AISLIN | I

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

I watched his silent plea to be tagged and be it. Méabh nodded, then tapped the boy with her foot, "Tag, You're it!"

The little girl turned around to see who Méabh was talking to only to have the little boy tag her. The little girl scrambled up in disbelief.

"Tag! You're it!" The little boy laughed, then took off at a sprint with the little girl hot on his tail.

Méabh laughed under her breath and shook her head in amusement, attempting to pull herself to her feet.

"Kids are interesting little things," I chuckled, sliding out of their way.

"They are definitely intriguing." Kingsley hummed in agreement, offering Méabh a hand. "Interesting to observe, but they never appealed to me." Kingsley continued, shaking her head.

Méabh let out a gasp as she looked up at us, accepting Kingsley's hand that was stretched out towards her. Kingsley pulled Méabh up and into her arms with a single heave. Méabh's feet dangled off the ground as the two embraced.

Kingsley set her gently on her feet and I stretched out my arms. Méabh closed the distance between us so quickly the force of our collision almost knocked me off my feet. I wrapped her in my arms and stood up straight, pulling her feet off the ground yet again.

"Oh my land! I can't believe you're here!" She squealed as I set all 5 feet, 2 inches of her back on the rough wooden floor. Her violet eyes shined with excitement and she danced on the balls of her feet. Her chocolate brown braids starting at her hairline and snaking back along the top of her head trailing behind her and finally coming to an end about 6 inches above her knees swung as she bounced in joy.

She wore a cream cotton shirt under a brown leather bustier that provided protection over her vital organs. She wore short leather sleeves and a collar over the cotton shirt and this was reinforced by leather shoulder-plates that were buckled in a criss-cross across her collar bones. Her forearms were protected by buckled leather cuffs. She wore paneled pants that hugged her short legs, a seam running down either side of the front of her leg tucked into knee-high boots that had steel plates up the front, tied tight with leather cord. From the plain leather belt on her waist hung a hip-pocket on the left and a small axe on her right.

"What are you guys doing here?" Méabh asked us, looking confused.

"We need your help." Kingsley said.
"I got a mission and it has proved harder than I expected it to be. So I am bringing the syndicate back together," I explained.

"What was your mission?" she asked me.

"Kole was kidnapped." Kingsley said in her mother tongue. Méabh gasped and brought a hand to her lips as Kingsley continued, "We need you and Blakely-rose to come with us."

Méabh nodded, her face hardening, "Okay. I'll get her and get ready to leave. Give me a couple minutes."

Before she could run off, Chief Asmund blocked her path and stared at her with an expressionless face. He reached down and rested his hands on her shoulders.

After a beat, he sighed, "I know why you have to leave and I respect that. You must protect your family, but please be safe. I know you can take care of yourself but you know I still have to say it. You're my only daughter, and Merk's future chief. And that goes for you girls too. You are like my flesh and blood and as I breathe, it would pain me to know something happened to you. King Kole wouldn't want you risking your safety for him. Please watch your backs and remember; Nothing is what it seems." We all nodded and gave him a hug.