It was well past midnight when Rhia snapped awake. Something had stirred her. Laying perfectly still while her eyes adjusted to the darkness, her senses were on full alert. Slowly, she sat up, tested each stiff, achy limb, and looked around the huge bedroom full of slumbering bodies for the source of her unease.
Finally, she spotted something moving. She stumbled toward the glass wall of windows and peered out onto the terrace. Finally, she spotted something moving. After what seemed like endless moments of stretching her neck trying to see off into the distance, Rhia froze. Commanding her fatigued legs to steady underneath her, she leaned as far over the railing as she dared.
“Oh my god!” she gasped, and then turned and ran headlong into a haggard-looking Sharyn.
“Rhia, what is it? What is wrong?”
Sharyn staggered, but Linc was suddenly there. His arm shot out and grabbed Rhia as she tried to fly by. Shaking off his grip, Rhia ran out of the bedroom, through the living area, and out of the apartments. Sharyn and Linc were on her heels, hissing for her to stop.
Stop? Not an option.
Linc caught up to her just as she threw open the towering front door and jumped into Joan’s arms, which caused Joan to fall backward against a man who looked just like Linc—his twin.
“Joan!” Rhia shrieked. “It’s really you! Oh my god, it’s you!”
Thank the Ancestors. Which she certainly believed in now, given the earthly magick she’d witnessed tonight. Rhia hugged Joan so tight, the shorter woman let out a muffled cry for mercy. Linc embraced his brother. Sharyn, seeing that all was well, turned and signaled the okay to Lunis, who again wielded the fireplace poker. The fireteam of warriors who’d quietly been guarding the place silently dispersed.
* * * * *
Once Marth learned RuArk had been wounded in battle, he refused to leave. Joan wouldn’t leave without Marth. Brita was determined to stay in case RuArk awoke and needed more medicine. Sharyn dug in simply because leaving RuArk when he was hurt was out of the question, though she was too wrung out to actually help if anything arose.
Drefan came up to see his cousin, and camped out in the living room. After Dalmore and Osgar returned from their rounds, having promised to let the others know how RuArk was doing, they’d come up to the villa to see for themselves, then decided to hang out with Drefan.
Rhia looked around in disbelief. Dawn was still a couple of hours away and her place was packed with big warrior bodies, Housemen running in and out, messengers coming and going with reports from the First Commanders and responses to numerous requests for updates on RuArk’s condition from, well, everyone. Lunis had the foresight to have breakfast sent up for all of them as the sun rose.
Thankfully, RuArk slept through it all.
Forcing herself to remain on her feet, Rhia checked on her husband one more time. A horde of guests was out on the terrace, which stretched the length of the apartment, from the bedroom to the living room. Linc urged Joan and Marth to quickly recount their tale while Rhia and Sharyn ate—or rather, tried to eat.
They still had no idea who had been behind the abduction, but Marth had left spies in Draema Proper to get to the bottom of it. And when Marth got to the part about joining with Joan, it was near impossible to chew or swallow given all the good-natured ribbing aimed at the happy couple.
Rhia grabbed Joan’s hand and rose from the table. “I’d like to talk to Joan for a moment. Alone. You all head back to your own places. I promise to call for you if RuArk awakes.”
“Rhia, do not overtax yourself,” Sharyn said tiredly. “It will take a couple of days for us to regain the energy we gave tending to the Protector.”
With a nod, she twined her fingers with her friend’s and led her to the far end of the terrace to the bedroom doors. Just before they stepped inside, Marth’s long legs quickly carried him to Joan’s side. “I will come for you in half of an hour, and then we will bathe and get some rest.”
Joan nodded amicably and gifted him with a blinding smile when he kissed her hand. He lifted a single finger and played with her dimples before he turned and walked back to his comrades. Joan’s gaze was glued to Marth’s tight butt as he followed his twin and everyone else off the terrace. A few moments later, they heard the apartment door open and close and knew they were alone, finally.
Once to the base of her bed’s platform stairs, Rhia let go of Joan’s hand and slowly climbed the six steps to RuArk’s side where she pressed the back of her hand to the hollow of RuArk’s neck.
“Well?” Joan asked.
“Fever seems to be coming down, thank the Ancestors,” Rhia said quietly.
“Ancestors? Wow, I never thought I’d hear a Draeman say that,” Joan teased. “Oh come on Rhia, don’t scowl at me. I’m just kidding. Besides, you know we’ve always believed in science and architecture. If we can feel it, touch it, then it’s real. But the bond I’m developing with Marth is certainly not something that can be explained by any of our scientists. It’s beyond quantum or anything else I’ve ever heard of.”
“Tell me about it,” Rhia responded, plodded down the steps and plopped into a chair. She threw her legs over the side and let the soft cushions cradle her body. She turned stern eyes on Joan, and said, “Ok, Joan, out with it.”
“We already told you what hap—”
“No, girlfriend, you told us some of what happened. I know you left out the, uh, intimate details you wouldn’t share with everyone listening at the table. And I want those deets, woman, right this minute. So spill it.”
“Rhia, you look like you’re about to nod out.”
“I’m running on pure adrenaline right now from you being here, so hurry up before I crash. I know there was sexin’ involved!”
“Alright, alright,” Joan laughed, and then snuck a peek over at RuArk to make sure her guffaw hadn’t disturbed him. “Well, it started like this...”
Joan told about the would-be kidnappers who’d mistaken her for Rhia, followed by her and Marth’s adventure trying to get to Province Springs via airship, train, horse and, finally, a very long walk.
