Chapter 57
Mavi felt as if she was lit up like a Christmas tree that night as she headed down to dinner holding Owen's hand. Her whole body buzzed melodiously as Owen teased her in between showering and getting dressed.
"Owen," Mavi said as they neared the top of the stairwell.
"Yes, princess?" Owen stopped and turned around.
"I....I'm sorry for making you worried. That was not my intention."
Owen stared at their linked hands as he ran Mavi's words through his head. He knew her intentions were good.....but her execution was reckless.
"I'm not going to say it's okay because it's not okay for you to do that," Owen said after a long pause.
Mavi took a deep breath and nodded. She took small steps forward as she felt Owen tug at her hand.
"I'm not just your mate," Owen said as he cupped her face. "I am also your Beta.....you have to let me work with you."
"I'm sorry," Mavi frowned.
"You have no idea how lucky you got with that jinn. My heart stops every time I think about what could have happened to you."
Mavi didn't have any reply. He was correct. In everything he was saying.....her actions were rushed and thoughtless......but couldn't he acknowledge the fact that she got the job done?
"How do you think I could ever possibly function if anything happened to you?" Owen whispered, searching Mavi's eyes. "You breathe life into every single cell in my body.....without you there is no me."
Mavi felt her eyes grow wet as she listened to his words. Owen's eyes landed on her lips as he kissed her with the softness of a feather and promised her to love her forever. Mavi melted against his arms as she let him kiss her with all his worries and frustration.
She could never have enough of this man. Her love for him terrified her. If he thought he was the only one that would go crazy if he ever lost her, then he was living in delusion. Losing him would be like being thrown from the heavens.
There would be no recovering from that.
"I think we better get downstairs," Owen murmured against Mavi's lips.
"Ugh....fine," Mavi laughed, pulling away.
"We need a vacation," Owen said to her as he took her hand and led her downstairs.
"Oh that sounds like a great plan. Where should we go?"
"Some place with no people."
Mavi began to laugh as they walked into the dining room. Everyone's eyes at the table bounced up to her beaming face as she walked over to the table and waited as Owen pulled the chair out for her.
"What's so funny?" Adam asked.
"Nothing," Mavi shook her head. "Owen and I were just saying that we need a vacation after all this is over."
"Sweet Jesus, yes." Adam sighed. "And I'm going to make Exton pay for it."
"In your dreams Shark boy," Exton snorted as he passed the salad bowl to Mavi.
"This is your mess we are trying to fix," Caspian piped up.
"I didn't create it,"
As Caspian and her brother bounced back and forth, Mavi looked at Gemma, "Where's mom and dad?"
"They had some pack business to attend to in Benin," Gemma said. "They left after you arrived this morning."
Mavi nodded as she offered Owen salad.
"No, thank you, princess," Owen kissed the top of her head as he fell back in conversation with Alec over the guards.
Finally, Mavi turned to the one person she had been trying to avoid since she entered the room.
Heyder.
He sat at the end of the table playing with the napkin ring as his eyes followed Mavi around. She had felt his gaze ever since she entered the room like a spotlight. It was unsettling to say the least. Mavi felt as if he could read all her thoughts and see through her skin like glass.
"Salad?" Mavi turned to the jinn, keeping her face neutral.
"No, thank you, princess." Heyder copied Owen. The corner of his lips perked up as he noticed the irritation flicker in Mavi's eyes.
"Okay," Mavi moved the bowl away and focused on Gemma, who watched her and Heyder.
"Gem, ho-"
"Is this how you treat guests in your kingdom, your grace?" Heyder cut Mavi off as he sat up in his seat and leaned forward.
"Excuse me?" Mavi asked.
"You abandoned me after handing me over to two demonically energized merman," Heyder placed a hand over his heart. "I was deeply wounded."
"That's my best friend you are talking about," Mavi opened her napkin and placed it over her lap. "And you're a big boy, I'm sure you don't need me to babysit you."
Heyder watched her with an amused smile on his lips. Mavi wanted to push his face away and turn his attention elsewhere, but she was terrified to touch him.
"So....." Gemma picked up her spoon and dipped it into her soup. "How long have you been on Earth, Heyder?"
"Too long,"
"Amen, brother," Caspian said from the other side of the table.
"Don't call me brother," Heyder said flatly.
"Immortality doesn't seem so bad," Alec spoke up. "I mean look at the king....he's so happy with Rye. If he wasn't immortal none of this would have happened."
"It was his immortality that doomed him to find her so late," Heyder picked up the glass of wine in front of him.
"Would you give up your immortality?" Mavi asked.
