Everyone trouped upstairs and headed for one of the closer drawing rooms. Maxim and Lower King Ulyen Orchid stood outside the doors as guards. All of the Lower Kings happened to also be Commanders within the Protea or Delphinium Royal Knights, and those of the Light planets following Delphinium protected High King Evan Delphinium while those of the Dark planets following Protea protected Robert.
Maxim glanced over at hearing them, and relief filled his silver eyes. "There you are. Good timing. Our guest is awake, but she refuses to talk to anyone except who rescued her. She acknowledged that she's safe here, but she is scared and confused alike."
"No wonder when I have her Mask still." Tasia had put it into her pocket for safety but had needed to run to the fight before getting to return it. She pushed the door open and peered into the room. Shanae and High Queen Sayena Delphinium sat together on a couch, and Starlight sat across from them. Raine and Kacey stood nearby with Robert, and the entire room had filled with tension. "Should I have brought a knife?" she asked blandly as she walked in.
"So there you are. I hope you didn't leave a mess," Shanae told her.
"No more than usual." She walked over to Starlight and held out her Mask on her hand. "Here. This is yours. I'm Anastasia Aria, but everyone calls me Tasia. As I said before, I'm the Crown Princess to Iris as well as one of its Dual Cultivators and the Lead for my generation."
Some of the tension left Starlight's shoulders as she took her Mask back and returned it to her bracelet. "Thank you," she said softly. "For saving me. I'm just . . ." She blinked in surprise as Tasia knelt and covered her hands gently. That wonderful thing of before again entered Starlight's blood, and she could see the swirl across her rescuer's chocolate eyes. "How do you do that?" she asked. "Just make me feel safe."
"It's a gift." Tasia moved to sit beside her.
Shanae snorted. "What she means is that she's a sorceress and the High Priestess of Protea as well as the Ephemeral Plane, and therefore her majik is so infused with good that she couldn't do terrible things if she tried."
"Don't make me tempted to try it on you."
Starlight suddenly smiled. "Are you two related?"
"Kindred spirits." Tasia grinned. "We'd scare people if we shared blood. Also, I'm her daughter's twin soul mate. Speaking of," she added as LeAnn entered the room and moved to sit on a chair. "So you're Starlight Aluria, right?" she asked. "Which means your world is called Aluria. You have the edelweiss flower. None of that is at all familiar to me, or to any of us, and I'm actually aware of every world in the universe that has life on it and therefore has a flower at its Core and Cultivators to support it. I don't know you at all. Do you know us?"
"I vaguely do," Starlight admitted. "And there was a time, very long ago, when Aluria existed in the same galaxy as the worlds known as Celia and Aria. I think it was near to the beginning of time. Something happened on Aluria—we have never determined what—and our world disappeared from your dimension. We have been alone, though plenty self-sufficient, in our own dimension since. We retained vague knowledge of where Aluria had originated, but long ago accepted we may never return to where we belonged."
Eyes turned to Tasia. "Well?" Raine asked politely.
"I'm processing, hold on." Tasia's eyes flickered as she sorted through what she had been told, and what she knew of Blossom Field's history as well as the history of the universe. "We've always known the possibility of other dimensions existing was plausible. Limbo is basically that, actually. The Underbelly to the Ephemeral Plane is another, I will add. What we call time-space is actually related to dimensions as well. Time-space references the ability to use time to move through space, which is how those with Memory or Time magic open portals. Well, time-space type magic could be called the glue holding dimensions together, so basically, Uncle Sabin and Aunt Claret and Racine are all but walking across dimensions when they open portals. All that said, I don't see why it isn't likely that something particularly cataclysmic near to the beginning of time may have ripped open a dimension alongside to the Tarmol galaxy where Aluria got pulled in." She looked at Shanae. "I can think of something cataclysmic that happened back then."
"Yeah," the queen agreed softly. "That was my thought as well." She looked at Starlight. "It is not much, but I will offer apologies. It may well be likely that my own ancestor trying to remove the first of all evil caused what happened."
