//song: sleep baby sleep - broods
Not sure how this one will go but here goes nothing.
•••••••••••
I inhaled sharply as I woke to the soft rustling of fabric.
The room was dark. I didn't even remember falling asleep.
I blinked against the darkness. "Julian?"
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you."
I frowned. "I tried to wait up--"
"Shh," he whispered again. He sat down on the bed next to me making the lush mattress sink under his weight. I could make it out the outline of his face from the moonlight filtering through the window. "Don't worry about it, Emylin. You were tired."
I placed my head on his shoulder. His scent was familiar. Spice and sandalwood.
I smiled to myself. "Hmm, I missed this."
His fingers ran through my hair, his lips brushing against my hairline. "I did too."
I sighed heavily, watching Mehnit as she curled up in the corner of the room and licked her paw. "How did it go? The hunt?"
"Exactly as planned. She's magnificent to watch hunt. I wish you could have seen it."
"Hmm," I whispered. "I rather not. And Kymra?"
"She's in her room with Oren. He left your door to check on her as soon as he saw me. He'll be back to guard your door as soon as he can." He sighed softly. "I'll leave as soon as he comes back."
I frowned, looking at him. "You're leaving? Why?"
"Emylin, I would never assume-"
I swallowed. "You're not assuming, Julian." My eyes met his. "This whole bargain with Asmo, it never changed how I feel about you. It never changed what I wanted with you." I moved, climbing onto his lap with both knees on either side of his hips. "I love you, Julian. What you said that night, I want that too. Skryen, with you every night, every morning--Gods," I groaned, scratching my head. "I can't even remember word for word what you said but--it was perfect--that's what I want too. I want it all with you."
With his fingers in my hair, he pulled my face towards his. I felt myself come undone in the kiss. My lips were shaking. My fingers dug into his shoulders, I was afraid of letting him go.
He pulled away, pressing his forehead against mine. "I had said that I love you, Emylin." His voice was low. I couldn't help the stupid grin I had on my face. "I want to spend the rest of my days with you in Skryen. Or at the Keep. Whatever you decide to do, wherever you decide to live. I want you. I want to be with you."
I laughed, the sound was almost foreign. "I want to be with you too."
I could imagine lazy mornings in Skryen. It seemed so much more within reach now. I pictured waking long after the sun had risen with walks to the Market like the first time I visited. I imagined visiting the people there, the small shops and clubs. Maybe we would visit Damien at the Keep when we could.
Maybe we could learn about Elysium, we could visit it again as often as we wanted. I could image falling asleep under the stars in Elysium with only the humming of the creatures of the forest as company.
I couldn't imagine marriage and children. At least not right away. But I knew I wanted to be with only Julian for the rest of my days.
He kissed me again, his hands traveled up my thighs to my hips. "As tempting as you look right now, we should sleep as much as we can. It's almost morning."
I nodded in agreement. "Okay." I slipped off his lap and took my usual place on my side of the bed closest to the window.
He lay down next to me, his arm pulling me close to his body. I smiled as I placed my head on his shoulder and legs around one of his. He kissed the top of my head as he sighed deeply. "Mehnit is very fast, you know. She's almost impossible to keep up with."
I giggled, running my finger down the bridge of his nose as I watched him. "Sleep, Julian."
He closed his eyes sighing deeply, his arm held me close.
I traced the outline of the tattoos I could see on his chest under his shirt. Was this how we would spend our evenings? Wrapped around each other?
All we had to do was survive the fight.
"Julian," I whispered. "Do you think we'll be able to do it? Beat her? So we can make our lives together?"
I looked up at him and smiled. He was already asleep, breathing quietly as he drifted.
I sighed softly and cuddled closer to him.
I couldn't fall asleep again.
•••••••••••••
"Okay," Leah started. Her blue eyes were full of encouragement. "It's just a flick of the wrist. Ready?"
I looked at the task ahead of me and nodded.
"Okay, go!"
I moved the pan in my hand upwards. The pancake flew through the air then flipped and landed perfectly on the hot pan.
Or at least, that's what I wanted it to do. Instead, it barely left the pan an inch.
I pouted.
"Um," Leah squeaked. "It was a nice try!"
Damien snorted into his coffee cup. "Has anyone told you your upper body strength is seriously lacking?"
"Oh," I pouted, moving my free hair out of my face. "Shut up, you."
Kymra and Oren laughed from where they sat at the table. Kymra had a esr view of the yard from the table. She said she wasn't worried but I could see her occasionally glance up towards them. She nibbled on her small breakfast of eggs, bacon and fresh fruit but she didnt seem to have much of an appetite.
Oren, on the other hand, ate ravenously despite having a full dinner and first breakfast. He hunched over his plate as he shoveled more eggs in. With his fit figure, I wondered where it all went. He either worked out a lot or knew some faerie magic that the women of Beverly Hills would pay a lot of money for.
