Chapter 6

Moon

There are several Fae guards pinned to walls with magic or knocked out on the floor.

Grams and her two coven members are using their magic on my mother's cell, clearly trying to break her free. Then there's Crow, Kili, and Love, attacking the bars of a cell on the other side of the room. I can't see who's inside, but I assume it's probably the guy Love wanted freed.

As I ride in on my Mungus, Daire carries the King over to be beside my mother's cell. When she sees him, she slams against the cell bars and tries to reach him, arms stretched out, and eyes wild.

"Get me out of here!" my mother cries, and Sweet Girl's ears twitch. Her size grows under me, and when she takes two steps back, I barely have enough time to shout at everyone to move, before the Mungus is charging the cell.

Her big head, covered in the new armor, slams into the cell bars, and they fly open like they're made of paper. I gasp, but before I can do much more than that, she's backing up, and charging at the other cell, freeing Love's guy.

I have just enough time to see he's a lump on the floor, when Sweet Girl backs up, and Love charges in. Her hands immediately glow pink, so I know she's probably got that under control. Instead, I tap my Mungus, and she lowers herself, so I can hop off her back.

I rush to my mother, who is already on her knees beside my father. Seeing them together is so fucking weird. I take a moment to look her over, checking her for any wounds or injuries. She looks pretty much fine but slightly rumpled.

Grams is fussing over my mother, trying to make sure she's okay, but my mother is cupping the King's face between her hands, her entire focus is on him. Taking in the sight of them, my chest tightens. Reconciling that he is my father without any noticeable shared attributes makes it hard to believe, yet I look just like Shine.

"Lark, look at me. My love, look at me," my mother begs him, but he just stares off into nothing. "Someone help me…" my mother chokingly begs, and I don't think, just act. The level of panic I can hear in her voice disturbs me, as does the look of helplessness in her eyes.

Holding my hands over his head, I close my eyes. With the touch of Chaos that makes up my power, I think of him clear-minded, and I imagine him being broken free from the mental chains the Fae Queen placed on him. There's a magic influencing him. Something powerful. It's got a hold on him, like an iron cage.

When I open my eyes and look down, his eyes have fallen closed.

"Shit," I say.

"That…won't work…" a weak voice murmurs from behind us. I look up to see a blue-haired man, with bright silver eyes, with his arm slung over Love's shoulder. He moves slowly toward us, and the weakened man blinks, looking from me to Love. "That really is creepy," he whispers, and Love nods.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" my mother asks, and the guy nods. When Grams looks up at him, she gasps, her hand flying to cover her mouth.

"Oh, god. Sky!" Grams bows her head, and then the Coven members she brought with her drop to their knees, bowing to the man Love still holds up.

"Sky?" I ask, looking between him and Grams. "Uh, Grams, who's this guy?"

"The heir to the entire Witch Realm," Grams whispers.

"Heir? There's a monarchy?" I ask, even more confused than before. I thought there was a small council of Witches that ran the Realm.

"He's the most powerful among us…" one of Gram's coven members says, still on their knees.

"How'd he get locked in that cell then? And why couldn't he just break out?" I ask, my confusion only growing.

"She tied my magic and my life force to Love when we were young. Kidnapped me when I was barely four years old. That cell was lined with Witches Bane. It weakened me. When she figured out how to use my magic to control the King, my fate was sealed. I don't even remember my life before being taken," Sky says.

"Did you two know him?" I ask Cato and Odas, who both shake their heads.

"There must have been a spell concealing him from us. This is the first time I've ever seen him," Odas offers. He looks pale, but Cato's eyes are reptilian, and he looks ready to shift. I want to go to them, but I need to help the King first. Once I do, I can get them the heck out of here.

"How do we break the spell?" I ask, there will be time to dig deeper into this situation once the Queen is dead. Right now, I need to focus.