Starlight shook her head on a smile. "We have not suffered, other than being dreadfully lonely now and then. And no doubt we may have seen our world evolve differently from yours. Aluria was unique even back then for our Core, our edelweiss, has ten Flower Elements within its magic and therefore we have usually had ten Defender Cultivators. The queen is always Dual, but the rest have fallen sporadically across the land. There have been many generations where we had none at all."
"Ten?" Robert lifted a brow. "Which ten?"
"Illusion, Nature, Time, Ice, Fire, Glass, Metal, Water, Air, and Thunder. I know, Time is rare. We knew that early on. And we have actually not always had that particular element for most generations," Starlight admitted. "I think it existed in the first generation, one somewhere in the middle, and now in my own younger sister."
Sayena smiled. "Well you must need it if you have it! I am sure the Librarian of the Hall of Records would agree." She giggled. "And her husband will be glad to not be the only Time Flower Element! Now that we know where you are from, and who you are, why don't you tell us what has been happening?" She frowned. "You were in terrible shape, Starlight. You are so very lucky Tasia found you. If you had cast even one more magic ability, you may have burned out yourself entirely and not even be capable of waking until you recovered—if you woke at all."
As Starlight had already discovered Sayena to be the Apex of Light and therefore the embodiment of all that was magical in existence, she did not feel surprised by the older woman's knowledge. "It was a risk I had to take to save my kingdom and world," she admitted. She took a long breath. "I'll tell you everything I can."
The rest of the Resurrection Cultivators came into the room to hear the story, and Starlight told them in quick sentences everything that had happened from the day she and her sisters had rebuffed Cashlin up to and including the last she remembered of the battle. The room was silent for long moments when she finished speaking, and then Ryan asked slowly, "So we're facing Cashlin and that Glacia guy, right? Anyone else we should know about? It really bites when random evil entities you know nothing about show up from nowhere."
"I like him," Starlight decided. She shook her head as everyone laughed. "No, that's pretty much it. Well, Cashlin does have a brother but I can't imagine he would be sent into battle unless Cashlin was desperate. His brother is literally insane."
"Don't be surprised if it happens," Shanae warned. "Desperate times always call for desperate measures. For now, we won't worry, but we need to at least keep him in mind." She gave a little sigh. "I suppose we have the consolation of knowing that they won't try anything else today. It's too risky to attack when we're on our guard."
"We have other things to be concerned with anyway," Tasia agreed. "I need Racine and Aunt Claret to help me put a sort of memory-neutralizing effect on Blossom Field. No one will consciously notice anything, but if they try to speak or mention the names of any Defender in Blossom, they will be unable to recall it. I think this will stymy Glacia a great deal. No matter who he asks, under any pretense, in any guise, he won't get an answer. Sure, he'll know that, say, Anastasia Aria is the younger Ruler Cultivator and heir to the throne of Iris, but he won't know she is also Iris' younger Defender as well."
"Can you do that?" Starlight asked in surprise.
"Yes, she can," Robert told her dryly. "Will it be enough, Tasi?"
She nodded. "Well, if Aluria hasn't been in touch for millions of years, they have no way of knowing whether we have Duals or separate Defenders and Rulers; that's almost random across all other worlds, and they would definitely not know it was not until the last two generations that either Protea or Delphinium had Defenders at all, and all worlds in Blossom made Duals. A little Illusion majik before we engage him will take care of the rest so that he can't even identify our hair or eye colors. It's a terrible chore to have to go to such effort to hide what we have shamelessly admitted for ages now—what has actually never been hidden except for a tiny period of time in the Rebirth Era—but it truly is for the safety of our families that we need to do this. And if he does figure it out, we will go from there."
"I think that means we need to get some masks for the Caretakers as well," Kacey decided. "In your generation, not all Caretakers are capable of entering combat right now, which is unusual but not troublesome since one of the ones who can is Rodi, and he's proven adept at running herd on everyone. So masks for Rodi and Logan. Allister has a mask of his own as Knight of the Immortal Fields he can wear when needed, so he's covered." A little grin touched her lips. "And the other one capable has a uniform already, and by the time he gets around to realizing things, he may not need the mask anymore anyway."
"I can conjure a mask for myself," Rodi assured her, "and Logan can also make himself one. Also, this hadn't had a chance to be brought up because it was literally finished yesterday, but Ashe and Beth made me a uniform of sorts to wear in lieu of my Ruler suit as a prince of Iris, so that will aid as well."
