Aerin fights the urge to roll her eyes, to be mean to the Human. If only to be mean to someone other than herself.
“I’m fine.” Her words are cold and final.
Emrys settles his massive body at Aerin’s feet. Malice sits at the other end of the cart. Aerin has a direct view of him from the back bench, but he would have to turn his head to look at her. He pointedly, does no such thing. His wings are tight against his back and his leg bounces with impatience as the two guards settle into the seats nearest to the door. Vyx and Quinn take seats between Malice and Aerin, leaving Khortland and Reyna sitting in the back, opposite Aerin. Khortland puts Reyna into the corner, placing himself between her and the rest of the cart. Aerin watches as his hand fights the natural urge to touch her.
Instead of looking away Aerin studies the Human. Apparently, the locket gave Reyna just about everything short of magic: height, looks, enhanced senses. They have yet to test her strength or durability, but she is much more Fae than Aerin anticipated.
Reyna looks nervous as the cart doors slide closed and the conductor announces departure. Aerin supposes she’s never ridden the tube. Reyna looks wide eyed as the massive machine slides forward, only taking seconds to reach full speed, then another few to be out of the Southern gates of Zeneith, heading West.
The group settles in for the ride, the others talking in hushed tones among themselves. Aerin tries to distract herself by planning for their arrival. It will have to appear that Reyna is a new friend. When they arrive, Aerin will need to be on Khortland’s arm, Emrys at her side. By now the announcement of his gift has been all over the tabloids, but the actual presence of the Wolf will cause a stir.
Aerin starts a to-do list and shares it with Quinn, who ultimately will coordinate most of it. They message back and forth. Aerin’s appalled to learn that Reyna doesn’t have a phone, immediately ordering her one.
She allows her mind to keep churning through logical action, if only to keep it away from Malice. She places a massive grocery order. She messages Theoden. Updates her calendars.
Anxiety over the Witch’s words eat at her.Keep them close to you; it is not safe anymore.Aerin wants her bond-mates within her sight. She wants Theoden here. The space he’s supposed to take up at her side feels emptier than normal, especially with the turbulence in her other relationships.
Almost everything the Witch said haunts Aerin. She has known since the age of eight to expect five bonded-mates. A secret she’s kept close to her chest after watching her father’s violent response to the Witch taking her away from the Zeneith Royal Village all those years ago.
Despite knowing immediately and profoundly the moment she lays eyes on one of her bond-mates, as if seeing them rearranges something inside of her, Aerin realized early on that it wouldn’t be easy to find them among all the creatures of Novhelm. She always thought she would have time. Time to find them, to develop their relationships naturally, to bond with them. Now, she isn’t sure. Now, she’s worried that fate has been barreling her towards some inevitability every day she’s been alive.
Before the contract, Aerin had been well on her way to completing the tasks given to her by the Witch at eight-years-old. She knew Khortland was her Paramyr. By eighteen, they’d come to an understanding of what that would mean for them, though Aerin always hoped she’d be able to change his mind. At twenty-eight, Aerin met Theoden on a beach outside of Valtara. She had been determined not to screw things up with him. Luckily, with Theo, things were easy. They always have been. He quickly became her best friend, helped her explore her powers, took her on adventures. It was because of Theo Aerin discovered the weaknesses in the city walls. It was because of Theo she stumbled upon Emrys.
Falling in love with Emrys was the simplest thing Aerin has ever done. His kindness is profound, his sincerity poignant. Aerin was still only a Faeling at twenty-nine, but such things don’t matter to Rogues. Aerin gave Emrys her heart and her body quickly. After some coaxing due to her age, she was able to turn her relationship with Theo into a romantic one as well. Aerin was over the moon. Floating in a bubble. So full of love for the two of them she didn’t know what to do with it all.
She forgot the guillotine that loomed over them, ignored it so thoroughly that the day Elara found Aerin and Emrys, Aerin was truly surprised. Naïve was a good way to describe her back then, if she is being kind. Stupid, if she’s not.
Her father offered her the blood-contract. Six days after her thirtieth birthday, finally considered an adult Fae, she signed away eight years of her life. Because she’d been naïve. Because she desperately wanted to protect her bond-mates.
Eight years separated from them, from her magic, from herself. Now she has it all back, but the guillotine looms again. A clock over her head, tick, tick, ticking.
60
AERIN
The time between Zeneith and Keylar goes by quickly with Aerin’s racing mind. As the cart door slides open the Zeneith Royal Guards are quick to rise, blocking the exit. Quinn stands, then scowls when they don’t move.
“Hello?” She waves in their face. “I need to stretch my legs.”
“No one gets off,” the older guard says.
“Are you serious?” Quinn whines.
“King’s orders.”
“Well, the King doesn’t have to know, does he?” Quinn asks in her most sultry voice. She throws in a pout for good measure.
The younger one seems to be weakening his resolve. Quinn runs a finger down the lapel of his uniform.
“Maybe you can escort me?” She bats her eyes, the purr in her voice more like a hiss.
The elder nudges him. Clearing his throat, he parrots the other male: “King’s orders.”
“What’s the big deal? It’s just Keylar,” Quinn questions.
“It’s the Humans,” he says, this time getting a full slap on the chest from the older guard. While no one moves, Aerin can tell this caught everyone’s interest.
Vyx laughs. “You’re afraid of a couple of Humans?”
