SWNOVELS Chapter CHAPTER THREE
“Everything is set, my king. The convoy is waiting for us on the other side.” Drake, his second in command and a dragon, came over and took his place on the right side of Tyran while the other two males took their places behind them.
Tyran nodded. “Did you contact Jax and Storm?”
Drake nodded as he opened the door and Tyran stepped out of the building to the awaiting black tinted Mercedes. “Yes, they are expecting us.” He sighed and shook his head slowly. “They still don’t have news on Ron and his troops. They are not sure if Ron has aligned himself with the Jinn or the ghouls.”
Tyran stopped abruptly and turned to the tall building before him. He could not see her but he felt Noelle’s eyes on him. She was watching him leave and if he wasn’t wrong she had a plan ticking in that quick-thinking little head of hers. Tyran entertained a smile as he entered the car with his commanders, Zach behind the wheel. He was up for the challenge. She couldn’t throw anything else at him that would be a surprise. His spells around the building, though not very strong due to the human realm not supporting unearthly power, were enough to keep her in his penthouse until he returned. When it came to power, he was the most powerful Mage alive because he was able harness energies from different sources, something not everyone could do. Time and experience had honed his powers until he was the most feared Mage alive.
“Are you sure she won’t torch the building down?” Drake rubbed his chin warily though amusement glittered in his violet eyes. “The last time I was in her presence she made you look like the king’s joker.”
“One more word of the past and your head will decorate a stake on my front door.” Tyran glare grimly at his second in command and also his best friend.
Drake bared his teeth in a wolfish smile but he didn’t say another word.
“I want warriors posted in the Realm of the Dark. I want them to watch over King Rhol. I need to know every action he does, who he contacts and who visits him on a daily basis. The last thing we need right now is war with the Jinn.” Tyran’s cheek tendon jerked.
“You sound reluctant to go into war with the Jinn yet you could cut down their numbers within seconds-why?” Ruvin, the golden haired, amber eyed playboy commander and the only pureblood lycanthrope in the Lord Mage’s Army, asked as he snapped and unsnapped his blade casually in front of him.
“I don’t want to fight the Jinn because they are as loyal as they are lifetime enemies. They hold grudges throughout their generations. If we attack them, we will have ourselves an eternal enemy. I want their alliance, not their wrath.”
“And what if Ron has aligned himself with them? You know how much they love their distant cousins.”
“The Jinn have nothing against the Light Fae and the Mage. If Ron has aligned himself with them, they will not attack until we give them a reason to.”
“In the meantime what are we going to do about the Realm of Light? We have warriors there but you know how snort-nosed the Fae can be. They consider themselves the only civil realm in the entire enchanted world. They will not allow a Mage to rule over them.” Zach, the raven haired commander and a Mage-Shifter asked. He tried to be the serious one but he had a twisted sense of humor that got him in trouble most of the times.
Tyran glowered at the commander. “I’d like to put into light that my queen is one of those snort-nosed Fae you are talking about.”
“And look how everything played out.” Drake chuckled lightly.
Tyran breathed in and reined his anger at his friends and commanders. They were right although it hurt like a bitch to talk about it. The Light Fae always considered themselves high above every other species of beings in the enchanted world. The Great Hall, which was a neutral place for all the realms representatives to discuss diplomatic and legislative issues, was situated in their Realm as well.
There were five realms in the enchanted world of which the Fae Realm of Light was the largest followed by the Realm of the Dark where the Dark Fae, the Jinn (they hate being referred to as Fae), the Nosferatu, the Ghouls resided and other small minority species, then the Realm of Spells of the Mage, the majority of beasts and Shifter species and other minors species, followed by the Realm of Fire of the Dragons, the Phoenix and other minor species, and finally the Realm of Water of the Mer-people and other sea beings.
From each Realm, they had a representative. The representative was usually the second to the king and was recognized as a High Lord or Lady. The Fae had two representatives; Ron the rogue Fae and Alana, their first cousin. The Fae always pointed out the flaws of others’ rule of their Realms but how ironic it was that they were rotten from the core.
“I’ll ask Alana to return and take her rightful place as queen of the Fae until we know for sure what the king’s fate is. Ron has not killed his brother. He might be keeping him as a bargaining chip when things get too hot for him.” Tyran rubbed the back of his neck wearily. He prayed that the king Fae was alive for his queen’s sake. Noelle would not survive knowing that her father died in the hands of her beloved uncle.