In a mutter, Beth said, "We will move the Realm and Plane alike to get them made for the other Caretakers of our generation as well, whether they can or cannot enter battle, because we'll all feel better if they have some sort of protection! Maybe especially the squishier ones need it."
Rodi looked at Tasia. "I think we are most concerned with Glacia's majik more than anything else. If he just had evil magic, we wouldn't be so concerned because then not only would we feel the moment he made a move, but those in our families who are also witches—which is near everyone—would be safer."
"Agreed," Shanae said briskly. "Until we remove Glacia, the lockdown will remain. Tasia, Racine, go find Claret and get that done fast. Kacey, go find Talon. If dimensions are connected to time-space, then he's likely got a headache from Starlight arriving here. As for the rest of us, we're going to god damn relax the rest of today! It might be the last chance for relaxation we get for a long while!" She lifted a brow as she saw her daughter promptly get to her feet. "Do we already have plans, young lady?"
"Yup." LeAnn linked her hands behind her head. "Chance is taking me on a picnic."
"He is?" Sayena asked in surprise.
"Sure. He just doesn't know it yet," she added impishly as she headed out of the room.
Shanae started laughing as everyone looked at her. "Gods help me," she said ruefully, "I almost feel sorry for Chance! I've been on the receiving end of that sort of determination. She just had to take after her father, didn't she?"
"She wouldn't be nearly as scary as she is," Robert retorted, "if it weren't for the fact that she got your inability to comprehend the concept of defeat!"
The whole room burst into laughter as Shanae tried to look innocent but failed spectacularly. The laughter promptly died a short death as there came a sound in the doorway, and everyone turned their heads to see a familiar redhead standing there. He was so mad that his eyes literally held fire. "Holy weighted hell," Kacey breathed.
"What is so goddamned important you interrupted my honeymoon?!" Theo demanded in clear annoyance, and he included the whole room in his wrath.
"By the gods," Starlight said in bemusement. "He's just like Phoenix. You must be the resident Fire Flower Element."
Theo heaved a long-suffering sigh and leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. "Yeah. Aster Defender of the Resurrection team reporting for duty. . . . Damn it."
LeAnn had everything planned. She was quite good at planning, actually, to the point where her two pattern master best friends had said they respected her skill. THAT was a compliment unlike any other. She blamed her gift on her parents; her father was notorious for making plans for things to happen as he wanted, and her mother was equally infamous for the way she just shoved and pushed until she got what she wanted. Their daughter had a terrifying combination of both traits.
She set out a blanket in a grassy place under her favorite fir tree and then opened up the picnic basket she had brought. It had been packed with tasty goodies from Storm and Julianna, who had cheerfully cooked up a feast in their efforts to help 'land' the 'eternal bachelor.' The light lunch was perfect for the mild autumn weather.
Her location put her smack in the middle of Chance's afternoon walk/patrol. He was a rather predictable creature and always took the same route through the massive gardens surrounding the castle inside the palace grounds and wall. His naturally curious nature would make him stop to find out what she was doing, and then she would have to talk fast to make him join her. She leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes as she listened to the wind teasing the leaves. He was close.
Chance stopped sharply on the path as he caught a scent of familiar perfume carried on a light breeze. Certain he was imagining things, he followed the wind to a sunny patch in between several trees and discovered a patchwork quilt spread over the grass. LeAnn was there and she leaned against a tree with her eyes closed.
She wore a soft black sundress with pink ribbons, and her skin looked only more rich against it. Protea Cultivators neither burned nor tanned; their golden brown skin always stayed the same for they absorbed the sun rather than react to it. It softly echoed out of her body anew like a lodestone right then. Her hair had been returned to her favored double ponytails that she had worn since childhood, but it looked anything except childish. Her lashes rested dark against her cheeks, and her breath softly sighed out between lips that begged to be kissed.
His breath stopped as he fought the sudden urge to find out if her skin was as soft as it looked. "What are you doing here?" he asked, harsher than he had intended.
