Page 41 of Risen
A sea of people in festive solstice garb mingled and twirled through the vast open space before the stage, which had one held theater seating, but was now a gleaming ballroom.Up on the stage, surrounded by Robin’s art collection, a paid group of fae musicians with beaks, and feathers, and tails happily played their hearts out for the guest.
The dancers and guests who made their way in from the glittering lobby and into the ballroom were human and paranorm, high fae and underfae—a term that was slowly being eliminated—shifters, vampires, and any other race or combination you could imagine.No class divisions, no separation.Just laughter, the clink of glasses, the buzz of music and conversation that vibrated in the ribs like a second heartbeat.There was a lot of work to do still.But our main had been achieved.At least here in Detroit, there equality and true community were growing, allowed to thrive now that the syndicate was no more.
I stood at the edge of the mezzanine, overlooking it all.
In the ballroom below, tables draped in gold fabric and sumptuous antique benches lined the far walls.But up here in the more private area the court had claimed for itself, there was just one long table surrounded by mismatched chairs and piles of pillows, so it looked less like a carefully catered party, and more like a comfortable den.Robin stepped up beside me and looped her arm through mine as she looked out on everything her revenge had built.I took a moment to drink in the sight of her before I let go of my magic vision.
My dragon wore a sheath dress of silky, shimmery gold that clung to her willowy body like a glove.Her long, shiny red-gold hair was half-up in an intricately braided pile atop her head, the bottom half left to ripple down to her hips like a waterfall of bloody gold.And perched on top of the upswept hair was a thin, understated gold band reminiscent of a crown.Her high cheekbones had been lightly dusted with gold powder, and the dark kohl around her eyes accentuated the glowing gold there.Her perfect lips, painted a blood red shade, slowly turned up with a wicked tilt as she caught where my focus was and realized I was using my magic to stare at her.She was breathtaking.
Those glowing golden eyes swept over me from head to toe and back again, and her smile grew.While Robin was a vision in red and gold, she had dressed me in red and silver.She had been trying to put me in red since our early encounters, and it was only recently that Sanka had let slip what was behind the fascination.Apparently, Robin’s dragon side loved red.It was her color, and I could feel the deep, primal satisfaction she felt at seeing me adorned in the color.I had to admit, I also enjoyed letting Robin dress me up.It made the omega side of me feel cherished and attended to, cared for.And Robin was amazing at finding things that looked good on me, putting far more thought into it all than I ever would have.I had used Odin’s eyes to peek at myself in the mirror earlier and was stunned at the vision before me.The shimmering hints of silver in the embroidery of my dress, the jewelry I wore, my makeup, and yes, in the matching thin circlet that was woven into my hair drew attention to my unusual hair color and made my pale eyes sparkle.
I let go of my link to the animals as Robin leaned in to capture my lips, my eyes fluttering closed, senses attuned only to this, to the feel of her soft lips on mine, her aura like cozying up next to the coals of a banked fire.I basked in the bond that hummed between us, in the feeling of love, and contentment, and peace—things I once thought I’d never feel from this powerful, complicated woman.Getting her birthright back had healed more than just her magic.
I smiled against her lips as another strong aura approached and my soul hummed in recognition.Sadavir stopped just behind us, making himself known, but not wanting to butt in.I could feel his respectful admiration down our bond.And so could Robin.
No one had warned us that there might be unexpected consequences for bonding an omega totwoalpha true mates.Probably because it rarely happened.From everything we had been able to find on the subject since our bonding, most alphas would kill each other rather than share a true mate.To me, that just reinforced what I already knew—my mates were extraordinary.Though they insisted that the whole thing was because of something to do with me and my unusually strong omega nature.
Whatever the cause, the bonds between me and Robin and me and Sadavir weren’t separate, the way we had expected them to be.Sadavir and Robin were now tied together as well.Their connection wasn’t quite as strong as mine was to them, but it was close.It had caused no small amount of alarm and ruffled feathers at first.But once the two alphas got past their ingrained societal, posturing nonsense… well, it was hardly a surprise to me when they realized they actuallylikedeach other.
And that initial respect and friendship between them had quickly ignited into more.How could it not, when they were both such perfect compliments to each other?Robin was fire, all spark, and heat.And just like fire, her nature could manifest as either a warm, gentle glow or a raging, all-consuming wildfire.Sadavir was earth, steady and grounding.While he was the rock we needed, proceeding through things with a sense of steadfast calm, sometimes he needed a little spark lit under him to remind him not to be so serious and let go.They balanced each other.And the three of us balanced the entire court.
All of us were meant for each other.I knew that with a certainty that I felt deep in my being, where my magic was rooted, where the dormant bit of prophetic sight I sometimes possessed slumbered.But I tried not to betoosmug about it.
Robin pulled back a bit, ending our kiss so Sadavir could lean in and steal one of his own.One of his big hands came to rest at the curve of my hip, and I suspected his other arm had curled around Robin.There was no tensing up, no snarling or biting, snarky words.I could feel myself practically glowing with contentment, and I knew my aura must be unfurling, seeping out to fill the space with the sensation of happy omega.
