Mickey Pov
I stood ramrod straight and stared ahead. I looked over at the crowd. My mates were smiling happily at me. Makay was there with adoration in her eyes. I looked towards the back and saw two spirits floating and chuckled. Gran will always be a rule breaker, especially when it comes to her family. I stared out over Aelasar. I'm very proud of what we've built and what Aelasar has become.
It got quiet when my father and mother walked in. My mother was holding my father's hand as he walked slowly with a cane.
The palace speaker said, "I give you the king and queen of Aelasar." Everyone stood up and clapped, whistled and smiled.
They started yelling, champion! champion! champion! to my father. He chuckled and waved. My father is the greatest champion that ever lived. As he made his way down the aisle to me, I felt proud to be his son. Chaos purred in contentment. My father is powerful and formidable, Chaos respects that.
My father came to me and patted my shoulder. My mother, ever the emotional one, brought my forehead down to hers and kissed me. She smiled then stood beside my father.
I smiled with pride as Makay stood up and spoke the words of a true messenger. When she was done, she grabbed my father's hand and mine and we formed a trifecta. She spoke more words in the language of the gods. When she was done, she had my father and I join hands, blessing the union. Before she could step back, my father hugged and kissed her. He smiled down at her proudly.
She said more words. Then my father removed his crown and placed it on my head. Transferring his kingdom over to me.
Makay's voice boomed when she said, "Your new king. Mickey of Aelasar." Everyone cheered and clapped.
Afterwards we had supper. My father was still at the head of the table. I didn't want to sit in the seat yet. Plus, it was the only seat that could hold him. My father is huge in stature and with his leg not fully functioning, this is the most comfortable chair for him. I vowed that when I received my successor's powers I'm going to heal my father's leg. Completely.
I cleared my throat. My father and mother looked at me. I told them about the goddess and what I'll have to do when I die.
"Mickey of Aelasar, why would you do such a thing?" My mother had tears in her eyes. She placed her hand over her mouth with worry.
"He was protecting Makay, my love."
"Oh," she said and sat down. For the first time she really looked like she wanted to hit me and I'm sure that isn't a fight I would win. If she takes away my powers that would leave me with only hand to hand and my mother is the best of the best at that and all kinds of weapons. My father didn't want her to learn at first. Then he realized that threats will come from all sides and most underestimate my mother because she's soft spoken and tiny. We haven't really tested if she can take my warlock powers yet, though. I'm sure Chaos would love to test that theory but I will not allow it. I love my mother too much and my life's mission has been to make her happy. A mission I know I've failed at often. I know that.
I sat back in my chair just in case she was still thinking about hitting me. Surprisingly, Chaos is always calm around my mother, so I'm sure it wouldn't be any problem if she did. My mother is the one being that I would let murder me and not even try to protect myself from. I would never raise a hand to my mother. The same couldn't be said for her though. I looked at her face and chuckled. She looked about ready to do away with Makay and I both.
"Mom, without the goddess, our lineage wouldn't exist. She showed me her story. It wasn't pretty. She sacrificed a lot so that we could be here." I looked at my father. "She fell in love with a warlock and hid the child away after her father killed the warlock."
"I see."
"I'm sorry father. If I hadn't broken the rules this would have never happened," Makay had so much guilt in her eyes.
"Oh, it most certainly would have happened, sweetheart. She needed an heir and she was going to get one at any cost."
I nodded.
"When is the ceremony?"
"Soon."
"Well, that's tomorrow's problem. Let's celebrate the new king of Aelasar." Everyone raised their glass in salute.
"Your mother and I will leave here soon, with the triplets and let you reign in peace without our interference."
I looked at my mom. I don't want that. That's too much too fast for me. I felt heat creeping up my neck. That familiar rage.
"Is it too much for you right now, sweetie?"
I nodded. Sometimes I love that my mother is an empath. She can decipher my moods when I can't say them out loud.
"Mickey, sweetheart. How would you even notice we are gone if you are king, have mates and have an impending successor ceremony. Things are changing sweetie, but that's ok. Beings are supposed to grow. It's time you fully grasp the concept of what a king with mates does. I'm very proud of you. You have handled yourself well with all of this. Your father and I know what kind of battle you're fighting on the inside and it kills me that I can't take it away or fight it for you. But even if I could, I wouldn't because you got this. You can do this. You brought Makay back to us, all the while restoring the kingdom back to its former glory. I know it wasn't easy listening to the complaints of the citizens and making sure they had a place to stay since their homes were destroyed. Makay couldn't even have done that and she doesn't have a warlock."
We all looked at Makay and chuckled. Makay has no patience at all and less patiences for fools and questions. She shifted in her seat. That's why she thought she wouldn't make a good messenger because of her temper, but she's doing a great job, especially in The Outlands.