Her eyes opened and she smiled at him. "Having lunch in my gardens, of course. Want to join me?" Blandly, before he could argue, she added, "I'm here all by myself, you know, and I'm not leaving until I get my picnic lunch. It's such a lovely day, isn't it? Be a shame if something happened."
Safe though the palace grounds were, there was now a war underway and there was no knowing what might happen—especially if an enemy had majik. He knew he was being manipulated, but he could only sigh and walk over to sit on the blanket across from her. "Damn it, princess," he said in frustration. "I don't know why you're suddenly set on this idea, but give it up."
"Not a chance, Chance." She deftly caught a fried roll with her utensils and stuffed it into his mouth before he could do more than glare at her for the horrible pun on his name. "Why don't you go by your first name?" she asked curiously. She nibbled on the edge of a roll of her own. "I've never known anyone to use it."
"I don't like my first name," he muttered.
"I do. It suits you. Rubeo is derived from the word ruby and that happens to be a beautiful red stone like your hair. Did you know that rubies are talismans of passion and protection, and they have connections to the sun? How fitting for someone like you." Without missing a beat, she continued, "You have no idea how frustrating it is for me to be around you and not get my hands into your hair. I'm tempted to have pockets put into my Ruler gown so that I have somewhere to hide my hands if you're near."
He kept his mouth shut. He would be damned if he admitted that his fingers burned to get in her hair and trace the line of her body. She didn't need more encouragement. She had her eye set on him for some strange reason, and she was as ruthless as her Dark core implied about getting what she wanted. The speckles of Light inside her did not temper such a thing, unfortunately. In many ways, it just made it worse.
Why the hell did she want him? She could do so much better! Nobility across the universe just chomped at the bit to be her suitor. She had even accepted a few onto her suitor list, and those few had been honest and hardworking sorts. Though not necessarily warriors, his brain reminded him. Which could be terrible considering she was the daughter of the Apex of Dark. She needed someone strong enough to meet her as both a partner in battle as well as a partner in stubborn personality. Ruler Cultivators needed special Caretakers, and Defenders needed ones more special. Dual Cultivators needed the most unique of all. She needed a mate with specialized qualities. Like him. He had never had trouble handling her in any of her moods.
"Shit," he muttered as he heard his own thoughts.
She hid a smile. She didn't know what he was thinking, but she had a few guesses. She scooted closer across the blanket toward him, and her skirt rode up her legs to reveal more skin. He pointedly looked at her face. "Can I call you Rubeo?" she asked softly. She moved close enough that she sat directly next to him, and one of her hands rested feather light on his leg.
"Yes. No! Damn it, Leslie Ann, quit playing with fire!" That it came out as a growl surprised him. He skirted the edge of his control where he had always before always been able to keep a firm grip on himself. But this . . . sultry, pink-eyed witch smiling at him from under her lashes, her perfume watering his mouth, and just enough skin exposed to draw his eye, made his control become threadbare at best.
She suddenly went still and her head turned sharply to look toward the city in the distance. Something both pained and angry had filled in her eyes. "LeAnn?" he asked softly in concern. "What's wrong?"
"She's hurt," she whispered. "I can feel it. Someone has dented her soul." Her eyes darkened to black with speckles of white as she added savagely, "I'll kill whoever did it." She started to get to her feet but his hand closed around her wrist and kept her on the ground. "Let go of me, Chance!"
"Hang on a second. I'll assume we're discussing Tasia since that's the only person I can think of that you're close enough connected to in your soul to feel if she has been dented or gouged. She's strong, LeAnn. She can handle it. And if she can't, her Caretaker can. Don't forget, she's supposed to protect you. She won't thank you for skipping off palace grounds unescorted." He held firm to her wrist until she subsided and sat down again. "You can find out later what happened."
He was stroking her wrist gently with his thumb. She could feel the little caress all the way to her toes and didn't dare call attention to it lest he stop. Her thoughts scattered and her heart pounded madly with a combination of lust and need and love. The only thing she could say was, "You're wrong."
"About what?" He frowned.
"I'm that strongly connected to you too," she said simply.