Sadavir chuckled when we came up for air.Robin sighed dramatically.“I think we’ve made a grave error, snake,” she said with mock weariness.At Sadavir’s questioning hum, she elaborated.“We stood too close to each other, and now our poor guests are drunk on omega pheromones.”She sighed again.“Cleaning up after community orgies is such a hassle.”
I nudged my shoulder against hers.“Oh, be quiet, it’s notthatbad.”
I felt Cicely join us before he spoke in my mind, his tone lace with warm humor.Oh, it’sdefinitelythat bad.Not that anyone is actually complaining.They all love knowing their queen is happy.
He came and dropped a kiss to my bare shoulder before settling in against the railing at my side, opposite Robin.I shook my head.“Stop calling me that.”
The paranorms in the area—the unaligned in particular—had taken to calling meQueenRuya.Or, when they were really in a fine mood,Empress.Apparently, everyone thought all of this wasmydoing.They didn’t know how long Robin had been planning her revenge or all the plotting that had occurred behind the scenes, all they knew was that a strong omega had appeared in the rebel court, bringing with her a bunch of new faces, and suddenly our court was overthrowing the syndicate.
My little outburst back when everyone was gathered in the streets waiting for us to mete out justice hadn’t helped matters.Now everyone thought I was the leader of the court, and they held usallup as saviors, referring to the other court members as princes and princesses.It went against the grain, since we had set up a council and were striving toeliminateclassism and rankings that smacked of royalty or dictator ship… but I had the feeling we weren’t going to win this particular battle.I sighed.Although, itwasquite amusing to see the reactions of my lovers when someone called Martina “Princess,” or referred to Dusek as their “Prince.”
The snapping sound of dragonfly wings told me Yukio had just flown up to the balcony from below, rather than taking the stairs.Cool fingers trailed down the side of my neck, where it was exposed by my upswept hair.“I felt whatever you idiots were doing to her all the way across the building,” he said in a cold voice.“Do you have no restraint?”
I turned toward him, stepping away from the rail, and the others, to reach for my pixie and draw him into a slow, icy, peppermint-flavored kiss.“There,” I said, drawing back with a grin.“I’m sorry you felt left out, poor thing.”
He huffed at my patronizing tone, but his hands came to rest on my hips, holding me close.“Don’t be dumb.I didn’t feelleft out.”He leaned in to whisper, sending a bit of his ice magic rippling along the shell of my ear in a delicious tease.“I just thought maybe you were finally ready to call it a night and get away from the crowd.Myqueen.”
I should probably tell him to stop calling me that.But at the moment, my body didn’t seem to get the message about equal rights and all that nonsense.The way Yukio called me his queen made my knees weak and my body flood with anticipation and heat.“Iamfeeling a bit tired,” I said, trying very hard to keep my voice flat and even, and not give away the sudden desire to be alone with my court so they couldworshipas they pleased.
Yukio chuckled, his silky voice low and full of dangerous promise.Then he bent and slipped an arm behind my knees and across my back, scooping me up into his arms and heading for the stairs.I laughed in surprise at his antics and looped an arm around his neck, lifting my other hand to wave to the others like a royal waving at the peasants watching her procession.
Unfortunately, a little sliver of common sense managed to work its way into my brain as we reached the bottom of the stairs.“Put me down, Yuki,” I said on a sigh.“We need to play proper hosts just a little bit longer.”
He scoffed and refused to release me.“At least let me say goodbye to my mom,” I said firmly.“She’s has an early morning flight.”
He sighed and finally relented.“Fine.But don’t take too long, or there will be consequences, your majesty.”He lightly swatted my butt in warning, and I did my best to stifle my grin.
I sensed the rest of the court drawing closer to me as Yukio directed me toward my mother, who was having the time of her life, now that she was free and unattached and able to live her life without fear of the emperor’s wrath.She was living in the farthest northern region of the upper peninsula these days, where she could be alone in the forest for long stretches of time, communing with nature and healing.But she took every opportunity she could to attend holiday events and family gatherings.Balance, she said.And I understood.There was nothing quite so important as that elusive balance, in every area of life.
Once I said my goodbyes to my mother, and she hugged me to within an inch of my life, I headed toward the back of the stage, to the elevator that would take us to the private underground sanctuary.Some of the most difficult repairs had been down there, where the cult had blasted into the foundations of the building.But with Robin’s hoarded wealth and a community of paranorms determined to show their gratitude for their newly won freedom, the repairs had moved with astounding speed.
On the way to the back of the building, we were stopped by soft-spoken man whose quiet baritone somehow managed to immediately command attention.Odin fluttered down to land on my shoulder and I reached out with my magic so I could see who we were addressing, even though the man’s carefully banked aura told me what he was.My borrowed sight showed me a tall elderly man with a long, drooping mustache and the most brilliant blue eyes I had ever seen.Unassuming as he was trying to be, my senses whisperedalpha.
