Page 31 of Winter Goddess
Blaze greets us a with a wide grin when we wake up lying on the ground beneath him. All four of my men are by my side, all of them looking rather sleepy.
"What?"
Did I miss part of a conversation?
Blaze sighs. "I thought you may have used the chance to propose to them. A coronation goes so well with a wedding."
I'm speechless, utterly speechless. Who does the unicorn think he is? And me proposing to them rather them to me... well, I guess it makes sense. I'm about to be Queen, maybe it's the etiquette for rulers to propose to their future consorts? But no, I'm twenty-two, I'm not planning to get married any time soon. My plan was always to wait until I'm at least in my mid-twenties, and then maybe think about children when I'm thirty. I have a life to live first.
None of the guys says anything. They're waiting for me to respond. Cowards.
"I think a coronation is enough for now. I don't believe Tamara could handle the stress of adding a wedding to the ceremony."
There you go, I found a reason why it's a terrible idea. And it's definitely not because I secretly want the guys to go on one knee in front of me... no, I'm a strong and emancipated woman. That tradition is so outdated... but I'm also a romantic, and it would be nice... Stop it, Wyn, think with your head, not your ovaries. This is not a time of romance, it's a time of war.
"How much time has passed since we disappeared?" I ask the unicorn.
He sighs again. "You didn't disappear," he explains as if he's talking to a three-year-old. "You were right here, seemingly asleep. But to answer your question, it was mere minutes. Four, five minutes, perhaps? Barely any time at all."
"Good, I have some research to do. Crispin, coming with me?"
He nods and gets up from the ground, shaking the dust off his clothes. For some reason, I'm surprised that we're no longer naked, but of course I shouldn't be. It was all just an illusion.
"We better get back to our duties," Storm grumbles. "I have a meeting with Gwain to discuss strategy. Again."
He doesn't look very happy about it.
"What about you two?" I ask the others.
Arc grimaces. "I need ta find the traitor who gave the clone the password. I have some suspicions, but I need proof before I can tell ya."
"I've got a training session to lead," Frost says, not seeming very enthusiastic. "Some of the fire Guardians aren't very good with defending against water and ice, so I'm going to pretend to be one of the bad guys."
"You are one of the bad guys, little brother," Storm chuckles.
"Little?" Frost roars and begins to fling water balls at his brother.
"Let's leave them to it," I say to Crispin with a laugh and take his hand, teleporting us straight into the library. "I didn't want to get wet, and that looked like the beginnings of a water fight."
"I'm glad I'm working with you today," he chuckles. I wish I could see his smile, but my vision has returned to only giving me the view of their auras, not their faces. "So, what are we doing?"
I turn and look around the library, searching for Algonquin. The Librarian is hopefully going to make this easier by telling me where to find the books I need.
"I'm going to read some books. You're going to make sure I don't go crazy by overdoing it." I smile at him. "I've not experimented enough to know how many books are too many to absorb into my mind."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asks carefully. "Maybe leave the experimenting until after the battle?"
I shake my head. "I wish, but I need this information now, and we don't have the time to actually read all the books. Maybe I've been given this new skill for a reason."
I extend my magic, looking for life signs. There are two Guardians I don't know at the far end of the library, and I find Algonquin's familiar aura not far from the row of shelves we're standing right now. I take Crispin's hand again and teleport us right in front of the Librarian.
He gasps in shock and I almost regret doing this. He's an old man, and while I'm pretty sure Guardians can't die of a heart attack, I don't want to test that theory.
"Your Majesty." He bows his head.
"Not yet," I mutter, but I don't correct him. I better get used to that title.
"How can I be of service?"
