Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (50 page)

The market in Colchin was amazing. There were booths for pretty much everything: food, clothes, and accessories. Syney bought a couple of pouches that would make cute purses and would match her leather wardrobe, which seemed to get bigger every week when Noelle brought more and more in. She also picked up a kick-ass belt with purple stones on the buckle. She immediately looped it through her black leather pants. She asked Hunter what he thought, and he just raised his eyebrows and nodded. He was the anti-Village dresser. He barely wore leather, preferring cotton T-shirts and what she would describe as cargo pants, both usually white, which completely clashed with the brown and black the other Guards always wore. She liked his style, though. It was him—the outcast who had fallen into a high position but still acted like an outcast. As these thoughts occurred to her, Syney stopped and smiled—a genuine smile she hadn't had in months. She looked back at Hunter as he perused a display of personal knives. She knew his was in a sheath strapped to his back, but it was very old and even chipped in a few places.

She walked over to him and touched one of the blades. It was beautiful. The metal had a stunning glean, and the handle looked like white ivory. "I like this one," she said, looking up at Hunter.

He nodded and picked it up. "It has good weight to it."

"You should get it. We have tons of money with us, thanks to Princess Syney's expense account. It's the queen's money. Why not spend it?"

Hunter looked at her for a moment before giving her a small smile. "This knife is for a woman."

"Oh, how can you tell?"

"The blade is thinner." He ran a finger along the metal. "But it's a really nice knife for you."

Syney raised her eyebrows. "I'm getting weapons now? Awesome."

Hunter stared at her for a moment, as if he were confused by why she was standing there with him.

"What?" Syney asked.

"It's just... You seem different."

Syney frowned. She felt different. For the first time in months, she didn't feel like there was any darkness around her. She took a deep breath. "I guess I really did just need to get out of the palace."

Hunter nodded and handed the merchant some money for the knife and a leather sheath. He clipped the container to the side of Syney's new belt and slid the knife into it. "How does that feel?"

"Good. Kinda kick-ass actually." She looked down at her new toy. "So how come I get a weapon now?"

"Because people keep trying to kill you."

She frowned up at him. "It's been that way for a while now."

"But now I'm not always with you."

"I thought you liked Reed," Syney said, walking down to the other booths.

"I do. "

"I don't get it."

"Why did you want self-defense lessons?" he asked her.

"So I wouldn't always be helpless."

"But you have Protectors with you all of the time."

"I guess I wanted to hedge my bets," she said.

"Exactly."

She smiled over at him and gave a laugh.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. You just explain things like a teacher. You want me to come up with the answers. It feels good."

"I'm glad."

They shopped for most of the morning. Syney loved most of it but was transfixed with a display of stones and gems. The woman who owned it explained that each stone had a specific meaning. Some were spelled, or so she said, to do certain things, like attract or even repel. The one that caught Syney's eye the most was a small light-brown stone that shimmered and had flecks of gold all over it. The woman explained that it was a goldstone. It was spelled as well. She
said the spell wasn't always active; it had to be turned on. One person would hold the stone and make a promise to someone and then had to give the stone to the other person. When the promise was finally fulfilled, the stone would disintegrate completely. It was a physical representation, a reminder of that promise. Syney ran her finger over the small smooth surface. "I'll buy it," she said. She tucked it into her pocket, not sure what she wanted to use it on but happy she had bought it.

Once they were done shopping, they stopped for some food at one of the last stands in the market. They sat down at one of a few scattered tables that lined a small pond at the far side of town and ate. Syney had opted for a selection of funny-looking fruit that was surprisingly good. Halfway through her second pear-like fruit, she stopped and looked at Hunter. Something had been bothering her all day, and she had to get it off her chest.

"Hey, so...why aren't we together?" she asked. "Because I love you and you love me. So it doesn't make much sense."

Hunter looked at her for a moment. "I'm your Protector, and I'm paired with Fern."

"Right, I know that, but it just.

"Doesn't seem important," he said, slowly matching her odd look.

"Exactly."

They stared at each other for a moment before Syney reached across the table, her open hand palm up. Hunter didn't break eye contact as he smiled at her and took her hand. Syney reveled in the calm feeling he gave her and returned his smile. They walked hand in hand the whole way back to the inn, even laughing at a stupid joke or silly story one of them told. Along the way Hunter stopped to buy a flower, which he slid into her hair. Then he kissed her, right there in the open, with people walking all around them. Syney leaned into him, weaving her fingers behind his neck. This was the way things were meant to be, always. After that they couldn't get to their room fast enough. Hunter gently laid her on the bed and pulled off his shirt. When he lay on top of Syney, she slowly ran a finger over the small scar on his chest, the beginning of her amator mark. He was hers, and this mark proved it. Her hand itched to finish the job, but something inside her held it back. She chose to run her fingers through his hair as his mouth moved down her throat.

Hours later they lay in bed covered by only the sheet, Hunter on his back and Syney on her stomach as she leaned on her elbows. Hunter ran his fingers through her hair, a smile on his handsome face.

"So do you need to change into a wolf on a regular basis or anything?" she asked, leaning into his hand.

"Nope. It feels good, though, to do it. I try to go for a run once a week."

"Where do you go?"

He shrugged. "Around. Usually outside of the Village. I try to stop and see Rose before going back to the palace."

Syney frowned. "I don't think she likes me."

He shook his head. "She's worried about me."

"You? Why?"

"Because I'm in love with you, and she knows somehow."