"Get these off me," Sky says, showing us his wrists, covered in iron shackles. They're rusted and have clearly been there a long time. They let out a light glow the same color as his hair. "And keep the crown away from him," he adds, obviously noticing it in my mate's hand. Cato tosses it toward the door we entered through.

"Fuck okay, can they be broken, or–"

"Magic." Sky cuts me off, and I let out a long breath. Alrighty then. Rising from a crouch, I make my way over to the man who's clinging to Love. Shaking out the nerves from my hands, I rub my palms together and prepare to let Chaos loose.

I reach for the cuffs, but Sky takes a step away from me, dragging Love back with him. Exhaustion carves lines in an otherwise youthful face. How long has he been down here? Fifteen years? Longer? Twenty? Since the Fae Queen married my father?

"The Mungus," Sky croaks, and my eyes go wide. The Mungus? What does he want with my Mungus?

"Sweet Girl? How's she supposed to break them?" I ask, skeptical of his reasoning skills.

"Hoof," he says, before unwrapping himself from around Love, and falling to his knees. He drops his elbows to the dirty dungeon floor, head lowered like he can't possibly hold it up any longer, as he places his wrists out in front of him.

Sweet Girl doesn't need any direction, and I'm surprised by how gentle she is when she places her hoof over the cuffs and gently rocks forward to apply pressure. An eerie glow comes from under her hoof that I've never noticed before. I guess this is how she broke through the cells so easily.

Naively, I thought it was because she was so strong, but maybe she's got some kind of magic as well. The longer I think about it, the more sense that makes. My mother wasn't restrained in any physical kind of way, yet she couldn't break free.

Cato and Odas never managed to escape, and one is a Dragon whose shifted form is massive and extremely powerful. Of course, Odas is also massive in his other form. If all it took was strength, they'd have been free years ago.

I watch Sweet Girl work, then there's a loud ass crack. The reverberation coming from Sky and the shackles imprisoning his power echo around the dungeon. The air crackles with magic, and I take a step back. Love gasps, dropping beside Sky, and I watch, slightly mystified, as the blue-haired man starts to sizzle with electricity. A blue light whips over him, lighting up the translucent skin and causing his hair to stand on end.

As it moves, I watch it heal him. Slowly, the open wounds on his arms close, and the burns around where the shackles sat go from bright red to a pale peach. He looks…better? He must be powerful.

I wait, giving him time to shake off the shock and pain.

"So, do you know how to–" I start to ask, but I'm cut off…

"Mate!" he growls so suddenly and unexpectedly that we all just stare. I freeze, because what the fuck? My first thought is, ‘Not another one.' Thankfully not.

He pounces on Love, kissing the woman stupid. I let out a long sigh of relief. In the short moment between him saying mate, and pouncing Love, my thoughts scrambled. Love might murder me, I don't need another one, I have eleven. Any more, and I would need to find a management system for the dick work. Seriously. Maybe tokens for chores? Thank fucking Mungus farts that he's not talking to me.

"Mungus farts?" I whisper to myself, because…why is my brain like this?

I shake it off and focus on Love, getting her face half devoured by Sky. I stare too long because my cheeks turn pink, and I feel like I'm intruding. Turning around, I face my mates, Grams, and the others. Apparently, I was the only one not giving them privacy.

Were they not aware they were mates before? His magic must be connected to his Heart-Bond to her. I won't pretend to understand any of that.

"Shine?" a deep, scratchy voice murmurs, and my head whips up.

The King is cupping my mother's cheek in his hand, as they stare into each other's eyes. My heart aches. What would twenty years of being separated from your mate feel like? Pure fucking hell.

"My Queen, my mate…" he says, his voice breaking. My mother lets out a ragged sob, before hugging the man so tightly I don't think he can breathe.

"Oh, Lark, you remember me!" she gasps, and the King lets out a growl.

"Remember my mate? Of course. I could never forget you…" he says, clutching her tightly to his chest.

