself when Mor left the dinner table. He was pretty sure that she thought none of them noticed because she hadn’t figured out that they always paid attention to what she did. They had continued to discuss contingencies for another hour before he had finally stopped them. “We can keep talking about this all night without planning for everything.”

  “Atreyu’s right.” Max stood and stretched. “We need rest too.”

  Without any other discussion, all of them went and got ready for bed. The next morning, Arthur woke them up early. Mor was still asleep as they all crept out of bed and got ready. “Don’t you think we should wake her up?”

  “Let her rest.” Arthur waved his hand in her direction.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’ll piss her off,” Atreyu said.

  “Why would it piss her off?” Arthur looked genuinely surprised. “We’re supposed to take care of her.”

  Max smirked at him. “Last time we tried that line she just about ripped us in two.”

  “Once we’re finished, I’ll wake her up so she can have the bathroom to herself,” Atreyu grunted out. He needed coffee.

  Once the others had all left, Atreyu went over to the bed and sat on the bed next to Mor. He rubbed her back. When that didn’t work he bent down and kissed her neck then whispered in her ear, “Time to wake up, beautiful.”

  “I don’t want to wake up.” She snuggled herself further into the blankets.

  “You can sleep if you want. We’re going to go help Arthur get the army ready.”

  “Fuck,” she groaned and rolled over onto her back. “Fine, I’ll get up.”

  “You don’t have to.” He kissed her softly.

  “No. I need to get up. I want to help.” She struggled out of the bed and went into the bathroom.

  Atreyu smiled to himself and then went to grab coffee for the both of them. When he got back, Mor was just coming out of the bathroom, pulling her long hair back into a ponytail. “Coffee?” she grumbled and took the coffee from him. Atreyu just smiled, sipped his coffee, and led her out of their suite and down to the council room. Everyone was already working on the logistics of traveling with an army. Arthur made room for Mor without thinking about it. Atreyu was glad Arthur had joined them. He had fit mostly seamlessly into their group. He was a bit arrogant, but that wasn’t totally unexpected for a dragon who had ruled his people for thousands of years.

  The next two days were spent finalizing their plans. Supply lines were the main concern. When the dragons went to battle, they shifted and just carried what they needed personally. They were going to follow the Fae to the portal outside their border and then go through the portal in groups of five. It would take a while to get the entire army through, but that would give them time to stage them with the Fae army. No one really expected them to be able to gain the help of the Pendragons. So coming back with their army and Mor mated to the king? Shit was probably going to hit the fan, as the humans would say.

  The third day, they were all up before the sun rose. Today was the day they would be setting out. By this time tomorrow, the Pendragon army would be camped outside of his family’s home. And then…then they’d be taking back Mor’s kingdom. Atreyu just hoped they didn’t lose too many. While they had been in Arthur’s kingdom, news from home had been sparse. He knew his brother had been planning to keep watch, but he didn’t know how much he had learned. Or what had changed. He only hoped there hadn’t been any attacks, but surely his family would have contacted them.

  Groaning, Atreyu pulled on his clothes and stumbled out to the dining area. Coffee. He needed coffee - and it would best for everyone if Mor’s coffee was ready as soon as she made her way out of the bathroom. He yawned his way through fixing their coffee. Just as he finished, Mor came in with her eyes still heavy with sleep. Without a word, Atreyu handed her the coffee and watched as she sat down with it. Her eyes closed as she breathed the scent of the coffee in before taking a big drink.

  “Fuck! Too hot!” Mor stuck her tongue out and waved her hand at it, trying to cool it down.

  Atreyu laughed as he watched her antics, “Beautiful. What did you expect?”

  “I know, I know. I just wasn’t really awake yet. But now I am, so that’s good, right?”

  “Absolutely. You ready to get back your home?”

  “Home…It still doesn’t feel that way to me. But that’s probably because I’ve never even seen it. But I will be happy to get back to Fae.” She frowned.

  “What’s the frown for?”

  “I’m worried about the fighting.”

  Arthur walked up behind Mor and put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Do not fret, my love. You have the might of the Pendragons behind you.”

  She rolled her eyes, “Don’t underestimate the enemy. Even I know that.”

  “I’m not. I’m merely confident in the ability of my army to fight.” He smirked and dropped a kiss on her head before moving to get his own coffee.