Damien was lounged in the kitchen, leaning his long form against the kitchen cabinets. His hair was tousled across his violet eyes. He looked more care-free than he had in ages.
Despite having almost the entire Underworld in her home, Leah didn't seem to mind. Her dark hair was up in a small bun despite her short hair. Flour and pancake decorated her cheeks coupled with her freckles. She looked so at ease in the kitchen. I wondered if she noticed Damien's stolen glances as she cooked everyone breakfast.
"Careful now, Damien. She can still kick our asses."
I smiled at Julian's compliment and when I looked in his direction, my heart skipped a beat. It was still weird to see him in regular clothes. He would never blend in with Jean's and a t-shirt. He was too good looking. The Metallica t-shirt sleeves were tight over his thick arms. The dark stubble he had in the morning was gone from his cleanly shaven face.
Everyone looked like they dodnt belong. They were too otherworldly, too good looking to be in the human world.
I wondered if I looked the same way to others. In a simple skirt and up-do, I probably looked like flaming garbage compared to them. And I was sure the flour I had on my features while cooking didn't help either.
Leah smiled kindly as I handed her the pan.
I shook my head as I moved to the cupboard. "I'll just stick to granola."
When my eyes looked at the top cupboard where it sat, I sighed. "Why is everyone in this house taller than me?"
I stood on my toes to reach for it when someone beat me to it.
I froze when I recognized the hand it belonged to.
He handed me the box of granola. His eyes didn't leave mine. "Good morning, Alteaza."
A chair scraped loudly across the tile and when I looked at the dining room, Julian was walking toward me. He grabbed an empty bowl and took my hand taking me back with him to the dining table. Without a word, he pulled out the chair furthest away from Asmo and motioned me to sit. He himself sat in the chair between me and Asmo.
The silence that followed was deafening. Anyone that didn't know the history of the group would still be able to feel the hostility on both sides of the room. It seemed like it was Asmo against everyone else.
I shifted in my chair uncomfortably.
Leah cleared her throat. "Would you like breakfast? I don't know what you like but we have eggs, pancakes--"
Asmo didn't change his deadpan expression. He looked incredibly bored. "I prefer the souls of children."
After a moment, Leah chuckled nervously. "Fresh out of that, sorry."
I frowned. Asmo was giving everyone exactly what they wanted.
A villain.
"We don't have time for breakfast," Asmo said instead. He looked at everyone. "Every minute we spend horsing around in the human world, the girl can plan against us." He scoffed. "Instead of making pancakes and-" he looked at Damien, "seducing girls to your bed, we should be fighting our way into the Keep and getting back the throne."
I placed the spoon on the table before I could even take my first bite. I suddenly lost my appetite.
"Well then, spy, give us your information." Julian looked at Asmo with pure hate. "What did Emylin's misery buy us?"
Asmo's lip curled. He was fighting to keep his composure.
I spoke up. "She's part demon." I frowned. "I was able to read her for a bit. See her soul, her essence. She's unhinged, for sure. Maybe it's because those demons are tearing her apart from the inside."
I swallowed looking at each of them. "They're winning. She's losing her Silvertongue ability." I looked at Asmo. "Which is a fae power."
They stayed silent.
"At the party we went to," I continued. "It was with the Nether Circles. She asked them to join her. She bribed them with money. She wouldn't have to do that if she could control them as a Silvertongue."
Asmo crossed his arms. "While we were there she had new guards."
At the mention of us together at the party, Julian tensed. His hand turned into a fist on his knee under the table.
Asmo was taking every opportunity he could get to get under Julian's skin.
And it seemed it was working.
"She's switching guards all the time," Asmo continued as if he didn't notice, although he definitely did. "We think it's because her influence is wearing off."
I placed my hand on top of Julian's under the table to reassure him. He squeezed my hand back. "She wants Damien back. Me and Damien, both of us unharmed."
Leah rolled her eyes. "It's obvious why she wants Damien."
Julian raised an eyebrow. "Is it?"
"Yeah," she continued. "She's obsessed and wants him 'cause he was nice to her."
"No."
We all turned to Asmo.
"Not for one act of kindness."
There was no denying that his eyes settled on me. I met his eyes and after a moment, I had to take a deep breath. He looked at Leah again. "It might spare him from harm but that's not why.
It's something else."
"She wants to be queen and I'm pretty sure it's not just for the title, not if she's part demon. If the legends are to be believed then there is one other purpose to having both of you back alive." Julian fidgeted with the empty mug of coffee he served himself earlier. "Well, either one of you alive."
Damien sighed deeply. "I was afraid of that."
"Afraid of what?" Leah breathed.
My eyes turned to Damien.
Julian's eyebrows rose. "So it's not just a legend?"
Damien looked at Asmo, sighing. "Nothing to lose, then."
