His blue eyes sparkled and he leaned in closer. That scent of his, wild and rich, reminding me of the forest, wrapped around me. “I plan on carrying you out of here and straight to my room. Then I plan on staying in there for a week. After which I will have to leave to accept my council leadership, and then I will take you straight back to my room again.”
I snorted, but deep down my entire body was tingling with excitement and anticipation. Some might think it was too soon after the battle to be getting naked and happy, but what better time to rejoice in love and life? There were no guarantees for tomorrow and I would take and embrace every second I had with Braxton.
**
My boys stood straight and beautiful on the dais, towering well above the community members of Stratford who filled the town hall – and the elite gathering of elders and leaders from other countries standing off to the side. The Compasses weren’t smiling, their expressions an equal amount of somber and awed. I had spent a lot of time with them over the past few days. We slept in a big pack puppy pile – which Maximus needed more than anybody. He didn’t speak much anymore, but he rarely left our sides.
When we weren’t resting, we just did simple things: watched movies, talked about everything and nothing – Maximus just listened – and ate a lot of food. Damn, so much food. My curves were beginning to show again, and I was pretty sure that a baby belly was in my very near future. I still hadn’t done the ritual with Louis. I trusted the word of the golden dragon, so there was no real need.
I knew the boys were a little nervous about their premature elevation into leadership roles, mostly because the time they should have spent learning about leading this community had instead been spent with Kristoff trying to lock them in Vanguard. But they would be brilliant. I knew it. They were young, yes, but they were born for this role and they would do it as fairly as they could.
I was in the front row with my family and had a perfect view of the dais. My father was on one side, Mischa on the other. Her belly was growing by the day, but the secret was mostly still contained. For now, it was just my parents, Braxton, and me who knew. Oh, and one healer who had checked her over and declared everything was developing perfect and healthy. Now that her nausea had died down, and she didn’t have the stress of the dragon king in her head, she was able to eat more, and was making weight gains to match my own. I knew she planned on telling Maximus today, after his elevation to council leader. I still wasn’t sure how he was going to take it; the loss of his mate was still very raw.
Time ticked away as we waited for the final select to arrive. The demi-fey were secretive about how their leader was chosen, waiting right up until the last moment to announce them. All heads turned as they finally entered the room, their chosen leader making his way up to the front to stand beside the Compasses. It was a troll, one which I did not know.
Jonathon leaned over. “Jerak, he’s a good male. He was Torag’s hopeful successor.”
I settled back into my chair. If my father was satisfied, then so was I. Plus, I liked when trolls were on the council. They were steadfast and resilient of mind; they could not be easily swayed to the decisions or beliefs of others, strong like ancient trees. Always a good quality in leadership.
As soon as Jerak joined the Compasses, the room quieted. Every seat was taken, all of the township had returned, and the ghostly feeling of Stratford was gone.
It was time to begin.
I had never been to one of these ceremonies before. My father’s had been just before I was born, so I was really interested to see what would happen. Five elders stepped up behind the boys, each holding a large ceremonial blade in their right hand – gold, with a curved blade and glittery red stones embedded in the handle – and an ancient-looking book in their other hand, diminutive in size, with the sort of binding popular centuries ago, like a tiny version of the Book of Guidance. And speaking of, the large tome was in the center of the dais, waiting for its part in the ceremony.
The five elders, who had travelled in from communities across Europe, where the majority of supernatural resided, started to read from their books. The language was fey in origin. I recognized some of the words, but since it wasn’t one of the classes I took advanced studies in, I was out of practice. I was pretty sure they were thanking the shining ones and also the gods of other races. They spoke of the five supernatural souls which make up our races, and the leadership of these. The last part sounded a lot like a spell, calling forth energy from the people to empower the leaders to govern.
The words were flowing, mesmerizing. I could see the boys swaying as if they were caught up in the ceremony, unable to stop themselves. Finally the elders asked them to lay their right palm out in front of them, and with a quick slice the ceremonial blade cut into each one. Then they each took turns placing that bloody wound down onto the Book of Guidance.
I was on the edge of my seat, barely breathing, as much in awe as the rest of the silent room. The energy was arcing around, flowing into them, and since I was bonded to Braxton, I felt the power flooding into him. The quads had already been blessed with a massive overload of power – hence their leadership at such a young age – and it was so much more now.
As the five males bled onto the book, the energy of every supernatural in the room, and from across the continent, surged from us and flowed into the new leaders. It was subtle, just a small amount – you’d never notice it missing. And now I could sense them, like a shining beacon that drew all of us, that gave us a small piece of ownership over our new council members.