"Of course," Heyder said. "In a heartbeat."
"Boy, do I have the perfect river for you." Caspian laughed sipping his wine.
"Why?" Mavi had her attention focused on Heyder as he swirled the red liquid in his cup.
Then I wouldn't have to die every second I'm around you, Heyder's voice rang out in Mavi's head through the mind-link.
"It gets boring," Heyder announced to the rest of the crowd at the table. He focused all his attention on his wine as Mavi dragged her eyes away and hid herself behind her veil of long brown hair.
"Are you okay?" Owen whispered to her as she leaned closer to him.
Mavi nodded as she kept her eyes glued on her plate. She felt Heyder's gaze on her once more, but she refused to look up at him for the rest of dinner.
Heyder found her to be quite amusing. Her head would start to slowly turn towards him, but she would catch herself and bury her face in her mate's chest or move her chair closer to his.
Owen would look down at Mavi in confusion and place soft kisses against her lips every time he would feel her grab his hand under the table.
"Do you want dessert here or upstairs?" He whispered into her ear as the table was cleared.
"Upstairs, please," Mavi whispered back blushing.
Owen's smile grew as he stood from the table and held his hand out for Mavi. She took it gratefully, relieved at not having to be in the same room as Heyder anymore.
As she stood, her eyes betrayed her and flickered up to the jinn. He sat leaned back against the chair rolling one of his rings between his fingers. His brown eyes glued on the flames dancing on the candles as the veins in his jaw jumped.
"Princess?" Owen called Mavi when she didn't move from her spot.
"Sorry," Mavi shook her head and ran into his arms. As she let Owen take her out of the room, all the tension in the air lessened as she could finally breathe.
"Is something bothering you?" Owen tucked her under his arm and looked down at her in concern.
Mavi shook her head, "No.....I.....it's just been a long day."
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The halls of the palace were dark and deserted. Not a single soul could be found lurking in the shadows.
The portraits on the walls stood witness as a single shadow swept across the floors like a black veil. It moved over the stairs and down the halls before passing through Mavi's doors.
The princess was in deep slumber. Her wild hair was splashed against her pillow as her eyelids fluttered. Her plump lips were parted as she called out to Owen in her sleep. Next to her, Owen's arms held her against his chest as his face stayed buried in the crook of her neck.
The shadowy figure stood watching the couple for a long time. The stars outside the window danced across the sky as the minutes on the clock ticked by. Everything stood still. The room seemed to be holding its breath.
Then, with delicately slow and cautious movements, the shadow reached out a hand towards Mavi's face.
"Don't even think about it," Heyder's voice growled from somewhere in the room.
The shadow paused as they turned to look at the jinn emerge from the darkness and step out into the starlight.
Heyder tilted his head to one side as he eyes the figure in confusion.
"You're not the princess," he said.
"No," The figure, wearing Mavi's face smiled. "I'm not a princess.....I'm a queen."
"Azazel," Heyder concluded.
"And who might you be?"
"Someone you don't want to mess with."
"Hmmm," Azazel purred. "Are you filtering with me?"
"What are you doing here?" Heyder's mood darkened as his eyes began to glow in the darkness.
"I could ask you the same," Azazel took a step away from the bed. She walked around and paused at the foot of the bed, looking Heyder up and down. "Do you get off on watching others make love?"
"You're like an ugly scar on a perfect face," Heyder said.
"Is that the best you can think of?" Azazel laughed. "I've been called worse."
"Leave."
"No."
"Leave before I make you wish you never came into this room."
The smile on Azazel's face grew as she listened to Heyder's words. She took a step towards him and hovered slightly to gage his reaction. When he didn't move or blast her with his magic, she took another step.
Heyder watched her with hooded eyes as she came to a stop a few inches away from his face.
"Look at me," Azazel said. "I am everything she is..... but better."
Heyder's face remained unchanged. His eyes watched the gray of Azazel's eyes start to swirl into a liquid gold.
"I can do things for you that she never could," Azazel leaned forward and whispered into Heyder's ear.
"And what do you want in return?"
"You," Azazel cooed. "I want you to look at me the way you look at her."
"Get out." Heyder said without missing a beat. When the demon didn't move, Heyder grabbed her arm making her hiss like a snake.
He dragged her across the room and through the closed doors as she struggled to break free from his grip.
"Leave." Heyder demanded. "Leave and never show your face."
"No." Azazel said through her teeth.
Heyder's jaw tensed as his eyes heated up. He moved his gaze from her face to over her heart and shot out two rays of smokeless fire.
Azazel's lips quivered in pain as she began to cry.
