Unquiet Slumber (55 page)

Once inside the gate, Tianna peered into a deep passageway that led up into the mountain. Torches attached to the walls to light their way, but not enough to make Tianna confortable. She hesitated at the entrance. Seth held back and, seeing the look of concern on her face, he trotted his horse to her side.

He knew what was wrong and said, “Don’t worry. You’re now under the protection of Haven. Dregg can’t get in here.” He waved her forward. “Come ride next to me.”

Tianna hesitantly walked her horse next to Seth, periodically peering down at the ground. As they proceeded deeper into the cave, Seth said, “You should have no doubts now that you’re Draak.”

Tianna was confused. “What do you mean?”

“Did you feel your mark burn when Marcus requested entrance?”

She rubbed her mark again. “Yes, it still tingles.”

Seth smiled. “Only Draaks can enter through the gate. If by some chance a non-Draak passes through, the mountain will lead them the wrong way and they’ll be lost in its depths forever.”

Tianna was confused. “How does Zarin enter its walls? He said he had visited here many times.”

Seth answered with much adoration in his voice. “The Seer controls it. A non-Draak, if they know how to request entrance, can request the gate be opened and led safely into our stronghold. Only the Seer can grant this request. She knows every creature that enters or leaves Haven.”

Tianna wanted to meet this Seer she was hearing so much about.

They traveled for quite some time in the tunnel, which had continuously led them upward. Tianna sighed in relief when she saw a faint light ahead that slowly grew in size. She knew they had finally made it to the real entrance to Haven. They quickened the pace and she could feel excitement as their pulses began to race.

Tianna was getting more apprehensive as she saw the exit growing larger. She slowed her horse and hung back, letting the Draaks lead. By the time Tianna exited the tunnel, the members of the quest were already surrounded by people racing forward to greet the returning warriors. While she listened to people cheer, Tianna slid off her horse but stayed back in the shadows. She took a minute to gaze on Haven.

Haven was amazing. It was a stronghold build up the cliff side and into the mountain. Everything as far as she could see looked like it was carved right out of the rock. The buildings, homes, roads, and walls were all made out of solid stone. She had suspected that Haven would be made of grey stone like a human castle, but this stone held many colors within its depths. She could see the reds, browns, and yellows of minerals, layers of different kinds of stones swirled together, and even what looked to be embedded gems. When the sun struck a wall, it gave off a slight twinkling.

What she didn’t see anywhere was the color green. Other than moss creeping along some of the walls, she could see no trees, bushes, or even flowers. Green seemed to be a color that wasn’t in their nature-made decorating vocabulary. She knew there had to be green somewhere since they needed to grow crops and raise cattle for food. She had seen her Draaks eat during their travels so she knew they loved food—a lot of food.

The buildings themselves were tall and strong, intertwining together with curving roads snaking between. As she scanned up the mountain, she could see more and more structures and turrets. In the distance, a waterfall flowed magically over the side of the mountain. She couldn’t see where it landed but, based on the placement of the structures, it must flow under the main part of Haven.

As Tianna continued to admire the lay of the land from her shadowed corner, people continued to appear from every direction. Some ran, some walked, while others flew in as fully shifted dragons.

In Haven, people shifted back and forth from their dragon form which left many standing around naked. She had traveled with males for months now so she should’ve been comfortable around nudity, but she still wasn’t. She was raised human, which came with different stigma associated with public nudity. Her Faye nature would fit in well with Draak customs but, when her Faye side wasn’t in play, she continued to struggle with public nudity. She wondered if some day she would ever be so comfortable. She thought to herself, “
The Draaks must have thought I was being so silly. They really didn’t care if they saw my body or not
.”

 As she watched, Tianna felt like she was intruding in private scenes between family members and wanted nothing more than to go hide in a tree, except there were no trees. She just prayed none of the naked individuals came to greet her.

Tianna saw a beautiful woman with a young girl in her arms running toward Marcus. She knew this must be his mate Sharay and daughter Isabella. As soon as Marcus saw them, he jumped off his horse and ran to them with his arms wide. He picked up both of his girls and hugged them tight. When he and his mate kissed, it was so full of love that it made a lump form in Tianna’s throat. Once they came up for air, his little girl gave him a big kiss and hugged his neck so hard Marcus started to laugh. He held her tight and seemed like he would never let her go.

Tianna watched as Seth was greeted by a couple that she figured must be his parents. He had never talked much about his family. They seemed happy to see him but didn’t have the overwhelming love of Marcus’ family. She would have to ask him about that someday.

Gabriel was met by several Draaks that had a striking resemblance to him. They were all Gabriel’s size, or just a little smaller, but they all looked just as tough. Tianna assumed they were some of his many sons.

Tianna enjoyed watching the family reunions until she witnessed Nathaniel’s reunion. It wasn’t a mother, father, or siblings that greeted him. It was a mob of beautiful, tall, strong females. He had at least a dozen of them trying to hang onto him. Some were bold enough they jumped into his arms and wrapped their legs tight around his waist while kissing him senseless. The pain in Tianna chest went from longing to anger.