  The others piled in and they all slowly made their way through coffee and breakfast. The sun still hadn’t come up as they made their way out to the staging area. The Pendragon army had gathered and the Fae were waiting with them. They mounted their horses as dragons started shimmering into form. Some of them would follow the Fae and scout the path while others went ahead to the faery ring to set up guard. Arthur had elected to ride a horse next to Mor which had appalled all the unmated dragons while the mated ones nodded their heads in approval.

  The day was uneventful as they traveled to the ring. There wasn’t even a suspicion of being watched or followed, which made Atreyu very wary. He knew there was no way Selina has just slipped off into obscurity. She was a vindictive bitch. All he could do was hope that they would figure out her plan before someone got hurt. They dismounted and a few Fae started bringing the horses through the ring as they waited for the dragons to arrive. Once they started landing in sequence - to avoid flattening the forest around them - Mor nodded to Atreyu and the others and made her way to the faery ring.

  “Let’s get this done.” She grimaced as she stepped into the ring.

  Atreyu and his brothers squeezed in around her. “No more mates, beautiful. We’d have to go through the rings in sets.”

  She giggled as Sebastian murmured the incantation. The remaining Fae would come through with the dragons in groups. A moment later, they were back in Fae lands. His parents were hurrying toward them, mouths slack as they stared at Arthur. Mor swayed on her feet but stayed upright. Atreyu felt pride well up in him. She was really holding her own now. As soon as his parents got to them, Mor stepped forward and greeted them. Her greeting bordered familiar and formal perfectly. Atreyu raised his eyebrow. Clearly, her time with Arthur had taught her how to tow that line.

  Turning away from the brief review Mor was giving his increasingly shocked parents, he noticed Adair standing over to the side of the clearing. Walking away from Mor and the others, he made his way over to Adair.

  “Good to see you, Adair!” Atreyu grinned at him.

  “Judging by the stream of dragons coming in, I can assume you were successful?”

  “A little bit more successful than we thought we’d be. Turns out King Arthur is one of Mor’s mates.”

  Adair’s mouth fell open as he blinked slowly at Atreyu. “Wait. What?”

  Gesturing over at where his brothers and his mate stood, Atreyu said, “King Arthur Pendragon is the mate of Queen Mor. Which happens to be very convenient, what with the war and all.” Atreyu paused and looked thoughtfully up at the sky. “He’s also been teaching her how to rule - which none of us can do. I like him.”

  “I didn’t think that we could mate with…”

  “Others?” Atreyu smirked. “We didn’t think so either. Max has a theory that we didn’t know because we don’t really mix.”

  “Huh. Ok.” Adair shook his head. “I need to catch you up on what’s been happening. Do yo
u want to wait for Mor or do you want a briefing now?”

  Atreyu glanced back over at Mor. She was deep in conversation with his parents. “You’d better brief me so I can give them a heads up on what to expect before you give them the full report.”

  “Let’s go over there, it’ll be more private. We haven’t told the troops anything yet because we were waiting for help.”

  Atreyu raised his eyebrow at Adair as he followed him. His voice had gotten bitter toward then end. “Everything ok, brother?”

  A forced smile came across Adair’s face. “Absolutely. Just been stressful waiting for you all to get back.”

  There was a deep bite in his voice. Atreyu opened his mouth to say something but snapped it closed as he looked around. “Why are we in the forest, Adair?” He didn’t say anything but his pace picked up. Atreyu sped up and reached out to grab his shoulder. “Adair? What’s going on?”

  Abruptly, Adair stopped. Slowly, he turned around, his face shimmering. Atreyu gasped as Adair’s face morphed into Selina’s. “Hello, lover. Time for you to be useful.”

  “Wha -?” He started to say, flinching as something moved in the corner of his eyes. He tried to turn toward it, but pain flashed through his head and everything went dark.

  Mor

  Mor sighed in relief as she finally entered her suite. She’d had a long day being briefed by Atreyu’s family and then getting the dragons introduced and settled in to a camp with the Fae. She and Arthur had toured the camp briefly before coming in for a late dinner. Everyone had been getting along fine, so that was a good sign. She’d been a little concerned even though Arthur had assured her his dragons wouldn’t be a problem.

  Looking around, Mor saw Sebastian, Max, and Ben were sitting at the table strategizing. “How’s it looking? What did Adair have to report?”

