Page 17 of Realm of Flames (Reborn 3)
“The wolf shouldn’t be going,” Edmund ground out, expressing one of many biases he had, no doubt. I also felt like they were trying to put us off going, mostly because they were worried of what we would tell the crown when we got there. Honestly, I don’t think we had planned on talking shit about any of them, considering we had more pressing matters, but the more they annoyed us, the more appealing the concept sounded. Someone should warn them of that.
Croy let out a laugh, wrapping an arm around Maya’s waist and kissing her cheek as she smiled up at him. I couldn’t help but laugh myself, because trying to convince Croy to not go somewhere would be an absolute failure each and every time. The man had been waiting for his mate for over two hundred years. I couldn’t imagine how frustrating that had been, considering I had found Maya so much earlier in my life.
“You are wasting our time,” Henry reminded them. “Let’s open the portal and get this shit done with, or else the crown really will be hearing about the shit you always pull.” I couldn’t help but agree with him whole-heartedly, and the fear that went over Larry’s face had me feeling nearly exhilarated with excitement. I didn’t like any of them, but Larry struck a particular nerve with me.
I didn’t have a super strong reason for it, except that he was a piece of shit.
With a grunt, Edmund motioned for Larry to join him on the outside of the room, the latter looking like he was damn near pouting. I sighed, wishing that Maya was in my arms as we waited with a small level of patience while their magic filled the large room.
The council building wasn’t officially used very often unless Dreki realm representatives were coming to visit, we were holding events or ceremonies, or more importantly, meeting with other shifter groups on a large level. However, it was fairly modern and new, only established when Marco suggested that the rundown mansion they’d been using wasn’t suitable for everything they did, and not just because it looked creepy as fuck. No, the actual power of opening the portal had been causing it to break down far faster than they probably realized. Which was why this room, void of windows and filled with stone walls, ceilings, and floors, was used purely for that purpose, the portal set to open in the center of the room where we stood.
I hadn’t experienced a portal opening in some time, but more so, I hadn’t traveled through one in even longer. I wasn’t nervous about it, but I was a bit concerned regarding Maya and Croy because if someone wasn’t used to portaling to a different realm, it could easily cause them to feel sick. Looking over Maya, my brow dipped as I wondered if that was something Marco had considered. I had to assume that because, as a phoenix and from the Dreki realm, she would be okay, but not knowing for sure still gave me a level of anxiety. Then again, most things about Maya that were unknowns had me overthinking and feeling worried. It wasn’t in my nature to be like that, but since the first day I met her, I’d felt an overwhelming sense of protectiveness when it came to my mate.
“I’m goingto grab the extra book from my locker, just in case,” Anani explained lazily, letting out a yawn that usually followed him throughout most of the morning. Neither of us were morning people, and why humans insisted on having their school days start so early was beyond me. The academies in the Dreki realm, even the most militant ones, at least allowed for the day to start fully before demanding our attention.
“Okay.” I nodded and walked into the main foyer as he went over to the long hallway of lockers nearby. I almost decided to take a seat along one of the main stone benches that were inside of the atrium, but then something caught my eye.
Well, not just my eye, but my entire being. It was a rather visceral reaction, the sweet smell of rose and ash pushing through the space as my eyes locked on a small frame that bounced off Lorn, not having seen him, before recoiling. Fuck. My dragon let out a low dangerous snarl in my chest, causing some of the shifters around me to flinch as I walked forward, not caring what Lorn was saying but knowing that it was no doubt no good. It didn’t help that it was very obvious that he had purposefully put himself in her pathway or the fact that she had clearly hurt herself hitting into him.
All of it made me angry. Irrationally so, despite having no goddamn reason for it.
Lorn was a stupid motherfucker, but more than that, he was violent. He was a piece of shit, hot-headed, and I absolutely was going to lose my shit if he touched the small woman in front of him. The small, delicate creature who I had yet to even look at fully, yet everything about her was causing my body to harden with tension and lust. It was pretty rare for me to have any type of reaction to a woman, if we were being honest, let alone one this strong. But my blood suddenly felt like it was on fire, and I could feel everything inside of me coiling up dangerously, as if we were about to fight. Which, depending on how well Lorn took directions, was entirely possible.
His words as I approached had a low growl breaking from my throat. “Don’t worry babe, you can make it up to me.”
Immediately my voice broke into a snarl over whatever she was going to say. “Or you can fuck off, Lorn.”
Any sense of my relaxed nature was gone as the small pixie-like woman in front of me jumped slightly, her pulse picking up as she seemed to step nearer to me instinctively, making my dragon let out a low rumble of approval.