He cursed softly and released her wrist. She immediately slid onto his lap and wound her arms around his neck. He froze. The only way to stand up would be to dump her on the ground, and he would sooner cut off his hands than hurt her. His hands went to her shoulders, and her skin seemed to have absorbed the very sun. She felt almost too hot to hold. "LeAnn." It was all he could say as her lips softly brushed his.
"Rubeo." Her voice was little more than a breath against his lips. Her eyes resembled darkened pools of color, as mysterious as the magikry inside her. "Just kiss me."
His control collapsed in a searing wave of hunger. His hand curled around the back of her neck and dragged her closer so that he could take the kiss he had been craving for five millennia. For ten. His mouth was hard and hungry and demanded a matching response from her. She gave it willingly and fisted her hands in his hair to keep him close. She had thought maybe he might never have kissed anyone before, but if so, he had a devastating instinct. His tongue curling around hers only made her body flush more with heat and she ached to feel his hands on her skin.
He suddenly jerked back and stared down at her in shock, stunned that she had so easily made him forget himself. Looking at her didn't help his throbbing body, though. Her eyes had nearly turned black again, and her lips looked swollen. A flush rode high on her cheeks, and her lips slowly curved into a smug smile. He wanted to kiss her again. And again. And never stop. She tasted like straight summertime and chocolate melting on his tongue, and he wanted her more than he wanted air to breathe.
She found herself placed unceremoniously onto the picnic blanket and watched from under her lashes as he got sharply to his feet and backed up several steps. "So can I?" she asked him huskily, and she let her voice quiver with all of her desire.
A matching quiver went through his body at the tone of her voice. She had to be doing it deliberately. "Can you what?" he snarled.
"Call you by your name."
"Do whatever you like," was all he could say as he stalked away down the path as quickly as humanly possible.
She pressed her fingers to her lips and smiled as she felt the trembling of her body. She had been waiting to feel that way. "I intend to," she murmured. She took a breath to steady herself. "Oh, do I intend to. You'll be mine yet, Rubeo." Stage two, she decided smugly, was definitely complete.
* * * * *
Tasia sensed the visitor in her house well before she reached the door. She stopped dead in her tracks on the walkway and told herself that she had to be imagining things. Rodi was carrying Daelan and stopped beside her. He looked down at her face and felt his stomach churn even as his heart clenched. She looked . . . shattered. Her mocha skin had paled, and her caramel eyes burned with violent arcanistry. "Tasi?" he asked softly.
Haeth and Striker exchanged a look, and Haeth nodded slightly. She knew the presence too, for she had been with Tasia since the sorceress' birth. Tasia took a long breath to compose herself and then she walked up to her front door and opened it. She casually leaned in the doorway. "Isn't this trespassing?" she asked evenly. "Or is it breaking and entering?"
The tall, older, man standing in the living room turned and looked at her in surprise that she had caught him unaware. He had hair a few shades darker than her own chocolate, and his eyes looked a matching caramel though they did not change to chocolate in the shadows of the room. His skin looked on the fairer side, but then, Tasia had gotten her skin tone from her mother.
Rodi looked at him and then took a sharp breath as he understood. He instantly moved closer to Tasia's side to protect her.
Arthur Martine barely noticed the other man present. His eyes had riveted to Tasia in utter shock. "My god," he managed to say. Though he spoke Protean fluently, his voice carried the familiar twanging drawl that placed his origins in Vericity, which had had its own unique accents and language for millennia. The same accent flavored Tasia's Mystic voice; she had to exert actual effort to hide it, no matter what language she spoke, so she had stopped bothering to try. Sabin and Allister, with the same origins, were notorious for teasing her about being a cousin. "Tasia? It can't be. Has it been that long?"
"Considering I turn thirty-two in January, yeah, it can be. I had just turned six when you walked out. Let's see . . . that makes it twenty-six years soon. My, how time flies when you're not around to see your kid grow up. How did you get in here? Where's Mom?"
"You never changed the locks and I still had a key. As for your mother, I don't know. I wanted to talk to her, but she isn't home." Arthur turned to fully face his daughter and looked her over intently. Neither her anger nor her bitterness came as a surprise. The only surprise was the whole of her. He had not expected to find his daughter had become such a confident and powerful woman who literally exuded majik into the air around her, though he should have.