"Moon," my mother says suddenly, looking up at me. I freeze once again. "Our daughter, Lark," he starts to turn to look at me, but my mother stops him with a soft touch to his chin. "You've been under a spell for twenty years, my love. She's an adult. All grown up," Mom says with tears in her eyes, and I swallow thickly. Looking back at me, she offers an encouraging smile and a slight nod of her head.

"Okay," he whispers so quietly I almost couldn't hear him. Slowly, he turns, and I step closer because my mother holds her hand out for me. I take it, as they move, sitting up more. I kneel, just to be closer to them both. My mother brushes the hair out of my face and looks between her mate and me.

"Uh, hi," I say, awkward as fuck. He looks at me, eyes going wide before his face breaks.

"Oh, I've missed so much." Tears fill his eyes, and my mother grips his shoulder, offering her support.

"I missed her life too. When she was five, Norma cursed me. If I got near Moon, she became violently ill. I was forced to keep my distance for years. Her mate was able to break the curse for me. The Queen is meddling again. She wants me dead. She doesn't want to lose her control over you. She tried to have Moon killed," my mother explains, and all the while, the King keeps his eyes on me.

Grams, her Coven members, and my men keep their distance, giving us a moment to reacquaint. Or, I guess, meet for the first time, in my case.

"This reunion will need to be put on pause," I say, mostly because I can't deal with the intense way Lark is looking at me.

"Moon's right. We need to move," Grams says. She doesn't waste any time turning to Love and Sky. "You two need to leave."

"Leave?" I ask, whipping my head around to look at them.

"Yes, leave. We can't risk him being captured once again. We have enough manpower here, and trouble heading our way. He needs to return to his Coven. You two, escort them," Grams says to the men she brought with her.

They say nothing, just move in unison toward Love and Sky.

"There's an exit this way," Daire says to them, before turning to me. "Let me escort them, and then I will return to your side."

"Okay," I agree with a nod. Daire presses a kiss to my cheek, then turns to one of the Coven members, speaking quietly. "Good luck. I hope I'll see you again," I say to Love, who nods.

"Stay safe," she says, before swallowing thickly. "And thank you. For saving him. I owe you everything."

"You owe me nothing. Go, before shit hits the fan," I say, nodding to Daire and the others. I watch them leave before turning back to everyone else.

Grams, Mom, the King, Lust, Odas, Cato, Arlo, Kili, and Crow all turn to look at me. My men move in close.

"We need to meet Fen and the others in the throne room. I'm sure they've been up there a while now. The Queen probably has guards looking for us as well as her army moving toward the castle."

"I can control my people. No one will attack us. Her time as Queen is over," the King says, and I nod.

"I hope you're right. But you've been…lost in your head…" I say, gesturing to him. "For a long time. They think you've gone mad. If they see you suddenly coherent, they might be suspicious."

"True." My mother nods. "But once they realize she's not your mate, and that I am your true Heart Bond, many of them will turn on her."

"We can't count on that alone. We need to prepare for the worst. I want you two to stay behind me. Grams, I want you with them. My men will follow behind you three. I'll ride in first, on Sweet Girl."

"I can shift. They can ride on my back," Cato offers, and I raise my brows.

"Will they fit?"

"No. Your mother and Grams can ride on my shoulders, and the King will walk between Kili and Crow, with Cato and Arlo behind him. The Phoenix can shift, and walk beside the Mungus, to help protect you. Cato can shift once we make it to the throne room," Odas says, and I nod my agreement.

"The Fae Queen's power will have diminished, now that she's no longer controlling Sky," Grams says. "I suspect that might be where most of her power came from. Without access to that, she'll be nearly useless. I imagine she won't be putting up much more of a fight."

"Let's go," I say, looking into the eyes of the people before me. People I would give my life for, and who would do the same for me.

I spent years of my childhood alone. Lonely…Now I'm surrounded by love.

More love than I will ever know what to do with.

"Shine…" a voice I recognize says from the doorway, and we all pause.

"Steve!" my mother gasps.

Oh, hell…