“This your girl or something?” Lorn sneered, offering a snicker as if this was goddamn amusing. She wasn’t my girl yet, but she one hundred percent was going to be. My hand grazed her lower back, preparing to pull her towards me or behind me in case Lorn pushed being a problem. My gaze snapped down to look into a pair of perfectly golden brown eyes that were filled with surprise and heat.
“Yep,” I answered easily, not bothering to look back at the man. My dragon roared in recognition inside of my head as I tried to not get too distracted by the strong wave of desire and connection I felt between us. I didn’t trust Lorn enough to stop paying attention to him completely, though.
Anani appeared next to me, a sound breaking from the woman’s throat in surprise as she looked between us. I could feel something shifting under her skin, but I couldn’t tell you what type of shifter she was, just that the magic she seemed to surround herself with was intoxicating. I found myself both wanting to hide this woman from everyone and openly claim her against one of the many locker hallway walls. Her lips parted and eyes dilated slightly as a panicked and confused expression crossed her face, desire making me want to scoop her up to take her away from all of this.
“Alright Ledger,” Lorn scoffed, but I barely heard him as Anani commented on what an asshole the bear shifter was as he walked away. That was an accurate statement. The woman jumped slightly at my brother’s blunt words but still leaned into us as I fought the urge to ask her where she had been this entire time.
After all, it wasn’t every day you found your mate.
In retrospect,I suppose it was good that I hadn’t asked her, because it became clear fairly quickly that she had not only been unaware of shifters existing but was confused by her instinctive reaction to us as her mates. I had a feeling that randomly claiming her sweet mouth would have probably not only terrified her that first day but also really caused her to question who she could trust and not trust. Shaking my head, the realization of how fast everything had changed in a matter of days really hit me.
Where would we be at the end of this trip to the Dreki realm? What would we find out about Maya and her health? I prayed to the Maker that it would be nothing bad, but it terrified me that there was a possibility. I mean, it had been only a day or so ago that she had been unconscious with a fever. When would that strike again?
I was pulled from my thoughts as the outside edge of the room began to grow heavy with magic, a black and gold substance filling the groove in the floor that began in a circle and worked its way around the perimeter before starting to fill in an extensive portion of runes carved out in the stone flooring. They lit with gold flames, which quickly spread until it reached the center of the room into two small circles that contained the substance as fire-like pillars rose up and arched to meet one another, creating a portal-like doorway. Maya’s small gasp of awe had me watching the way her eyes lit up, dancing with flames, as her own skin seemed to shimmer underneath the light of it. I tilted my head, noticing that the sapphire shimmer of scales ran across her neck in an intoxicating pattern that had me wanting to trace it with my tongue.
Although, that pattern was such a large part of the reason why we had made this urgent trip. Croy’s concern over it, I knew, was well founded, even if I didn’t completely understand why.
The portal formed completely as sparks of magic rained down over us, the sound of wind brushing through the room causing Maya to sway slightly. Her hands clasped over Bella nervously as I came up to her side, wrapping my arm around her as she offered me an eager and excited expression, making me hope to the Maker that this would be a pleasant experience for her.
“Is Bella going to be okay?” Maya panicked over the wind as I frowned slightly, not knowing exactly how the kitten would fare through portaling. It wasn’t exactly made for normal and less durable creatures. My dragon let out a low rumble of concern, his excitement to return to the origination of our magic tampered by our mate’s concern.
“Here, give her to me,” Atlas called out, taking the kitten from her and easing her against his chest into the vest of his uniform. Her head popped out as her small paws folded over the top of it, making Maya smile at the image of the massive bastard keeping a kitten safe like that. Both of our eyes widened as a ripple of magic suddenly ran over Atlas’s skin and caused Bella to turn completely black in coloring, a smoky, almost shadow-like texture coming off her skin as she let out a loud meow. A far louder meow than should have been possible, her energy spiking less like a kitten and more like a supernatural creature of some kind.
“Bella, you look beautiful!” Maya cooed before looking up at Atlas. “Why does she look like that?”
“After,” Atlas promised as Marco called for us to follow toward the portal. Immediately, I tightened my hand around hers as Henry and Marco took the lead. Croy grabbed her other hand, and I let my magic run across Maya’s skin, sensing the soft, hot texture of her blood that laid right underneath her golden skin. My dragon was a bit too close to the surface right now for me to feel completely relaxed, and I knew portaling wouldn’t make it any easier.
I worried that when we landed in the new realm, eventually shifting to travel throughout Dreki, the meager barrier of control I had today would snap. It would be smart of me to give Maya some distance until my emotions were more balanced… but instead I just tightened my grip on her. I wasn’t good at concealing my emotions, and even less so with Maya because she was so open and honest with hers. I just had to hope that she would accept me, flaws and all, because hiding from her wasn’t an option for me anymore.