He knew of her lineage, of course, for it ran through both Olivia and him, and he had also known his daughter was the third and final direct descendant of Liena Vanguard from the Royal Era. He had still not realistically understood what that meant until now. Being not of the direct line himself—that had been Olivia—he had never really understood the specifics or particulars of what being the third could entail. He had known Tasia would be very powerful for she had already been that way as a child, but she had reached limits he had not expected. In fact . . . he did not think she had limits at all. "I wanted to see you," he finally said.
"You're a few years too late for that." Tasia's eyes flickered slightly as she scanned the house majikally. She immediately found her mother inside a cloaking spell that literally any witch could use regardless of skill or element. Being far stronger than her ex-husband, she would not be detected by him. Tasia pierced through it without trouble, and found another familiar presence hiding with her—when he was supposed to be at work. She very nearly smiled until she looked at her father again. Humor faded. "Get the hell out of my house."
"Your house?" His brows shot up. "The deed was not set to transfer until you married."
"Congratulations, you're both obnoxious and oblivious. I married roughly six years or so." Give or take a month. She inclined her head at Rodi with a little smirk. "Meet my husband." Even before Daelan began to cry, she turned and scooped him out of Rodi's arms. The young witch had already started developing Empathy and had absolutely no control over it or his response to strong emotions around him. He got out only a single wail of distress before finding himself snuggled against his mother's breast. "Shh," she soothed softly as her Mystic voice echoed with tender cadence. "Don't cry, my little prince. Your sister will be home from school soon and you two can play. She always makes you smile." She flicked a glance at her now visibly shocked father. "Father, meet Rodi Aria. Rodi, meet Arthur Martine." She indicated a now calmed Daelan with a tilt of her head. "This is our son, Daelan. Our daughter, Anna, is eight years old."
Arthur felt like he had just been rammed in the stomach with an iron fist. His baby girl was not just a grown woman, but a grown woman with a husband and two children. "My god. I'm a grandfather."
"No, you're not," she retorted. "You're not my children's grandfather any more than you are my father. You forfeited the right to those things when you walked out on me when I was six! I have had two real fathers in the time since that have loved me in a way you obviously never did." She handed Daelan back to Rodi and crossed the room slowly toward Arthur. Her predatory stride looked somehow familiar. "If I find out you're harassing my mother, I'll rip you apart piece by piece until there's nothing left but bones for the vultures."
He took a deep breath as he realized that over twenty-five years had changed his sweet baby girl into a deadly witch who was ready and able to do whatever it took to protect her loved ones. Yet, he could not give up. He wanted his daughter back. He wanted a chance at the relationship they had missed out on. "Alright," he concurred. "But don't expect me to simply walk away."
"Why not?" she sniped. "It worked before."
Arthur left before he said something he regretted, and Rodi politely stepped out the way. He waited for the door to shut and then went to put Daelan into his playpen. The baby started cheerfully gnawing on the stuffed rabbit in there with him, and Rodi drew Tasia into his arms to hold her through all the trembling. "You," he said into her hair, "are magnificent. When'd you progress from sorceress to avenging goddess? Keep that up and you won't be able to continue denying you're the force of Judgment."
She gave a weak laugh as she pulled back out of his arms. "I was shaking inside. It hurt. Oh god, did that hurt." She drew a long steady breath and then turned and looked at the stairs where she had sensed someone approach. "He's gone, Mom. You can stop hiding." Her voice warmed distinctly. "And your friend can join us as well."
Olivia, blushing very distinctly, came down the stairs the rest of the way and she was belting her robe tightly. Right behind her, wearing only his jeans, was Tosh Peacer, Raine and Storm's father. He happened to be one of the ones Tasia had claimed as being more of a real father to her for he had stepped in to help raise her after Arthur had left. He cleared his throat and asked, "Am I going to be ripped apart piece by piece and left as bones for vultures?"
Tasia snorted distinctly. "Yeah, no. You two are entirely not subtle, guys. Honestly, we've been waiting for you two to just jump each other eventually. Y'all protested way too hard that you were just best friends anytime someone asked you if you were married—and I want to note I have lost count of how many people have asked you that over the years. We all—meaning all of us who are directly and indirectly your kids—have known for almost forever you two would end up in bed together."