Syney shifted closer to him and dropped a kiss on his lips. "I don't really care what anyone thinks about us."

"Me neither," he said, kissing her back, a little harder than hers had been. "All that matters is you and me."

She laughed into his mouth. "Can we stay here forever?"

"Absolutely."

"Good," she said, climbing on top of him. "Because there's no other place I want to be, ever."

Hunter smiled and reached up, pulling on the back of her neck to bring her mouth down to his while his other hand slid up her back. Syney smiled and closed her eyes, letting the whole world melt away.

Helen

"Exactly how sick is Syney that she has missed three weeks of council meetings?"

Helen forced a smile and looked at her mother. "I think it's the Mugarian flu. You know how that goes." She made a look as if she were deathly ill. "Could last a month."

"My cousin, Elliot, had that. Horrible illness. He was in bed for weeks. And it's very contagious," Elder Warren said, nodding his head.

Helen thanked the goddess that Warren was such a know-it-all or else she would have had to continue lying, which wasn't her strong suit. She let out a deep breath and glanced at Leaf. His look was passive, but she saw a slight twitching at the sides of his lips as he pushed back a smile. She looked back at her mother, who seemed unconvinced but waved her hand to dismiss the topic.

"Since Princess Syney is not well, we must postpone her coronation," Mellisandrianna said in a bored tone.

"You can't do that," Helen said firmly—a little too firmly, judging by her mother's reaction.

"We cannot plan it without her here. Unless she has been planning it on her sickbed?" She paused, waiting for an answer, but Helen stayed silent. "No, I didn't think so. Justice, postpone the coronation for another month. When the princess is well, Helen, you can help her plan the event."

"Absolutely," Helen said with another forced smile.

"If there is nothing else? Good. Meeting adjourned." Mellisandrianna stood from her chair.

Helen jumped up and started for the door. She and Leaf had planned to meet after the meeting. She had come to spend her days looking forward to seeing him. They spent as much time together as they could. They talked for hours and even spent some days just sitting together, each reading a different book and then telling the other all about it. The times they kissed were her favorite, though. The day before, they even had gone as far as lying in his bed, his hands traveling to places that made Helen blush just thinking about it. She was almost out the door when her mother called for her from across the room. Helen stopped and turned around. Usually Mellisandrianna was the first to leave the council meetings. It was odd to see her in front of an empty table.

"Yes?"

"Come here, please," Mellisandrianna said sweetly.

That was the first clue that something was wrong. Helen walked back to the table slowly. "Do you need something?"

"You, my oldest daughter, I would expect to be loyal to me and my reign. Yet, for the past month, you have been nothing but insubordinate and frankly a little bratty."

Helen's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Do you understand that this cannot continue? I cannot have you siding with Syney, defending Syney. She is not your queen. Now close your mouth and get yourself together," Mellisandrianna said, her tone ice cold, before sweeping out of the room.

Helen was so stunned that she stood frozen, her mouth still wide open for a while. Her mother hadn't spoken to her like that since Helen was a child. She always had been the good daughter growing up, never getting into trouble or stepping out of line with her mother. And now, as an adult who was almost twenty-five, she was being spoken to as if she were a five-year-old. The fact that the queen had pulled her friendship with Syney into the discussion wasn't much of a surprise, but it still stung. For the past three weeks, her mother slowly had been sabotaging every attempt to crown Syney, and without Syney actually here, she was succeeding. Helen finally had started to see her mother in a new light, and it wasn't a very attractive picture. That said, Mellisandrianna still scared the crap out of her, so crossing her wasn't something she was going to do.

She made her way to Leaf's room, thoughts of her mother's conversation running through her head. She didn't knock, as was her custom now, and entered his room.

He jumped up from one of the chairs and embraced her. "Are you OK? My heart pounded pretty hard when I heard her call you back. What did she want?"

Helen sighed into him then stepped back. "She reprimanded me, like I was a child."

"You've been talking back to her lately," he said simply.

"I didn't... I guess I hadn't noticed really. She's just been so sneaky at those meetings." Helen sighed in frustration. "They need to come back."

"I said that last week, and you told me to give them more time."

"Yes, well, their time is up. Syney needs to get back here before my mother somehow throws out her entire claim to the throne."

Leaf rubbed his hands down her arms. "It'll be OK. I'll start standing up to her."

Helen placed her palms on his chest. "You know you can't do that. She can have you killed; she'll just reprimand me."

He moved his hands to the sides of her face and pulled her gaze up to his. "You're stronger than her."

"No one's stronger than my mother."

Leaf shook his head. "You still don't see it."

She sighed. "I wish I could see myself the way you do."

He smiled and led her to a full-length mirror hiding in the corner of the room. He stood behind her, his hands on her arms. "This is what I see every day. And I love her, for everything she is. The strong, independent woman. The caring, loving woman. The sexy, sensual woman that you are."

Helen met his gaze in the mirror and felt her face grow warm. "I love you." She took a deep breath and turned to face him, all the heat in her body surging. "I want to be with you right now."

He gently kissed her on the mouth before deepening the kiss and lifting her up, as if she weighed nothing, and laying her gently on the bed. He started to kiss and touch her everywhere. Helen never had felt like this before; it was almost animalistic, as their needs pushed forward. All thoughts of her mother faded from her mind as they broke the laws of their society and made love. Helen never had felt so good or sure of anything in her whole life. This was the man she would stand by from this day forward, no matter what.

Noelle