“The Realm of Water is withdrawing all agreements with the Realm of Spells.” Zach stated quietly. “No one wants trouble. All our diplomats and officials residing out of the Realm are returning home. I don’t know what poison Ron has injected into the high lords and ladies’ minds in the Great Hall but whatever it is the fucker has outdone himself. Now, we look like the enemy.”
“I’ll hold Court once we return home and enlighten them on what is really happening.” Tyran assured the half-blood. Although his mother was Mage and his father a shifter, Zach took more of the Mage traits than shape-shifting. He was a very good asset in his close circle because the male worked twice as much to prove himself even though he didn’t have to. He was very talented.
“The sooner the better.” Drake expelled a long breath. “We need Lady Lyrah to update us on what is happening in the Great Hall.”
“Have you talked to her?” Tyran’s voice grew thick with concern. His little sister, Lyrah, was his second and the high lady of the Realm of Spells. Now that the waters were disturbed he had asked for her to return home where she would be safe but she had yet to reply. Though she could have easily flashed herself to their Realm, she decided to take the long road trip because of sightseeing. She was the light to his life and she was constantly watched over, not even allowed to go out on her own. The last thing he needed was for the light to perish.
Lyrah was everything he was not. She was compassionate, full of life and love. She was like the sunshine after a storm. She was Mage of Life. It was a her affinity as a Mage. She was able to coax the fading souls back to life. This went to plants, animals and even beings. She used her nature to detect a decay that others sometimes couldn’t. Tyran needed to bask in her presence again because he felt lost when she was gone for a long time.
“Nope but the last time I talked to Jax, he told me Storm had gone to the Great Hall to escort her back. With everything that’s happening in the Realm of Light, she needs all the protection she can get to get out of there.” Drake shrugged his large shoulders out of habit and turned to the grinning commander next to him. “Wipe that ass face off, Ruvin, if you know what’s good for you.” he jabbed the male on his ribs.
Tyran sent Ruvin a stormy stare that melted away the dreamy look on his face. No one touched his sister. He would slaughter an entire army if he had to. She had mate somewhere out there and until that male came forward and showed his worthy of her heart, Tyran was not letting her out of his sight.
“Good...” Tyran nodded absentmindedly then sighed and bit out a curse. “Drake, get one of the helpers to get the best flowers for my queen. I want her room be filled with the best rose blooms from the Gateway City.”
“We aren’t going straight to the Fortress?” Zach asked suddenly.
“No, I want the princess to see her new home. We are going to spend the night at Gateway and leave for the fortress the next morning--driving.” Tyran explained. He wanted to show off his Realm to his queen, hopefully it will raise her spirits.
The car went silent as if everyone was holding their breaths. Tyran waited for the teasing and the bouts of laughter to echo the pristine confines of the car but none came. He was surprised that his commanders knew when he was good for teasing and when he was not. At that moment he sure as hell was not. He didn’t know why he wanted to impress Noelle with anything. She had made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him and that he was an unemotional savage.
Battle and bloodshed had hardened him. He lived long and saw so much. He learned not to hold things too close to him and he learned when it was necessary to let go yet the moment he laid his eyes on his young mate on the first day of the introduction all that was engraved deep in his soul dissolved.
In its place ravaging hunger and possessiveness took hold. He had never seen such a perfectly mounded creature. She was so pure and perfect that his heart stuttered every time her hazel eyes darted curiously at him. He wanted to possess every part of her and it was in his right to do so. He wanted to murder every male that laid his eyes on her and saw her the way he did.
She knew how play around with his emotions that night because right after she was introduced to the Court of the Fae and the Mage as his rightful queen, she escaped him and went around the entire hall flirting and tempting other males. She might have called it pleasant conversations but he saw how she smiled and eyed the other males and it didn’t impress him even a bit. It infuriated him! She didn’t know it then but she made him feel less worthy of her. He could provide her with everything she could ever want, all the roses in the enchanted world, all the unicorns she’d want to keep, even the rainbows that sparkled like glitter in the sun but he still felt like he lacked a lot.
Either way, he was not going to let her go this time. Even if it meant keeping his entire fortress under a bonding spell for her he would. He was going to teach her exactly how his queen should be and she was going to eventually submit to him.
He couldn’t wait to break her down.
Noelle tried every chant she was taught by her Mage helper when she was young but nothing worked. The binding spell only shimmered but then held tight. She was getting claustrophobic and frustrated. Tyran had not changed. He was still that overbearing arrogant brute he’d always been but Noelle couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of him.