"Anastasia!" Olivia said in exasperation.
"Please, as if I'm wrong!" She grinned. "Storm was the last one to figure it out, but he put the pieces together when he hit his last evolutionary tier. Jogged a memory he had forgotten. He put the pattern together and asked for confirmation from me and Beth, which we gave." She lifted a brow at Tosh. "Out of curiosity, when did you figure out you were in love with my mother?"
Tosh felt like a bug on a pin and looked to Rodi for help. No dice; the other man was pretending to be busy with Daelan. He could only sigh. He had known it was only a matter of time before someone noticed; he and Olivia had hidden the relationship for two months, and that was two months longer than they had expected. "Almost from the day I met her," he admitted. "And that's a painful admittance since she was married at the time, and my wife had been dead for barely over a year. I told myself I was wrong and shoved it aside, so I suppose that is why I didn't realize it for sure until a few years later."
"When Storm was sick?"
"Is that what he pegged? No surprise." He smiled wryly. "When I saw Olivia holding Storm and singing him lullabies . . . I just had this realization that we were already a family because my kids were hers and hers was mine. She smiled at me and . . ." He blew out a hard breath. "I stopped telling myself we were just best friends. There was no 'just' about it, not when I wanted her as powerfully as I did. Emi's spirit had said goodbye to me just the month before, and I felt her there again, telling me that I could not let another chance at happiness slip by." He eyed Olivia. "I tried subtlety for a few years and then outright told her I wanted to court her. She never gave me an answer either way, so I kept asking. If she had just said no I would have given up."
"Criminy!" Tasia scowled at Olivia. "And they say I'm stubborn!"
"I was afraid, damn it!" Olivia raked a hand through her hair. "I've already had one ruined relationship. I didn't want another. It hurt less to hold him away than to risk tearing apart my soul if things fell apart." She scowled back. "He stopped playing nice two months ago. I'm still not sure how I ended up in bed with him."
"I think we can guess," Tasia told her dryly. "The power of the emotion between soul mates is insanely strong. It's a miracle you two made it as long as you did." She waved a hand before Olivia could protest. "Really, you're going to deny it to me of all people? I can see where your souls have already interlocked. Do you really think you could be individuals again? After this long together, even before being lovers, you had become a single unit. At this point, just friggin' get married and be done with the last formality. It'll be less confusing for everyone when I call Tosh 'Dad' or Raine and Storm call you 'Mom'."
Olivia couldn't quite look at Tosh. It was just so terrifying to think of trusting her heart and soul to any man again, even one like Tosh. He was her best friend and her lover, and every year she had resisted had just made resisting harder. It was more terrifying to think of losing him. He had been by her side for twenty-five years, had unquestioningly become a part of her life until she couldn't imagine life without him.
Thinking it made her eyes widen. It had been twenty-five years? It had to be. Arthur had walked out only a short time after Tasia's sixth birthday. Tosh had already been a single father, and he had supported her through the transition to being a single mother. They had come together as closer friends than ever before, and that friendship had just continued to grow as their families entwined more and more to one. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized that their relationship had already lasted three times as long as her first marriage, and had even passed a quarter of a century in length.
As if he was reading her mind, he said softly, "If I haven't left you by now, Liv, do you think I ever could?" He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. "Be my wife." His lips curved. "Legally. Have a legal reason to always tell me what to do and scold me when I don't listen. A legal reason to be such an incredible mother to my children, and let me be a father to yours."
She didn't even notice when their daughter and son-in-law slipped out of the room. All she could see was the man she loved. "I reserve the right," she said softly, "to chase after you and smite you with majik if you even think of leaving me." She arched a haughty brow in a way her bloodline always had. "And I'm more powerful than you."
"In that case, I guess I better not leave."
Tasia and Rodi were shamelessly eavesdropping in the hall and they shared a soft breath of happiness. They had been hoping this would happen ever since Tasia had spotted a small hickey on her mother's neck two months before. Tosh's presence would help protect Olivia from any tumultuous moments to come. Arthur might have walked out the door again—and the locks were getting changed tomorrow—but he had not walked away permanently yet.
Things could only get worse.
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
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