When Tianna saw Raven heading his way, she decided that was her cue to be anyplace else. She left her horse with a young Draak that had come around to collect them. When they saw her, they just stared not knowing what to make of her. Ignoring their reaction, Tianna simply handed them her reins and started, walking up the road. She hugged the outer edge of the crowd and everyone backed away from her as she scooted around them. She figured she could give herself her own tour and catch back up with her friends later.

Tianna had advanced to where the crowd numbers had thinned when she heard her name being called. She knew it was Gabriel. She slouched, bowed her head, and quickened her pace. She really didn’t want to become the main item on display in a show and tell.

Gabriel called her name again. His voice was getting louder so she knew he was pushing through the crowd toward her. There was nowhere really to go so she straightened her shoulders, turned around, and watched Gabriel and his family members head her way.

When Gabriel was next to her, he asked a little perplexed, “Where are you going?”

Tianna scanned the ever growing crowd and said, “I felt a little out of place, so I was going to try to find a quiet corner to hide until the crowd cleared.”

Gabriel grabbed her hand and pulled her next to him as he scanned the young warriors standing around him. “I’d like you all to meet Tianna of the Faye. She’s been our wizard and traveling companion for the last several months.”

Tianna liked hearing her name with a title. They stared at her like they’ve never seen anything quite like her, which was probably the truth. To Tianna’s great relief, it was a look of absolute curiosity and not of fear or disgust.

Gabriel introduced those around him. Some were sons while others were grandsons. As each was introduced, they came forward and kissed her hand. She noticed they breathed in deep as her skin approached their mouths. She guessed her Faye blood was having an effect on them.

She watched as a very handsome warrior stepped forward.

Gabriel smiled and said, “Tianna, I would like you to meet Aryyn.”

During their travels, Tianna had heard quite a bit about him and knew that he was Gabriel’s only child by his third mate. She died while giving birth to him. She also knew he was a captain in the Royal Guard as the mark on his neck confirmed.

She held out her hand to him. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you. Your father has told me all about you.”

Like the others, he placed her fingers in the palm of his hand and raised her hand to his mouth. He gave her the gentlest kiss on her knuckles. As he held her hand close to his mouth, he breathed her scent in deep and sighed. He tilted his head up, glancing deep into her eyes, and gave her a dazzling smile. His smile was an exact match to Gabriel’s. Tianna guessed that he was the spitting image of Gabriel when he was younger and had hair. She couldn’t help but let out a giggle when she thought of a bald Gabriel with hair.

Instead of releasing Tianna’s hand, Aryyn gently turned her hand over, kissing the tips of each of her fingers. These were followed by additional kisses down her palm. She was mesmerized by the feather-light caress of his lips on her skin, and heat started to move up her arm. When his mouth reached her wrist, he blew gently and kissed her on her pulse point.

Tianna’s pulse sped and her body trembled.

Aryyn chuckled at her response. He squeezed her hand and pulled it toward his body, pressing it against his chest. “The pleasure is all ours, my lady. To spend months with this lovely creature at your side would be beyond words.”

His voice caressed Tianna’s body like silk.

When Gabriel heard Tianna sigh deep, he growled and whacked his son on the back of his head saying, “Show off.”

Aryyn reluctantly released her hand and gave his father a broad smile. “You taught me well, father.”

“Too well I fear.”

Aryyn continued to look between Tianna and his father. “Since I know how busy you’ll be over the next few days, I would like to volunteer my services to escort the fair Tianna around Haven.” He gave her a deep bow.

Gabriel pulled Tianna against the side of his body and said, “Thanks son, but I think I can take care of Tianna.”

Tianna giggled at the exchange, wrapping her arms around Gabriel’s waist and hugging him tight. Aryyn looked at his father with admiration.

Tianna asked Gabriel about the location of the rest of his offspring. He replied, “Some are running around here somewhere, others have moved on to other villages, and a few are out on quests for the Seer. You’ll meet more of them when they come here for the Festival of Fire.”

Soon Gabriel’s family was joined by Seth’s and Marcus’. Introductions were made and Tianna thought that she would never be able to remember all of their names.

Tianna saw Nathaniel being dragged away by his overly-friendly group of admirers. Gabriel must have seen the pain in her eyes because he pulled her closer to him and whispered, “Why don’t we go back to my place, get cleaned up, and rest for a few minutes.”

Tianna nodded in gratitude.

Marcus called to the rest of those around him. “Let’s all meet at the training field for evening meal. You can get us caught up on what has been happening while we’ve been away.”

 Everyone agreed and they headed up the street together. Marcus was still holding Isabella tight in his arms. He was talking intently to Sharay so his pace was slower and soon Tianna had caught up with them.

Isabella turned to look at Tianna and smiled. “Are you a princess?” she asked with the curiosity of her six years of age.

Tianna smiled but shook her head. “No, I’m from a village called Trille.”