  “I thought I saw him when we first got here, but Michael said he hasn’t made it home yet.”

  “That can’t be right.” Mor frowned. “Atreyu went over to talk with him when we first got here.”

  Her mates sat up straighter, frowning. “Has anyone seen Atreyu since we arrived?” Max’s voice was soft. When everyone shook their head no, Mor felt fear wash over her. “Don’t panic, Mor. Try to reach him through the bond.”

  “When he gets in here, I’m going to let him have it,” Mor growled. Why would he disappear for the entire day? Closing her eyes, she reached for his bond only to find it - dark? “I can’t touch his bond.” Panic started to rise in her. “I can’t reach him!”

  “Fuck.” Sebastian stood and strode toward the door. “I’ll alert everyone. We’ll arrange a search party.”

  Within thirty minutes, they were outside. Sebastian had arranged everyone in pairs. He’d tried to keep Mor back at the house, but she had refused. She was determined to help find her mate. Arthur had asked to be paired with her to keep her safe. “Atreyu!” His deep voice rumbled through the forest, echoing the voices of the other searchers.

  “What if we don’t find him?” Mor’s voice cracked as she stopped. “What if he’s - “ She couldn’t finish the thought.

  “If he was dead, you’d know.” Arthur’s voice was firm. “You would have felt it.”

  Nodding, Mor turned to keep walking but stopped mid-step as saw something hanging from a tree. “What’s that?” It was a large pendant, spinning slowly and glowing softly.

  “Don’t touch it!” Arthur’s voice snapped out as Mor was reaching for it. “Let’s get Morgana over here to check it. I can feel magic coming off of it.” He closed his eyes for a moment, then wrapped Mor in his arms. “She’ll be here in a moment, my rose.”

  “What do you think it is?”

  “I’d rather not speculate. Morgana will be able to tell us when she gets here.”

  “She’s already here, brother, my queen.” Morgana’s voice was soft as she took the last few steps toward them.

  “How did you do that?”

  “I flew, my queen.” She winked at Mor. “A little bit of magic ensures I am silent as I fly and when I land. Now, what do we have here?” She passed them and went to the pendant, circling it before stopping and staring at it. The glow surrounding the pendant grew brighter. “Shield your eyes!”

  Arthur pulled Mor’s head into his chest. The air grew heavy around them, until it dissipated with an audible pop. “Can we open our eyes now?”

  “Yes.” When Mor had pulled away from Arthur, Morgana continued, her voice grim, “Go ahead and touch the pendant. It’s a message, although, it was a good thing you didn’t touch it immediately. There was a trap on it - it would have been unpleasant.”

  Mor glanced at Morgana. “That bad, huh?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “Good enough for me.” She walked over to Morgana, Arthur by her side. “Here goes nothing,” she mumbled as she reached for the pendant. Heat flashed around them the moment her finger touched the pendant. It floated, turning so it made a little platform. An image started to form above it. “Are we in Star Wars?” Morgana snorted.

  Just then, the image cleared up, making Arthur curse as Selina’s image came into focus and began speaking. “So now you know Atreyu is missing. Tell your queen that Boris Thornheart sends his regards. Her mate will be our personal guest.” Her voice was dark as it purred around them. “How he is treated will depend on how well your queen complies with my lord. Expect to hear from us.” With a flash, the image disappeared.

  “Atreyu.” Pain flashed through Mor’s body as grief, fear, and rage battled within her. “They took my mate,” she gasped and looked at Arthur.

  “Now is the time for thorns, my rose. Atreyu needs you.”

  She closed her eyes, letting grief and fear wash through her for a moment longer before letting the rage take hold. She felt her magic sparking around her as the wind picked up and swirled around her. Lightning cracked across the clear skies and the earth rumbled. When she opened her eyes, Arthur gave her a satisfied nod. “They will regret taking him. They will regret hurting my people. They will regret ever thinking they could take what is mine.”

  Afterword

  Holy shit, can you believe this? Book 2 took so much longer than I anticipated. But! I am excited to have this out to all of you.

  I need to take a moment and really thank so important people now. First, I need to thank all the Mischievous Bitches - you know who you are - for being there in a pretty dark time in my life. You bitches are my tribe.

  Next, I want to thank my insane readers. I love you all so much! I want you all to know how special you all are to me. Thank you for your love and support and patience.

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