"Let go of me!" She hissed through the pain.
Heyder ignored her demand and focused harder on channeling his fire into her. Just as he was about to kick it up a notch, Mavi's cry reached his ear.
At first he thought the princess asleep in the room had awakened, but as he focused, he realized it was Azazel. She shed her demonic cover and hid behind the vulnerable Mavi.
"Heyder," She sobbed. "Stop, you're hurting me."
Heyder's fire ceased immediately. Horrified by the pain and fear in Mavi's eyes, he realized her and took a step back. But just as he did so, Azazel took over once again.
"My my," she said laughing. "You got it bad..... Why is she so special to you, jinn?"
Heyder didn't appreciate being fooled. He began to shed his human form and charge towards her when Azazel vanished into a cloud of smoke.
Irritated and angered, Heyder stormed out of the palace and shot up to the sky. He released his human form and changed into the fall of smokeless fire he truly was and raged through the skies.
Back in the room, Mavi sat up straight in bed as she felt her dragon stir within her. She had heard about wolves getting restless and clawing their way out. But she had never felt it herself. It was the first time she felt the claws of her dragon skin into her soul and demanded to be let out.
Looking over at Owen, Mavi debated on what she should do. She didn't want to wake him, but she knew he would completely lose his shit if she disappeared again.
Getting off the bed, she shifted into her dragon in the middle of her large room and collapsed onto the floor. Her wings fluttered as her head moved towards the window.
Not tonight, Mavi told herself as she stared at the cloudless skies outside.
Her dragon seemed to have a mind of it's own. It huffed a cloud of smoke in irritation as Mavi refused to go out for a flight.
Look at him, Mavi said as she walked over to the bed. Owen stayed asleep as he hugged Mavi's pillow closer to his chest.
Mavi lowered her head onto the bed and took a sniff of his scent. It calmed a fraction of her restlessness. She lowered her body onto the floor, keeping her head on the bed and took long breaths of Owen's scent until she drifted back to sleep. Her wings wrapped around her body to keep her warm as she calmed her mind and moved closer to Owen.
To Mavi it felt as if she had just closed her eyes for a second. She believed her senses were still alert and she was ready to jump up if anything moved around the room.....but as she felt herself being lifted, her eyes snapped open in alarm.
"Easy, princess," Owen whispered against her hair.
"Wh-what happened?" Mavi looked around the brightly lit room as she left Owen carrying her over to the bed and laying her down.
"You tell me," Owen said as he pulled the covers over her naked body. "I woke up and you were on the floor, naked...."
"I....I shifted last night...." Mavi blinked against the harsh light.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Owen asked as he hovered over her.
Mavi sank into the bed and stretched. She looped her arm around his neck and pulled him down towards her. "You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you."
Owen chuckled as he pushed her wild hair out of her face and kissed her, "I actually wouldn't sleep very well last night."
"Why not?"
"I don't know," Owen shrugged. "I felt as if I kept hearing voices...."
"Or as if someone was watching us?" Mavi held her breath as her toes chilled.
"Yeah...." Owen looked at her. They held each other's gaze as they tried to provide the other with some kind of an explanation. But when they failed, Mavi sighed and placed a kiss upon Owen's lips.
"We really need that vacation."
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"To perform the spell we need a jinn, which we have," Adam checked off the box on his paper. "We need holy water, check. A pure silk threat, check. And a blessing....which I still have no idea what it means."
"What about elf blood?" Mavi and Adam's eyes snapped up to Heyder as he walked into the room. His clothes were rumpled, his black hair messy and sticking up in every direction. His dark brow eyes swam in redness as his brows furrowed in irritation.
"The spell didn't say anything about elf blood," Adam looked back into the book.
"Any binding spell must include elf blood," Heyder snapped. "It's common sense."
"Why doesn't the book say anything about elf blood?" Adam scratched his head.
"Maybe try looking at a version that wasn't written before my grandfather was born," Heyder's voice rose a tad bit as he rubbed his jaw. His feet tapped impatiently as Adam moved over to the shelf of the book and began to pull out new volume.
"Are you okay?" Mavi asked the jinn as he huffed and puffed.
"No, I'm not okay." Heyder glared at her. "You people don't even know the first thing about a binding spell. It's not a basic witch love spell your sister in law casts. It's heavy magic."
"Ouch," Gemma said from the doorway. "I don't cast love spells."
"And she is not basic," Mavi frowned. "She is powerful beyond your imagination."
"Then why am I here?" Heyder looked around.
"Do you need coffee, Heyder?" Mavi asked. "You're cranky this morning."