And this time, she left nothing out. She reminded Rhia of the first time she’d met Marth that night at the stables when she thought he was Linc, and how Marth rescued her on the Wind Storm’s orders.
“I’m going to kill that man,” she said with a yawn. It didn’t have quite the effect she was going for. “He only told me there was an attempted abduction, but wouldn’t give me any details. He just let me wonder and feel guilty.”
“Well, you deserved to feel guilty, Rhia,” Joan told her matter-of-factly. “You’re my girl and all, but I told you not to run off, and I certainly told you I didn’t want to go on that blasted errand in your place wearing your clothes, on your horse, blah blah blah.”
“I know, and I’ve felt terrible about it. I’m sorry for putting you in danger. What kind of friend am I, anyway?”
“You’re a good friend. You were just out of sorts and unsure of what course your life was taking, is all. But now you know, right?”
“Well, maybe.”
“What do you mean, maybe? Think about it, girl. This man is everything you’ve ever dreamed of. I know for a fact he’s been more than generous and beyond patient with you.”
“What? How?”
“Marth and Linc is how,” Joan grinned. “They can always communicate. It’s called mind linking. It’s their Gift. Linc kept Marth and me up to date on everything going on from the moment you left the High City. Oh, and did you know that the Wind Storm knew you were planning to run all along?”
No. No, she hadn’t. Well, surprise, surprise.
“Instead of interfering,” Joan continued, “he let you run to your heart’s content. In the meantime, he planned everything for the joining ceremonies along with all the stuff in this house, with my help of course.”
At Rhia’s shocked expression, she chuckled. “Yes, woman, that’s right. With my help. In fact, at the same time you were talking me into running that dumb errand for you, RuArk had already started sending instructions to the township on what he wanted done. He also asked me what kind of things you like, so this house would be all done up before you got here.”
“I had no idea. I-I didn’t know.”
“Did it ever occur to you that you don’t have to know everything, Ree?”
“Well...”
“Oh, hush, I’m not done.”
Rhia rocked back in shock. Her best friend had given her a piece of her mind before—was the only one, besides Brita, who dared. But this? This bordered on nanny-vs-kinderchild fussing.
“Furthermore, he’s given you something you’ve missed since your mother died—a family, Rhia. Marth told me all about how Gaian society is built on extended family. You have a new mother, a father who is King of one of the most powerful lands in the world, and a slew of aunts, uncles and cousins. To them, you may as well have been born into their clans because they don’t see you as any different than their own children. Now try to find that in Draema, woman.”
Rhia lowered her gaze to the carpet. Hot tears gathered and threatened to spill. With a deep breath, she pushed them back.
“Listen, I gave my heart to Marth because I’m willing to trust him. And I’ll continue to trust him unless he gives me a reason not to. Period. So, why can’t you do the same? What if RuArk had been killed tonight?”
The lump in Rhia’s throat was the size of a small melon. She’d never been so scared in her life than when RuArk had passed out in the mud, barely breathing. As she listened to her friend, Rhia couldn’t help but ponder her words. Joan was right. She had a new, huge family, even if she wasn’t quite sure where she fit just now.
If she’d lost him she had no idea what she would have done. Did it take almost losing someone to admit she didn’t want to lose him at all?
At the subtle knock on the bedroom door, Joan rose, hugged Rhia close and said, “You know I love you, Ree. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered tearing you a new one just now. But Rhia, this is it. He’s the one. No matter what you think of his rules or requests, you’re responsible for how you treat him. Just love him, and let him do his job. What have you got to lose, other than the man of your dreams?”
“Myself,” she whispered.
“That’s ridiculous. Other than change your clothes, has the man asked you to change anything else about yourself?”
“I can’t go out unescorted or practice my fighting skills on anyone other than him. How fair is that?”
“You can’t go out alone, but you can still go as you please. You can’t practice your skills with his men, not yet anyway, but you can still practice them. If we were at home in Draema Proper, I’d be the one running around with you and practicing with you. So what’s the difference between doing it with me, and doing it with him?”
It was true that RuArk hadn’t asked her to stop being a soldier. He’d only asked her to be a lifemate in addition to a fighter, and let him ensure her safety.
“Well, I don’t appreciate the domestic crap,” Rhia huffed.
“Oh please.” Joan rolled her eyes. “You’ve run your father’s house and the entire Citadel since you were twelve years old.”
Well, Joan had her there.
The knock sounded again. When Marth opened the door, Joan was there to meet him. He bent down and kissed her sweetly on the lips. Joan winked and Marth smiled back. It was such a tender moment, the tears Rhia had held a tight grip on slipped down her cheeks. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen—two people in love who didn’t care about the differences in their cultures, or who had the upper hand between them.
Short, feisty, beautiful Joan, with her cropped platinum curls and creamy cacao skin, left with her six and a half foot, green eyed Gaian warrior, whose black-as-sin hair hung freely down his back.
The sun slipped higher into the sky and Rhia’s last thought as she drifted off was that her best friend would make some beautiful babies with her warrior mate one day.
RuArk drifted in and out of consciousness. Groggy, his head felt stuffed full of cotton, but he was aware enough to realize Marth and Joan were safely in Province Springs. Not only had Joan arrived, but she’d laid into Rhia pretty good and hadn’t spared her feelings one bit. He’d also learned that his little warrior had been by his side every waking moment.
He cared quite deeply for her, but hadn’t known whether she really returned the feelings. Until now. A faint smile drifted across his lips as he slipped back into slumber. He wished he could stay awake longer. It was amazing what people said in front of you when they thought you were asleep.