CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX（Untitled）Naomi

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Naomi

God, that was fun. And hot—can’t forget the hot.

Wranth chasing me through the woods, the sound of his footfalls behind me, the electric anticipation of him about to catch me.

I drew it out this time, using my magic to prolong the chase, and he clearly liked it, fucking me fast and furious and so damned perfect I’m not sure I can walk.

Thank god I don’t need to.

I have no idea where we are, but it doesn’t matter. With Wranth still clamped over my back, I teleport us to the standing stone clearing. The softness of dried pine needles under my hands and knees turns into an even softer cushion of moss.

He clamps a hand to my stomach and does some gymnastic-level move that ends with us on our sides without him crushing me. God, his strength is such a turn on. We lie there with him spooning me, panting to catch our breaths.

Golden birds dart across the clearing, singing evening songs, as daylight starts to fade. The wind picks up, and my legs get a little chilly, but I don’t want to get up. I squirm back closer to Wranth’s heat and fall into a sleepy doze.

I’m not sure whose stomach growls, his or mine, but it’s loud enough to wake me up.

Wranth chuckles and presses a kiss to the top of my head. “We should go back to the village. I need to feed you.”

“Food appear now.” I wave a hand in front of me.

He laughs again. “What was that?”

“Just checking if I can teleport things to me. Sadly, it didn’t work. Some of Tumbletoad’s bread would be perfect right now.” Not that I thought I could punch all the way through to Avalon again without major effort, but it had been really, really good bread.

He rolls away from me and returns in seconds, his hands gentle yet strong as he puts my bra and shirt to rights and dresses me in my panties, pants, and boots. It’s the same special care he showed me in the bath, and it makes my heart ache in the sweetest of ways.

Then he stands, holding me in a bridal carry, and says, “Take us home, my bride.”

It feels like the most natural thing in the world to teleport us straight to our cottage in Moon Blade Village.

The next morning, I drain the last of my caramel latte and wish I had Olivia’s powers, so I could make another. I have a feeling this is going to be a two-latte kind of day, because, caffeinated enough or not, I walk with Wranth, Zephyr, and Shadow toward the most important meeting of my life.

Ashley and Dravarr walk ahead of us, the redhead chatting easily with a black unicorn. It’s no big deal for her to meet dragons—one of her friends is one!

For me, on the other hand, this isn’t just a big deal. It’s freaking huge! I’m going to meet dragons, real fire-breathing, book-learning, talking dragons. I’ll find out how to use my powers to open the doors of Faerie. And they might know how to break the tether, so Wranth and I can live a normal life.

A pang goes through me. I don’t like us being forced into such close proximity as we have been, and I certainly want to be able to get up in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom without making him follow me into the cottage’s main room.

Last night, I forgot about the tether in a half-awake daze and made it halfway across the cottage to the bathroom before being yanked right back into bed, landing on top of Wranth in a surprise drop that almost made me pee all over him.

But there are downsides to losing the tether.

If I open the doors of Faerie, I can go home, and with no tether, Wranth doesn’t have to come with me. I thought this was what I wanted, but… now. God, now I want to be with him, only it’s more impossible than ever!

I have a life and a family back on Earth—I can’t turn my back on them. And Wranth? Even if we could hide his orcness and make him look human, that’s no longer an option now that we know who he really is. He’s a freaking king! He’s going to have new responsibilities—his people need him.

He walks quietly beside me. For all the confusing things I’m feeling, it’s nothing compared to what he must be going through. He’s still got to be reeling from everything we learned yesterday, and he’ll see King Aldronn for the first time since finding out the truth of who he really is. Aldronn, who might be his family.

Wranth hasn’t told anyone yet, but to be fair, he also hasn’t had much opportunity. We got back last night in time to eat a quick dinner before going to bed. Then this morning, Dravarr woke us early to say everyone arrived for the meeting.

I glance back along the forest trail. Sturrm and Selena walk behind us with another black unicorn. She spots me looking and gives me a little wave, which I return. I really hope nothing that happens today requires a healer, but I’m glad Sturrm will be there for Wranth.

“This has got to be the most boring walk I’ve ever taken,” Shadow says. “Why are you all so quiet?”

“Speak for yourself, cat,” Zephyr tosses her head.

“I believe I was.” He grins his Cheshire cat grin. “I distinctly remember using the word ‘I’ve’ in that sentence, because I’m certain you’re usually so boring you find all of this normal.”

She plants her back feet and pivots toward him, brandishing her horn. “Why you—”

“Hey now!” I step in between them. “Let’s not do this today.”

“Can we do it tomorrow?” Shadow asks, his tone sardonic.

“Anytime, cat.” Zephyr strikes the ground with a hoof, throwing up a cloud of dried pine needles. “Anytime.”

“We’re comrades in arms.” Wranth scowls at both of them. “Act like it!”

They listen, facing forward as we start to walk. He’s got a natural ability to lead—he simply hasn’t used it much. And I think that ability is also what has the others so riled. They can sense something’s bothering him, but instead of asking, they’re poking at each other.

If it were just the four of us alone, I’d tell him to talk to them—or at least to Zephyr—but the timing of this meeting means everyone’s going to find out all at once.

The trees open up in front of us, and we walk out into a large clearing. A standing stone dominates the area to one side, but even its height is nothing compared to the dragons waiting for us!

Two smaller ones stand in front, one green, and the smallest one purple. They must be Drake and Bella, the friends of Ashley and Selena. They’ve been off visiting with family, so I haven’t met them yet.

“New witch,” a deep alto booms, “I am Sheevora the Magnificent, and I’ve heard great things about your magic.” A massive dragon fills the space behind them, the same green as Drake. She’s as big as a house, with huge wings like sails folded on her back.

“Hi!” I give a wave. “I’m so excited to meet you. I can’t wait to find out how to use my magic.”

“Did you not do so only the evening before?” Sheevora cocks her head and stares at me, the vertical pupil of her amber eye opening into a wide oval. “Because I’d love to have some explanation as to why I suddenly became a biped!”

“Oh!” I glance at Zephyr and Shadow. “Did that happen again?”

“It lasted even longer than the first time,” Zephyr grumps. “It was horrible.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Shadow says. “I accessed my dual form and looked glorious.”

“Dual?”

“It’s halfway between elf and cat sith. I was a werepanther. So I was a biped, but I had lovely fur.” He holds up a paw and extends his inch-long claws. “And even lovelier claws.”

“If we could get back to the matter at hand?” a deep voice says. An orc steps forward. He’s as tall as Wranth and similarly built with the first touches of gray silvering his long black hair at his temples. He wears the same kind of clothes as the other orcs, the only difference being his shirt is a deep purple I haven’t seen on anyone else. That quiet air of command Wranth sometimes shows is dialed up to eleven with this guy.

“My king.” Wranth tips his head.

This is Aldronn. My mouth drops open as my eyes ping-pong back and forth between them. Looking past their identical coloration and build, I see more specific similarities. They share the same firm jawline, the same regal nose. They’re so clearly related I’m surprised no one’s ever noticed.

Aldronn turns to me now. “Did you open a door to another realm yesterday eve?”

“Yes.” My eyes flick to Wranth. “I opened the door to Avalon.”

Pandemonium breaks out.

“How is this possible?” A resounding bass voice booms from overhead like a deep rumble of thunder.