Warning this chapter has some explicit content in it.
Lili's POV:
"Baby don't be like that," Vacian cooed to me as I huffed beneath his scales and glared at anything that dared to move. He carefully adjusted me in his arms using one of his long talons so that I would be in a more comfortable position. His alpha vibes wavered in the air creating a sense of protection and safety for me. "Why don't you take a nap baby. I'm sure you will feel better after and then maybe you could go talk to Alina and give her a chance to apologise, it has been a few days."
"And Xavier wants you back in the castle too. He isn't happy with you out here with danger present, and frankly, neither of us are either. If we have to sweetheart we will go with you into the castle; we're fine without water or fire for at least a few weeks now that we have started taking that potion." Tayton said sharply causing me to break my death glare on a tree and look at him in surprise. "Besides we want to have a small talk with Alina anyway. She might be my human's mate and my queen, but I refuse to let her speak to you like that."
"No Daddy. Please don't tell Alina off. She has been under so much stress this whole week, and it won't stop until those nightmares have gone away. And I knew about those because I watched over her all night," I stated proudly before pouting sadly. "I just wish she'd let me tell her Daddies."
"These nightmares," Voltix started confused, "Do they happen all night every night?"
"Yes! And they are so bad but when I told Alina that I was going to tell the kings, she out this charm on me using her wand that Xavier has started teaching her how to use. Now every time I even try to mention it to her Daddies, not a sound comes out of my mouth." I huffed.
"Then we will tell them when we get to the castle," Mantiz replied as he stood, stretched his wings and turned to the forest line where you could see the castle through the trees. "But for now, neither of us are moving and if we want to get there before sundown tonight...you need to get your lazy asses moving."
"Oh shut up you stupid ogre. We're coming." Tayton replied in friendly banter as he too stood up. "Last one back is a sore loser."
"Cheater!" Mantiz screamed after him as he too shot up into the sky without so much as a glance back.
Vacian shot me a worried glance as I stood up rolling my eyes before remembering where we were going and looking unsurely up at him. "Baby are you ready to go home?"
He stood brushing himself up against me as Voltix blew out the fire and turned to me as well. There was a worried look in both their eyes as I shrunk down to my regular size and climbed onto Vacian's back. From up here the castle despite its long distance away seemed more significant and pronounced.
"Yeah I'm ready. I miss Alina and I've been worried the whole time I've been away. I don't think I'm going to be coming back here for a while."
"That's fine Lili. We're going to stay with you in the castle for a while anyway. Despite that our size when we're in that stupid concrete death trap is humiliating." Muttering the last part, he started to beat his wings then he too climbed into the sky with Voltix right behind us.
.........
Vacian's descent and landing was a graceful as ever and giggled as I gave him a fight when we got closer to the ground, and I jumped off his back. My claws dug into the mud as I stood for a minute trying to keep my upright position before I laughed and pranced around under Volt's body as he stopped next to me. Mantiz and Tayton were arguing up ahead, and I sighed in happiness before turning to the castle.
Everything looked deadly quite. The stables about a hundred meters from us were locked up and the pool, playground and patio were deserted. Except they weren't - two regal guards had apparently just sent everything into action again when they banged the glass backyard doors open and started running to us. Worried I began to walk in their direction with my mates following. In the slight morning lights, you could only just tell that there were panicked and because of that breathing slowly and seemed to almost be in pain.
"Ruyard? Sine? What's wrong."
"Lili thank god you're here. We were going to send a message to you later in the day but," He puffed. "It's Alina. She attacked again last night, and the house has been on long ever since. She's been asking for you all day."
I was already halfway to the house by the time he was finished calling after me, not even bothering to check whether my mates were following. God, I should have been here, please forgive me, Alina. Over the past few day's I'd only focused on myself so that when I finally returned to Alina I would be stronger and I would have more patience with her. I never once thought this would happen.
Running through the open door, I sniffed out where Alina was. Giving a pained cry when I couldn't smell her I began to use my other instincts in a panic, everything getting more and hazier as time passed. Our connection gave a dull throb in the far west side of the house, and I shot off towards the panic rooms wanting to be with Alina now.
Everything was deadly silent on the inside of the house too, almost deserted except for a few stationed guards as entrances and all were seemingly worried. Alina connection to me got stronger as I walked further to the back of the house and when I was finally in front of where it almost pained to be, I stopped and immediately began scratching the locked door, wanting in. By then, my mates had caught up, and Tayton let out a soft roar to alert his human, Xavier to his presence.
Mercuries' POV:
Over the past few days, we had finally been able to relax. With us being on minor shut down, it meant that we were able to play with Alina and spend more time with her. I remember dreading standing in my office watching her play in the snow with Lili and Alina, desperate to be out there too. But while my wants were one thing, duties always pulled me away from Alina's warmth and into a bitter, cold meeting room. I was starting to wish that this respite would never end, even though I wanted Alina's attacker to be caught.