His silvery stare gave her the butterflies and made her hot all over. His masculine scent teased her with thoughts she knew she should never have. When he stood before her, she felt his power and his hunger beat at her. He oozed of sex and danger and he was the last person Noelle wanted to be tied down to.
She believed in happily-ever-afters and she wanted what her parents had. She loved both of them dearly but she exceptionally loved the way her father had always treated her mother. He looked at her like she was the only female in the world. There was so much admiration and love in their eyes for each other that she thought they would burst with it. Her father was always there for her mother and even in her mother’s last days, the King never left her side. He held her small hand in his and told her stories of the afterlife. He didn’t want her to suffer but neither did he want her to be afraid.
When her mother died, the king was heartbroken and he spent several days locked in his quarters. Noelle thought that not only had she lost her mother but also her father. The entire realm was mourning for the both of them and praying for her. Even her prick of an uncle, Ron, had returned from the Great Hall to pay his last respects to his queen.
Finally, when the king decided to stop mourning, he turned his entire attention to her. She was his world and whatever she wanted, she got. Noelle was the happiest princess in the enchanted world until her world went dark and bleak the night her father held Court to introduce her and the other realms to her mate.
The first time she set her eyes on him, she almost swooned. Her heart jerked so hard against her ribs she thought it would embarrass her by flopping out of her ribs and onto the floor. She had a myriad of emotions all running around her head in a frenzy. He was the most intimidating male she had ever laid her eyes on. He didn’t appear like the Lord Mage in his royal clothing but rather like a warrior among warriors. The leather pants had molded his muscular thighs like a second skin. The thick spiked belt rode low and on its side there was nasty looking blade. The leather jacket over his torso left hint of the bronze skin and the sexy column of his throat. She could almost see herself nipping around that area breaking his control.
But that was it. This male was always in control and to make matters worse, he wanted to control her. She wasn’t having it. She was not going to crawl to him at his every whim. He wasn’t going to possess her. She was going to escape again and this time he wasn’t going to find her, ever.
“Okay, Noe, you can do this.” She rubbed her hands together and splayed them over the invisible wall. “Concentrate.” She told herself as she began slow murmuring.
Again, the wall shimmered and sparkled as if it was working. It buzzed with life as it wavered in front of her. A small smile touched her lips as the wall began to writhe and crackle. When she thought she had it, the wall bowed back and snapped hard back in place sending her flying cross the room to the opposite wall. She landed with a hard smack that had all her bones rattling.
“Tyran you swine.” She gritted her teeth hard as she staggered to her feet. Okay, so there was no escaping. This was finally it. Tyran was going to drag her back home in less than six hours. He was going to take her back to face her crimes against both the Mage and the Fae. How could she ever face them again after what she had done? The Fae would exile her.
And her father. Oh, her poor betrayed father. Not only was he tremendously disappointed at her but he was under the mercy of the savage he personally introduced to the world as her mate. How could Tyran be such a spineless rodent?
The Fae king was nothing but light and love. He was loved by everyone. He was the very soul of the Realm of Light. With him gone, she couldn’t imagine what was happening in the place she once called home.
With a whimper, Noelle settled at the corner of the bed. Her stomach grumbled reminding her that she hadn’t had a bite to eat since last night. She didn’t trust Tyran’s motives. The Mage were known for twisting meanings of each word they said and that was why they were very good at making spells. For all she knew the housekeeper could put something in her food. She was going to starve first before letting his food touch anywhere near her mouth. Her stomach gave out a grumble of protest and she gritted her teeth together. She needed to keep herself busy to stop herself from thinking about her hunger. Well, if weaving a spell didn’t work then plain old trickery would. With grim resolve, Noelle stalked towards Tyran’s wardrobes.
Dusk came fast as Tyran and his commanders made their way back to his penthouse. His heart pounded faster the closer they got to the building. He was on the edge again. It was a feeling he always had every time he thought of seeing Noelle again. She had no idea how she affected him and he didn’t want her to. He knew what she was capable of and she was bound to use whatever she had to be rid of him. His heart filled with red rage. She would learn to accept him even if it took eternity. He was going to make her his; body, mind and soul.
“What the hell...” Drake’s voice trailed off as he dashed towards the building in full speed.
Tyran looked up and saw the black smoke pluming from his penthouse and everything inside him seized to function. Cold dread streaked down his spine as Ruvin and Zach rushed in after Drake.
Tyran didn’t have time. The place was already attracting a crowd. He shielded his presence from human sight and shot up like a stray bullet.
Cold sweat trickled down his back. She was alright, he told himself as he approached the glass walls.