Suddenly Shane scoffed. I followed his line of vision to Ashford. She was speaking with her grandfather. He was apologizing to her for all the years of silence. He understands that she and Declan are nothing like their mother and he would like to have a relationship with them both. They were pretty far away so if you weren't a vampire you couldn't hear them.
Shane scoffed again. "She should tell him to take a long walk off a short cliff."
No one was surprised that Shane felt that way. He felt that if they were absent this whole time then they should stay absent. It didn't take a smart person to see that Ashford isn't anything like her mother. Shane feels this deep because people are leery of him, thinking that he's like his sister.
We all chuckled at Shane.
"I'm sorry, but why here? Why now? She's been here for over 150 planet cycles."
"His mate wouldn't let him. She died recently, so I guess he's trying to mend that gap before he dies."
We all looked at my mother. She shrugged.
"What a wuss," stated Shane. I nodded but everyone else laughed. He's most certainly a wuss for a number of reasons.
I grabbed my head as a loud ringing started in my eardrums. "Mickey!" Everyone screamed and crowded me. I stood and felt my eyes blaze red as Chaos tried to figure out what the hell was going on. The pain became a dull throb. I removed my hand from my head and looked around. I felt it, but I couldn't see it.
"Sorry about that. I had to tone my voice down. Not everyone can perceive it if they are on land."
She was in my head. It was still banging a little bit, but it was manageable.
"That was you talking," I asked. Everyone is looking at me strangely. I grabbed Makay's hand and opened my mind, that way she can inform everyone on what's going on.
Her voice was like an echo in my head. It carried on and on, reverberating like a sound echoing down a hallway.
"Yes, we are several planes away from each other so I have to adjust the .... frequency as needed."
"Is it time.'' There's only one reason why she would go through such lengths to contact me.
"Yes. Three days from now."
"I'll be there. I'm bringing my mates so you can meet them."
"I would love to. Go to your local stream. It would be easier to use water for the transfer. It would be easier on your physical form. Until then my grandson."
I nodded.
When she left, I looked around. My mother and sister were biting their lips in uncertainty.
"Mickey, she likes you way too much. I don't trust her," stated Makay.
"What can she do, Makay? As her successor, he will come back to land with the powers of a god. There has to be a reason why she would do this now, though. Our lineage is old."
"She had to wait until a powerful being was born so they would be powerful enough to receive her essences." We all looked at Ashford. Shane pulled her down to his lap and kissed her on the lips.
"And how do you know that," asked Shane.
"I've been reading up on it. Her father was enraged when no one was strong enough to withstand his essence except her. He wanted his line to remain male. The goddess actually wanted a female successor, but hadn't found one in her lineage that could withstand her essence until Makay."
My mom started to pace nervously. "I do not like her attention on my children, Aeason."
"There's nothing we can do, love. He has already accepted the position of heir and in front of a room full of goddess messengers no less."
My mom sat down in her seat. Defeated. I rubbed her cheek with my finger.
"Do you doubt me?"
"Mickey of Aelasar, how can you fix your mouth to ask such a thing. You are my child and I will protect you with my dying breath against anything, even her. I'm just a little worried. I-I.. It's just.."
"A big change," I finished, reading her emotions.
I chuckled. "You just said change was a good thing."
She smiled a watery smile. "And so it is."
I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. I called for my mates and left the dining hall.
"Look, Ashford. He's king, now he wants to boss us around."
Ashford giggled at Shane. I lightly chuckled, but I was deep in thought.
"Mickey, what's wrong?" Ashford asked, picking up on my moods. She always could.
"Thinking about the future and what it all means. Don't want a drastic change. Change is triggering to me. I want to make sure you are both safe and prepared for anything."
"Mickey, we will be fine."
I'm glad to hear them say that. I picked up on something. I walked that way. We made it past the stream, deeper into the meadows. The presence grew stronger. I teleported us to the edge of our kingdom. Ashford gasped when she saw intruders were trying to breach our barrier. Intruders are always trying to get through the barrier. I weakened the barrier so they could come in since it was taking them a long time.
When they saw us, they attacked. One shot some kind of laser from his palm. Ashford and Shane jumped out of the way. They looked at me; a little surprise that I didn't do anything.
I shrugged. "How did you think your training was going to go?"
Shane called for his weapons and hit the button on the wooden handles. The laser ropes dropped. His smile was all fangs. I tried to control my dick at the sight.
Then Ashford came beside him. "Let's do this." Shane's eyes grew big in surprise when her whole body flamed up and she shot off.
He looked at me. "If I can't do that in the future, I'm going to be pissed," he said and shot off.
I chuckled at my mates. They doubted themselves over and over, especially Ashford. They were born for this. For me. I finally jumped in the fray when 13 more laser shooting species breach the barrier.
The End
Stay tuned for the epilogue and a glimpse into the next story.