And then it happened, just as suddenly as the last mite and just as unexpected. One minute we were playing hide and seek it the forest and the next we were going animal over Alina's body covered in blood hanging from a tree. At this point, I didn't care who he or she was; I just wanted them tortured and killed. Shaking with barely contained anger, I forced myself up from the chair sitting next Alina on one side and stalked over to the window barely blinking at the sight of Lili and my brothers', and I's familiar's running towards the castle.
"This is all your fault." A dark voice spoke in my mind. I shook my head. It wasn't my fault Alina had been attacked. It wasn't.
"You suggested the game." He continued to taunt, rising my pain.
My brothers had told me it wasn't my fault and Fabian had spent days trying to convince me that was a fact. But this voice continued to taunt, reminding me of past days...of the man I once loved who sounded the same. Again I shook. Never think about him, never talk about him and never try to find him. The rules were etched into my mind, set in stone and undoable.
Moving back to my familiar chair, as Xavier got up to let our familiars into the hospital I took ahold of my baby girl's cold, pale hand. Looking down I smoothed over her sweaty, gold hair that draped over he pillow and net to press my lips to her forehead.
"I'm sorry my little one." I murmured.
Suddenly, Lili came bounding into the room and flung herself carefully into the bed next to Alina, where Xavier had just been laying. She immediately started sobbing and apologising to Alina's unconscious body, curling into tighter to her side and began profusely treating that she wasn't getting up until Ally was better.
Sheam walked up to me from the door where he was standing with Tayton, Voltix and Nevier.
"Hey Mer. Are you okay? Is Alina okay? What the fuc...fudging hell happened?"
Standing, I wrapped my arms around the neck of his shrunk body and buried my head into his scales, wanting to forget the world. It took me a few moments before I was able to assess all the information we'd heard over the past few hours as to Alina's attack and turn that into a sentence.
"We were playing Sheam. It was harmless and in the forest, relatively deep in too. You know that someone not of royal blood cannot enter that forest." I sighed deeply, dragging my hand over my face. "My brothers and Alina were hiding, and we told Alina not to go too far. Then I went looking for them. I found them first." I gestured to my brothers before turning my gaze to Alina. "We all went looking for Alina turned a bend and f...found her hanging from t...that stupid tree. They think it was a guard. I just don't understand how that got into the forest."
I smelt my blood creeping up from my clenched fist; it's sharp metallic tang drawing me out of my breakdown. Shaking my head, I grabbed a spare bandage from out of a draw and wrapped it loosely around my already heeling palm, then walked back over to Alina to sit down.
She looked innocently asleep, but as you got closer, you could see the faint pink mark from the rope and the tension lines around her face from whatever she was possibly dreaming about. Xavier's and Chevron magic were wrapped around her body as well as her own, sustaining it and protecting it. Sheam growled lowly in his chest as he looked over Alina and gathered the new information I had just told him. Red energy vibrated out of him in tangible waves, and I blocked his new radiation while giving a glare.
"My Kings!" A shout at the door interrupted Vacian's apology to me.
Both Zeus and I moved forward, with our hands sparkling with magic should we need as we disarmed the door and watched it fly open. The guards were standard, low class my loyal men who were bursting with information.
"What is it?" Zeus asked.
"Sir, they found the guard. The one who hurt the Queen."
..........
the man was bound on the floor, covered in blood and gagged. He was struggling to get up against the two guards holding him down, and because of it, the throne room floor had trails of blood that went even as far as out of the room and down the hall.
"Enough!" Xavier's cold voice echoed against the marble as he ignored the man who had finally stopped struggling and gestured for us to follow him to our chairs.
As I sat, my crimson eyes examined the bowed man. He looked utterly defeated. Good, when I finished with him, he won't even know how to feel sorry. Pulling out my wand, I looked down at the 12-inch unicorn, red firewood and smirked. At this moment I was grateful for the wand that had chosen me. While Xavier's was strong and Chevron was quick, and Zeus was light, mine was utterly silent and punishing.
"Raise your head, slave." My voice was cruel and a sharp as a knife, directing all it's power to the man.
He shuddered, let out a sob and used what looked like all his might to keep his head down.
"He said, raise your fucking head," Xavier yelled as he shot up and a stream of black magic ket itself it the man until he was withering on the floor. However this time, he didn't hesitate, and my breath caught as I realised who it was.
"Xavier please." He panted. "I would nev-"
"Get him out my fucking sight. I don't want to hear his fucking excuses. Put him down with my other favourite criminals."
There a loud cry as he was whipped and forced up onto his knees, and I gulped, lowering my head.