Page 62 of Bearly Yours
King Garyyk was handsome, intelligent, and articulate. He even gave off this kind of cool-guy vibe that was hard to define. His skin was pale, and his eyes were a sharp grey with a starburst of light within them. Any time his gaze focused on you, the starburst of light expanded, making his eyes seem like they were glowing. Trolls lived underground in dens—mountainouspalaces—and were sensitive to light. Their eyes allowed them to see, even in complete darkness. They had earth and rock magic, which was well suited for their preferred environment.
And Virion, who’d been hanging around our town for a month or two and staying at a bed and breakfast downtown, was the High Elven Prince. He had copper hair, green and gold eyes, and an unsettling presence, though I couldn’t figure out why.
My bear spoke up.Two souls.
I sat back and studied him. That must be it. It couldn’t be seen, of course, at least not by a bear shifter, but I’d heard that most High Elves had two souls. He was wearing various pieces of armor, not the least of which were his beautiful, elven-scroll bracers, and he carried twin curved swords on his back. With my shifter hearing I could hear them murmuring to themselves, and one of them was singing very softly.
After Roarke and I and Alpha Riggs explained the situation, and King Draven laid out the evidence his people had gathered, we were excused as the Triad deliberated.
When we were called back in, King Garyyk spoke. “We’ve viewed the memory crystals of the secret keepers and the evidence that King Draven and his team have gathered in the last few days. We, as a royal Triad have determined that Premier Drakis is guilty. He’s charged with multiple accounts of assault, thirty-five counts of murder, and not the least of which, a gross misuse and abuse of his sacred office. He is to be remanded toDeep Dark Prison for the duration of his life. If he resists arrest, he’s to be put down.” The starburst in King Drakyys’ eyes flared at his words, and the rest of the Council nodded in solemn agreement.
It was rare in our world, this abuse and utter depravity of someone in a high office, because paranormals didn’t tolerate it. If they were guilty, they went to prison or were killed. We didn’t mess around, again, because paranormals were so powerful. The world would be ripped apart at the seams if paranormal kings, queens, princes, and lawmakers allowed gross infractions of justice.
The Council broke up, and King Garyyk pulled me aside for a moment. “I am sorry this has happened to you and your family, Emrie. We trolls are protectors, much like our cousins the gargoyles. It’s painful to see such a disregard for life in an elder dragon.”
Roarke wrapped his arms around me from behind, and I leaned into his strength. “It’s possible his long life has unbalanced him,” Roarke said, and King Garyyk nodded.
“This happens, even to some of my kind who are equally long-lived.” He put his hands in the pockets of his probably three-thousand-dollar dress slacks and looked off into the distance, then he turned back to Roarke and I. “I will send some of my warriors to attend his arrest. I am uneasy. I don’t think he’ll go quietly.”
“I can almost guarantee he won’t,” Roarke said, and I nodded in agreement.
“Please take care,” I said in a small voice. “He’s very dangerous. To reduce potential bystanders getting hurt, the task force is confronting him at his home, yes?”
King Garyyk nodded. “That’s the plan. We can’t afford humans or innocent civilians getting ensnared in this. Fortunately, his house sits on a lot of property, so other thanthose that work on his property and in his home, civilians shouldn’t be a problem.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “Try not to worry. We know what we’re up against. Take care, both of you. I’ll be in touch.” Then he got in his limo, the rest of the Trio got in theirs, and the motorcade drove away.
I turned into the circle of Roarke’s arms and cuddled into him for comfort. I had the most horrible feeling. And I knew Roarke was feeling it, too, as were the rest of my Clan. We all stood on the front lawn in silence for a few minutes before we trickled back into the lodge.
Whatever tomorrow would bring, I was glad I had my Clan and my mate.
Chapter 18
Emrie
Iwoke up to the buzzing of my phone. Roarke, in bed next to me, reached over to pick it up. When he saw who it was on the caller ID, he sat up with a jerk.
“He’s escaped,” he said into the phone, in leu of a greeting.
I could hear King Garyyk on the other end. “He was already gone. We think one of our guards tipped him off. King Draven, Prince Virion and I are looking into it, but Roarke, you know what this means.”
“He’s coming,” he said, in a voice completely devoid of emotion.
“Yes. And this goes beyond him wanting Emrie dead because she’s a product of her mother and father. Now I’m betting he wants revenge on all of you. My team and I are trying to make it back to you to help, but I don’t think we’ll make it in time.”
“We’re on our own,” my mate said softly.
Our door banged open, and I squeaked and pulled the covers up to my shoulders. King Draven, Rhys from the Laughing Elf, Prince Virion, and the rest of my Clan were all standing there.
“No, you’re not. We’re all here,” Draven said.
Roarke said goodbye to King Garyyk and shook King Draven’s, Rhys’, and Prince Virion’s hands. “Thank you for coming.”
I hurried out of bed and bundled into comfortable clothing and tennis shoes, piling my long hair up on top of my head in a quick and dirty bun that would stay put even if I walked into a hurricane.
We waited in front of the lodge again, like we had last night. Roarke was doing flyovers over Moonhaven and the Clan property. We wanted to draw Drakis here to protect the rest of Moonhaven, and we all desperately hoped it would work.
A rampaging dragon could destroy villages and towns, and had done so many, many times in the past. There was a good reason most of them had been wiped out by paranormals and humans. Most dragons back then were vicious. The old human saying was true: absolute power corrupts absolutely. And dragons were at the tippy top of the food chain. The apex of power.
I just hoped everyone I loved stayed alive. I didn’t want to loseanyone.