Asmo shrugged.
Damien hesitated.
Asmo growled. "We don't have time for this. Underworld Queens have to fight the Old Ones if they break the seals but they also have power over the Seals themselves. Including tearing them down."
I laughed louder than I meant to. I had more power than I was told. More power than of just overseeing decisions and council meetings. A figurehead was what I was told.
Figurehead, my fae ass. "Something else in the fine print."
Damien shot me an annoyed look.
I gave him one back pointing a finger at him. "Stop. After everything that's happened you don't get to look at me like that."
Julian's hand reached across the table for my other one. He gave it a small squeeze making me look at him briefly. I lowered my hand back onto the table.
Asmo gave a small smile looking away to the window.
Leah spoke quietly. "Why does she want the Alteaza unharmed then?" She was frowning. "It seems to me like she would want her to no longer be queen by any means necessary." She looked at Damien. "Less resistance from you if she's harmed?"
Damien placed his fingers on his chin. "That's one way to do it." Then he shook his head. "Emylin is the Last of the Light. The man that raised Mal was a light fae. She has deep respect for that magic. She probably doesn't want it to end with her adoptive father."
I frowned. Somehow, that didn't seem right...
Kymra scoffed. "The irony. Her real father killed all of the Light just so that his heir could be raised by one." She shook her head. "Robyn must be rolling over in his grave."
"So," Oren concluded. "Convince Emmy to hand over her power. And if it doesn't work out? What will she do?"
"Kill Emmy and either marry Damien or force him to give her the throne." Kymra finished.
Leah placed her chin on her palm as her elbow rested on the table. "Well, that sucks."
Kymra sighed loudly. "All of this sucks."
"We cannot let it get that far," Asmo said quietly.
I swallowed. "We won't."
They all looked at me.
"We have to do it now. She can't have any more time to gather allies. She has already gone to the Nether Circles. She'll have a mercenary army by now."
Kymra stood. "Our queen is right. It must be done soon."
"Tonight," Damien added. "We strike tonight. We can sneak into the Keep. I know some passageways designed for the royal family's safety. Mal and her guards mercenary or not won't know about them, it's a heavily guarded secret. We can go in through them and bypass certain corridors and whatever Guard she might have now."
"She may have imprisoned Guards that she can no longer influence," Oren said calmly. He sighed heavily. "I flew around the Keep this morning. There were new guards I didn't recognize there. They were moving prisoners between the Tower and the dungeons. It could be previous Guards." He looked at me. "I don't doubt that those men and women are the mercenary army you mentioned. We could use the previous Guards' help."
Kymra nodded. "We should break them out if we can. In the cover of night."
Julian nodded. "We should split up." He looked at Kymra. "Perhaps you and Oren should go to the Tower with Asmo and break out the Guard." He looked at Asmo. "Do you think she will stay in the private rooms of the Keep if there was an invasion at the gates? Or somewhere else in the Keep?"
Asmo nodded. "She wouldn't want to get her hands dirty with what she would think is a small skirmish, I think."
"Damien, Emylin, Leah and I will go to the Keep. Break in and subdue and attack Mal while her guards are distracted."
Everyone nodded.
Damien stepped forward. "However this goes down, this ends tonight."
As I looked at them, I watched their resolution steel. They were ready, they wanted to do this. If they felt the fear I did, I couldn't see it. But I could feel their restlessness and anxiety.
Fear was gripping me. Real unfiltered fear.
It was going to happen---really happen. We were going to go that night and get the throne back.
I looked at Leah. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
She shrugged with a smile. "Sounds like fun."
I shook my head smiling too. "I don't want you to do something you don't want to do--"
She smiled again without any hesitation. "It would be my honor."
I looked at Julian. "I want to see my parents." I sighed deeply, swallowing. "Will it be safe if we do? If we're going to do this tonight--" I stopped. "Mal--she's different. Much different than with Robyn. She's weakened us at some point. Damien, Asmo, Kymra, Oren, me." I stopped. "I want to see them again in case I don't make it this time."
Maybe it would be the last time I saw them.
Julian looked at the group then back at me. He was hesitating, he wasn't sure what to say. "Emylin--"
"Julian," I insisted.
He smiled sadly. He tucked a hand at the back of my neck and pulled me to him as he reached forward. He placed a sweet kiss on my forehead. "Of course, Emylin. I understand."
I rested my forehead against his, grabbing his wrist as he held on to me. I was drawing strength from him, taking a deep calming breath. Maybe this would be our last day together.
Damien's voice was soft. "If anyone else wants to do the same, you can. We'll meet here at nine. We'll begin to move to the Underworld at eleven. If anyone runs into any trouble, specter here. I will be staying keeping the house guarded in case you're followed."
I looked across the table to Kymra and Oren, who reached across the table to each other and held hands.