Page 42 of Ruling in Flames (Reborn 5)
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MAYA
I wasn’tpositive I’d fully believed Henry when he said there were abandoned villages scattered across Europe—but I did now.
The one thing that never ceased to amaze me was how quickly my mates could make things happen. It had been exactly forty-eight hours, and in that span of time, so many things had changed. So much so that as I stood at the edge of our newly purchased property—although to call it a simple property didn’t exactly ring true—I felt a sense of awe and confusion.
How the heck had they done this so quickly? Two days and they had found nearly fifty acres of land that already had a village infrastructure, and it was only a few miles down the road from our own property. The land in between? Purchased by my mates as well. We now owned everything from the coastline that bordered our home to the far-reaching rocky lands that would soon be inhabited by the dragons and phoenixes who were trusting me to lead.
A concept that still boggled my mind.
I didn’t know how to describe the village except that it looked like something out of a fairytale. It had stone-paved roads that looked a bit worse for wear, and nearly two dozen smaller properties that all centered around a square with a large fountain that was currently in disrepair. There was something beautiful about the antique scene, especially with the way the Mediterranean sun cast everything in a clean, pure light—but I also knew that this place would have to come a long way before it’d be ready for anyone to move in.
Then again, considering Marco was only feet away from me, talking to four different contractors he’d hired for such a large task, maybe it wouldn’t take that long. I was just glad that the community from the mountains as well as those from Ry’s compound had been safely placed in a series of rental properties in a nearby city for the time being. It made me feel more secure knowing they were safe and well taken care of. My brothers and Eleven were helping with any transitional situations going on and making sure the people—my people—had what they needed while we were here, trying to figure out how we were supposed to create a modern-day kingdom.
It was odd because the notion of having all your ‘people’ living in the same area wasn’t new—like pack lands for wolf shifters—but the idea of having one that I protected with my mates felt so surreal.
It was becoming clear to me that most dragons and phoenixes were more comfortable with a system of hierarchy. Would I be expected to act like a true queen, like my mother? I didn’t think I could sit on a throne all day, or wear a crown… Scratch that, I definitely didn’t want a throne. Maybe a super soft chair with some books stacked nearby and a bed for Bella. I could manage that.
I leaned back against Az, who stood behind me, examining the property with a bit of surprise and a fair amount of curiosity.
“It’s a beautiful location,” he observed. “I’m surprised it hasn’t been developed.”
“Something about the land?” I shrugged, repeating what Henry had mentioned back at the compound. Deciding I wanted a better look at it, I took Az’s hand, walking past my mates as they began to plan out things. While there were a lot of important elements we needed to consider, my main focus was on living conditions.
“I think the houses should be facing the coast, so they have a view, and it would make it easier for them to go flying.” I looked up at Az, who nodded in agreement. I looked towards one of the shops, the wooden door hanging open and revealing several shelves inside, along with a small counter. While the shopswere tiny, if they were fixed up and equipped, they would be the perfect size for our little kingdom.
“Peanut,” Anani said as he appeared next to us, “Settle something for Ledger and me.”
“Okay.” I smiled in amusement.
Ledger offered me a cute grin. “Modern or traditional? Do you want the new housing to match all of this or be super modern?”
I blinked and looked around. “I think this is really cool. I wouldn’t want to destroy that.”
“Told you,” Ledger gloated as Anani huffed, warmth surging through me at their easy banter. My gaze went towards the far end of the plaza, past the fountain, towards one of the larger buildings. Behind it was a vast amount of land that would allow for expansion.
“We should make that housing for the children from Ry’s compound. Of course we would have to renovate it and make it safe, but it’s huge and would allow them to be near everyone else so that they still feel part of the community. I imagine we’ll have to handle schooling too.”
“It would sort of be like a boarding school,” Anani said.
“I just hope they don’t feel alone. I don’t like the idea of them not having family…but Ry made sure that wasn’t possible,” I ground out in frustration.
“I think the entire village will become their family,” Ledger gently assured me. “And we’ll only be a mile away at most, so we could have an open invitation for them to come to the main residence whenever they wanted, even if it’s just for dinner.”
“I love that,” I said, wishing that they could all live in the house with us, wanting to keep them under my wing. I also understood they needed space to grow and spread their own wings—to experience this newfound freedom. We would just have to make sure to have a lot of people watching over them, tending to whatever they needed.
As the twins began discussing options for the school, I looked up at Az, who seemed, like me, to be envisioning what the land could be. In the past two days, he and I had grown far more comfortable with one another. We hadn’t had a chance to talk about the feather, but one night he fell asleep on the couch with me, and when I woke up, he had pulled me onto his lap, my head tucked against his neck. The man was an absolute sweetheart.
But like I said, it had been hard to get a minute alone, especially since my parents had only left an hour ago for the Dreki realm.
Not that they would be gone for long. We expected them back by early evening, portalling right back to where they had left our property. Especially since they were only grabbing a crown and a few other things for the coronation ceremony.
My throat tightened at the thought. It of course made sense that I would have to go through a coronation…I just hadn’t expected it to be so soon. More so, it wasn’t going to be an inconsequential event. I wasn’t positive what my mom said to Marco, but he immediately had the entire space in the back of our house cordoned off as vendors showed up within the hour to begin work. There were seats and tables being brought in, along with a ton of other elements for hosting a large-scale event.
I was curious if they would bring anyone back from the Dreki realm for it. I didn’t think it was fully necessary, but I couldn’t help but wonder if they would try to include my mates’ families. That was the part I was worried about. I was worried that my parents weren’t aware of any possible tension there, so they would ask them to come… And, well, that would upset my mates. Which would obviously upset me.
I squeezed my hands together in thought as Az shifted a piece of hair behind my ear, drawing my attention.
