“I know,” Taras agreed.“And we apologize for that, Carmen.”
“We have news.Important news, and it affects all the animi.”Lyra gestured toward the hall.“We need everyone to gather in the large living room, if you would, please.”
“I’ll get everyone.”Shayree nodded and strode out.
Maddie noticed Shayree seemed to be the leader of the group.
“Thank you,” Lyra said.
A few minutes later, the ladies were all gathered in a large living area.It held five couches, three love seats, five overstuffed chairs, and a lot of floor space with huge pillows for lounging.Almost all the surfaces were covered with women.Maddie counted fifty-two in all.
“Holy sh?—”
“Maddison,” Roan snapped.
“That’s not my name, you overgrown man-child,” she snapped right back.
“Maddie is your full name?”He stood beside her at the front of the room, looking out over the group, who stared back at them.Well, not them per se, but at Taras and Lyra, who were standing just to the right of them.
“I didn’t say that, either.”She was being purposefully difficult, but he was being a dick.And as the saying goes, all’s fair in difficult and dick.Or something like that.
“Thank you all for joining on such short notice.”Immediately, the room’s soft chatter quieted, and all eyes focused on Taras.“We’ve had some news from the Council of Shaman.”
The females’ gazes shifted to Roan.When he didn’t speak, they turned back to the prime and prima.
“Thank you, Roan, for that riveting account,” Lyra said dryly, causing the ladies to chuckle.But then her face grew serious, and everyone in the room felt the gravity of the situation.Lyra stepped forward and placed her arms behind her.Her shoulders rolled back, and her chin rose.Suddenly, she was no longer the kind, gentle mother figure.She was the commanding prima.“The Creator of our kind, Visata, has made a new decree, and it is for theanimi—for you.”She held out her arms, encompassing the room.
The women all seemed to lean forward at once, and the tension in the room grew.Maddie’s heart pumped a little quicker, though she wasn’t sure why she was getting so worked up.She already knew what Lyra was going to say.But that was before she’d seen the women, before she’d been introduced to Shayree and realized what their lives were.They were privileged captives, but captives nonetheless.
“Roan, Chosen Shaman for Visata, speak, so we can listen.”Taras’s words were so formal they startled Maddie.
Now Roan stepped forward, almost robotically, and words poured forth.“So the Creator has spoken: My servants, you have gathered with the intention of seeking to bring justice where there has been corruption.What you desire to accomplish is honorable, but I ask you this: What about the injustices you allowed to be committed a decade ago?Did you seek my guidance then?Did you think I could not help you?Do you think anything is too great for me?Did you think I did not care?
“I have seen the fighting that has gone on between my children.I see it all.I see every worry, and I feel every fear you have.I have not left you to your own devices, but I wait for you to call on Me for help.I wait for you to recognize that I did not create you because I wanted to be a spectator of my creation.I created you because I love you.Each and every one of you from the ten kingdoms to each and every Shaman servant.You are mine.And here, theanimiin this room, are mine.And because you are mine, you must endure the consequences of your actions, and the actions of those who you lead or are led by.You made a law to stop the atrocious action of taking humans, and for that, there is a blessing.But you let them be taken in the first place.And for that, there is a punishment.
“This day, I wash you clean of your past transgressions.You will go forward as my voice to the ten kingdoms.You will tell them what you have heard this day.The human females who have become possible mates for the Damarians will no longer simply find a male and fall in love.They will be preordained.Each male will have one mate that is theirs and theirs alone.
“I will not strip theanimipower from them because it is not my desire to see my children perish, but I will make them have an even greater appreciation for the gift that a mate is.The mark she bears will match his own.This is how you will know to whom each belongs.
“The females you have cared for all this time will be given their mark and sent to the kingdom for which it matches.Their mates might be there, or might not have been born yet.To this end, I will grant them the lifespan of their future mate.As long as theanimuschooses to stay with the kingdom for which she is destined, she will be healthy and live beyond a human lifespan.If she chooses to leave, then her lifespan will be that of a human, and her mate will have to accept her choice.She will be made a null, no longer able to bring forth the soul of the animal in a male.Therefore, no beastwalker will be tempted to take her.The male that would have been her mate will forever live without the full ability of his beast.
“I hear each of your thoughts.I know your hearts.And I am not unsympathetic to your plight.For that, you will receive a mercy and a lesson.Those that bond will be known as theErossazzi–theOnly Beloved–as you are my Only Beloved.The beastwalkers and theanimiwho complete the bond will carry the essence of the other in their souls, as you carry Me in yours.They will be a beacon to one another for healing and feeding each other’s soul with emotion and touch.Just as I ask you to look to Me for guidance, love, and spiritual nourishment.Should the males be forcefully separated from their mates, they will wreak blind havoc on the world until they are reunited.As you would do should you leave My presence.TheErossazziwill bear maleandfemale children, just as I wish for you to bear the fruit of my love.
“You have my forgiveness, but there is always a consequence to wrongdoing.Go now.Deal with those who are still choosing the wrong path.Help those who need it.I am with you every step of the way.”
Roan immediately turned around and walked straight up to Maddie.He took her face in his hands, his swirling, silver eyes, which she now saw all the time, searched every inch of her.“Are you okay?”His voice was gruff.
“Umm.”She cleared her throat and held her head very still, mindful of the fact that there was a room full of women staring at them.Roan had just basically dropped a biblical prophecy down on their heads from their god, and it was going to change the course of these people’s lives.And he was worried abouther.“I’m fine.Why wouldn’t I be?”
Roan’s jaw clenched tightly as his handsome face darkened briefly before he dropped his hands and took a step back.“Right.”He gave a sharp nod.“Of course.”
When he turned back to the room, Shayree was standing at the front of the group.Others were also standing, but most still remained seated.All of them looked shell-shocked, sucker-punched, gobsmacked, or, dammit, she really needed Katy for a better word to describe what was happening in the room.
“So we can go home?”a petite blonde, standing in the far back corner, asked.She had her arms folded in front of her, and her shoulders were sort of hunched over in what Maddie would have considered a protective posture.Maddie glanced around the room but didn’t notice anyone else exhibiting the same behavior.
“It is an option,” Lyra answered.“What we did was wrong.”
“You’ve apologized before.”Shayree shook her head at the prima.“And we’ve all been here long enough to knowwhywe’re still here.”