"No, I don't need coffee."
"Either tell me what's bothering you or stop acting like a little bitch."
Heyder narrowed his eyes at the princess as he licked his bottom lip. Mavi held his gaze as she waited for him to sass her.
"Your palace security sucks," Heyder hissed as he walked over to the couch and took a seat.
"Did one of your rings get stolen? Is that why you're so grumpy?" Mavi laughed.
"I'm not grumpy." Heyder frowned as he looked away from Mavi.
"Yes, yes..." Adam's excited voice caught both Mavi and Heyder's attention as the boy moved to the table. "The revised version of a binding spell requires elf blood."
"Told you so," Heyder mumbled as he leaned his head back and shut his eyes. Mavi gave him a quizzical look before she turned to look at Gemma and Adam.
"A blessing can also be a blessed object or being," Gemma read the Roopcian.
"The diamond dagger!" Adam shrieked. "A blessed object."
"I'm sure I poured over every single book in the library," Gemma said suspiciously. "Why am I just seeing this book today?"
"You've been under a lot of stress," Mavi tried to comfort her.
"And you know," Adam pointed to her belly. "Pregnancy brain....it's a real thing."
"How would you know, Adam?" Gemma laughed.
"I read."
"What are you planning on doing about the elf blood?" Heyder broke up their conversation from where he sat on the couch. His eyes were still closed as he waited for the three to answer his questions.
"Dad might have some," Adam said. "I know he's always complaining about how it's so rare."
"I suggest you go get it," Heyder said. "I want to get this over with and leave."
"You still haven't told us what you would like as payment for helping us," Gemma pointed out.
Heyder opened his eyes slowly and looked at Mavi, "You can't afford me."
"But....you're here....helping us.....why?" Mavi asked.
Heyder stared at her as he chewed the inside of his cheek. His gaze held her in a steady beat as Gemma and Adam looked at each other, feeling out of place. Mavi waited for him to speak. She refused to let him make her uncomfortable in her own home.
Under her determined eyes, Heyder took a deep breath and rubbed his hands over his thighs, "Your boyfriend is coming."
And just as he said those words, the doors to the study opened and Owen walked in. Everyone, except Heyder, turned to look at him as his eyes found Mavi.
"Hello, princess," Owen smiled brilliantly as he walked up to Mavi and kissed her.
"Hello," Mavi said breathlessly as she became overwhelmed by his scent and kiss. Her previous power struggle with Heyder was completely forgotten.
"Any progress?" Owen asked as he looked around the scattered books on the table.
"Ah...yeah," Mavi laughed. She wrapped her arms around Owen as he pulled her under his arm. "I think we have almost everything we need."
"That's good," Owen kissed the top of her head. "I have something for you."
Mavi pulled back to look at him, "You do?"
"Yes," Owen tried to control the smile on his face but it was impossible.
"What is it?"
Mavi watched in excitement as Owen dug into his back pocket and pulled out a simple keychain with a set of keys. He placed it in Mavi's hand and waited for her to guess what it was.
"What is it?" Mavi asked, turning the keys over.
"Guess," Owen said laughing.
"I got nothing," Mavi said impatiently.
Owen pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead, "It's the key to your new home."
"What?" Mavi's mouth fell open.
"Yes," Owen smiled. "I just closed the deal a few days ago.....I wanted to surprise you."
Gemma and Adam gasped as Mavi's jaw hit the floor.
"Owen Radacovick...." Mavi pulled away from his arms. "Are you serious?"
"Yes," Owen laughed again. "It's in Juniper."
Mavi looked over at Gemma before she began to jump up and down in excitement, "Oh my god! Oh my god!"
Owen laughed as he watched mavi's excitement. His heart was full as she jiggled the key in front of her and did a silly dance.
"Our house!" Mavi ran back into Owner's arms and kissed him. "Oh my god! I love you so much!"
"Awwww," Gemma walked over to the couple and hugged them carefully with her round belly. "Congrats you two."
"Congratulations!" Adam joined in on the group hug.
Mavi buzzed with excitement as she kissed Owen's cheeks and squealed, "I can't believe this."
She pulled him into another hug and held him tightly against her body as she heard him laughing.
"It's ours, baby girl." Owen said.
As the group celebrated the couple's exciting news, Heyder rose from the couch slowly. His eyes lingered on the beaming smile on Mavi's face. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes brightly lit up like a child on Christmas morning. Heyder ran a hand through his already messy hair as he backed away slowly.
No one in the room noticed as he walked out of the study.
Um...Why was Heyder in Mavi's room? And what the hell was that with Azazel?