“You will be back here to have your Holy Union with Aeval at the full moon and then you must consummate the union.” He looks pained as he says that.
Sebastian nods again and I recoil. That is definitely not happening.
He brings me a dress in the bathroom and hastily gets me dressed. I am shaking from head to toe and he places some calming hands on me. “We’ll be home soon.”
I smile weakly at him and go over to where Drake is pacing again. He looks at me forlornly.
I smile and say, “I’m okay.”
He closes his eyes and pulls me to him. “This should never have happened. I don’t know how to be a father to a daughter. I should have known to protect you properly. Please forgive me, my Princess.” His arms crush me, and I struggle to breathe, but I have never felt more loved in all my life. Not in the non-romantic sense anyway. I have never had a parent who showed me affection and who cared for my well-being.
“There is nothing to forgive, Father. I love you,” I whisper, and he chokes back what I think is a sob, but it can’t be.
“You love too easily,” he says gruffly, but I can tell he is pleased with my words even though he won’t say it back. But the man has a point, I fall hard, and I fall fast, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. I step back and a sweat breaks out on me and my breathing gets ragged. Sebastian is at my side instantly, taking my hand. “We need to go now,” he says.
Drake nods and grabs us both in his tight grip and transports us in a puff of smoke into the woods at my home. He points to a small round patch of grass, a darker green than the surrounding grass. “A Faerie ring,” he says. “You will be able to pass through, both of you. Ensure you are back by the full moon.” He leans down to hug me. “Take care, Princess. I-I’m glad that I found you.”
“Me too,” I say back, knowing that it is the most I will get out of him. “I have to admit, it has been a harrowing experience, but I am glad that I met you.”
“I will be better prepared for your visit, next time,” he says and catches me as my knees give way as another band breaks.
I nod and he disappears, leaving Sebastian and me alone. He grabs my hand and ushers me out of the woods. “What can I do?” he asks, as we reach the gardens and I drop like a stone to my knees.
“Nothing,” I say. I am on all fours, panting and sweating, and I realize that I also now have an audience. Someone must have seen or sensed us from the house, and everyone came running. I grimace, as does Sebastian. We share a look and he knows he is so busted. “Don’t say anything until I get back,” I whisper. “Just say you found me in the woods.”
He looks stricken, but nods. It is futile though. We will have to come clean, as I know my boys and they are neither stupid, nor the type to give up on a suspicion.
“Liv?” Cole says as he reaches my side and kneels next to me, brushing my damp hair back, and running his hands down my Faerie-marked arms with a frown. “What’s happening?”
“Shift,” I get out before the fourth one snaps. They are going quicker now, and I can feel V.A. simmering under the surface, ready to burst out and cause some damage. “Get out of here, all of you.”
Sebastian grabs Cole and pulls him away protesting. “Her Dragon is coming out and isn’t happy about being in the Fae Kingdoms,” he murmurs. “We would be wise to evacuate.”
“Wait, Liv, are you going to be okay?” Cole calls to me as he struggles against Sebastian.
I don’t answer as I am incapable, but also because everyone looks up at the sky as a massive tear rips it open and a portal appears about a hundred feet across. Even I gape at it, as it is well above the shadow cover, and I know what’s going to happen next. As soon as I set eyes on my mother, in Dragon form, the final band breaks and I Shift in an instant with a thunderous roar and a stream of fire. It hurt like Hell as I changed shape so quickly, but as soon as I flap my wings, the pain is gone and I’m off, flying towards my mother and her two Blue companions, leaving everyone else behind staring into space. The portal closes behind me and I fall in next to my mother. “Go with To’Kah,” She says to me telepathically and veers off in the opposite direction, with the bigger Blue behind her.
I look at To’Kah. “Follow me,” he says and nothing else until I see a massive landing pad. We are in the Underworld, that I know, but in a section, it seems, made for Dragons. There are cliffs and caves and canyons and every so often, one of these big flat, open spaces to land on. To’Kah lands and Shifts to his human form and I do the same. I stare at him as he is something else to look at. Standing in just a pair of black jeans, he is around six-foot-five, with long black hair to his waist. He has stacked abs to die for, markings over most of his chest and arms, his skin is swarthy, he looks Asian, and his dark eyes are gazing at me in my jeans and long-sleeved top, as brazenly as I am gazing at him.
“Pretty,” he says with a smile. “Not at all like your mother, though. Curious.”
“Indeed,” I remark. “Not so bad yourself there, Finn.”
He chuckles and steps closer. “I have been trying to contact you. No one would tell me where you were.”
“I know, I found out a few days ago, but then everything went to Hell and back. Why were you looking for me?” I ask.
“Your mother wished it,” he says, as if it is obvious. “Want to tell me what happened back there?”
Uh, no. I blink at him and remain silent.
“I know your Powers were bound and by whom, as does your mother. She will deal with you in a moment. I would like to listen if you want to talk.”
“What do you mean, She will deal with me? It wasn’t my fault what happened. I will not be punished for something that was out of my control,” I say vehemently, stepping closer to him in my anger.
He puts his hands up and says, “Calm down, that isn’t what I meant. You will see shortly. We are going to be quite close soon. I want you to be able to trust me.”
“In what sense?” I ask carefully, as I have no intention of getting “close” with anyone, let alone him.