“Good night, my Chosen.”
Walking down the hallway, I passed the Guardians securing his door, and moved down to mine, a few doors down, and stopped, listening closely…and didn’t hear anything. I sighed heavily, closing my eyes for a moment, then knocked on the door, since I didn’t exactly have a key stuck in my pajamas somewhere. It opened instantly, King Zeller standing in his pajama bottoms, hair mussed, lips pinched, staring at me with an extremely pointed expression.
My brows puckered as I walked past him into the dark room, everyone in bed, quiet…except for glowing eyes greeting me from all, Brann and Cain shifted back to their natural forms. I stopped in place, my own eyes glowing a bit when King Zeller shut the door behind me, the room only lit from the moon through the balcony, and he moved to place his hand on my back, pushing me forward a bit, stating quietly, “You disappeared before we could wake you.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmured as we moved toward the beds. “I didn’t mean to wake everyone.” I blinked, then hurried to say, “Again.”
Elder Bridges pushed up on an elbow, stating casually, “Yes…well, maybe, you should have stayed in the One’s bed.” He held my gaze, yawning tiredly. “He did offer, did he not?”
Instantly, my heart rate crashed, plummeting as deeply as my stomach, only to shoot off like crazy, eternally grateful Leric had started speaking through our bond, knowing for certain now Elder Bridges would have heard our conversation, and I stuttered, “He did offer, b-but I wanted to come…back.” Instantly, peace transfused me, the gentlest of brushes from King Zeller’s guiding hand on my back, and I stated evenly, “Maybe I should get my own room, so I don’t wake you all in the future.”
Elder Farrar yawned loudly. “I believe everyone was just startled,” another yawn, and he rolled, fluffing his pillow, “when you screamed all of a sudden, shaking the room, then glowed bright enough to light the entire area, only to disappear a few moments later.”
I stopped dead, rubbing a hand over my face, and if I wasn’t still receiving the peace from King Zeller I knew I would have been mortified, feebleness unmistakably exposed.
Sin grumbled defensively, “Her nightmares aren’t usually that bad.” Emerald green eyes connected with mine. “You’re sleeping with me, love. Don’t even think about getting another room.”
Sounding exhausted, Elder Samson muttered, “You’re fine, Ms. Jules.” He waved a hand at the bed. “Just lie down so we can all go back to sleep.”
Cain grunted, watching me quietly with his head on his crooked arm, more than likely bare under the sheet tied around his waist. “Every single person in this room has a past that haunts them in some way. You’re no exception to this.” He flicked a finger to my bed. “Plus, now that I’ve seen it happen, I’m fairly sure I can wake you the next time before you disappear.”
Elder Bridges snorted, lying back down. “Speak for yourself, Elder Merrick. I sleep with a clear conscious every night.”
Cain chuckled quietly, not bothering to glance his way. “Do I even need to call bullshit, Elder Bridges?” When no response came, Cain flicked his finger again to the bed. “Get some sleep, Ms Jules.”
King Zeller gave me a light shove, his magical peace disappearing as his hand fell away, but I felt mildly calm as I walked on…only to stumble when suddenly King Zeller’s voice was directly in my ear, even though he was already tucking himself back into his bed, his words softly spoken. “Elder Merrick is not as calm as he appears. You frightened him when you disappeared, and then, it didn’t help when you didn’t show for another half hour, even though I tried to explain to everyone you were only sound asleep in the One’s bed.” A pause. “In other words, try to calm him before Elder Bridges picks up on it because everyone else’s emotion will wane as they fall asleep, and Elder Merrick’s are too heightened right now for Elder Bridges to miss.”
I kept my face as blank as I could during that spiel, and then made myself move again, crawling into bed, making sure I lay on the edge, Sin pulling in close to my back, wrapping his arms around me tight. I kissed his cheek lightly, affectionately, then turned my attention to the Shifter who was resituating himself on his trundle, unwrapping the blanket around his waist to let it lie normally over him, his gaze meeting mine finally…and even though my eyes had stopped glowing, his were still dimly shimmering between his hooded lids and thick lashes, both doing a stellar job of hiding whatever it was he was feeling right now, which I couldn’t even decipher, but I rested my hand out casually over the bed, keeping the sheet draped over it…and instantly felt his warm, long fingers threading through mine, gripping my hand tightly…and that was all the invitation I needed to keep him safe from Elder Bridges.
I opened my Core, the tiniest sliver, and floated into the cosmos, concentrating on the connection to my hand. I found his shimmery, beautiful black tether instantly, and pulled it gently to my lips, whispering, “Be at peace.”
It was only the slightest touch of continuous magic, but instantly, Cain inhaled sharply, his grip on my hand turning brutal, apparently having felt the influx of my power…but his eyes stopped glowing as he accepted it, not fighting me, his body relaxing visible where he lay on his side facing me…in fact, I instantly felt the gentlest, most sweetest, brushing of soothing Shifter magic run over me from my hand up, feeling like the silken brush of heated fur, just the barest morsel, a whisper, like mine for him, but I instantly held his hand more firmly, accepting his offer to soothe me.
And we both jolted a bit when, apparently, King Zeller was speaking to both of us, directly in our ears from the trundle behind Cain’s, muttering, “That’s sweet and shit, but you’ll both need to try to relax, cut it off, and go to sleep before anyone other than Sin figures it out.”
Sin chuckled quietly behind me…so apparently, he’d heard, too, only snuggling closer, whispering softly, “Agreed, love.” A pause. “We probably shouldn’t do anything too freaky with others in the room.”
Elder Bridges groaned loudly, sounding pained across the expanse of the trundles. “I had better not see any leaves or stars floating in the damn air!”
Sin laughed outright when a few others groaned their tired agreement. “Who said I do leaves? It could be prairie grass or sunflowers or,”
“It was just an assumption,” Elder Bridges cut him off, growling crossly. “And unless you want your neck slashed I wouldn’t start any freaky shit with her tonight.”
Elder Farrar deadpanned on a yawn, “Especially, as loud as she screams.”
King Zeller started choking, and I heard him turning on his trundle.
“Leave. My. Prodigy. Alone.” My King sounded grumpy, and tired, as hell. “Now, all of you, shut the hell up!”
A deep snore echoed from Brann.
I think we all peered at him for a moment, seeing him utterly conked out.
Elder Samson muttered in tired awe, “How in the hell…?”
Flopping my head back on the pillow, I stared at Cain with an amused gaze, even as he stared back, eyes crinkling, still holding my hand while answering steadily, “The absence of the shift, then abrupt change, probably wore him out.”
My King growled, “Or it’s the simple fact it’s three o’clock…in the fucking morning!”
There was a minute pause, then Sin moaned deep and soft, “Just a little faster, love.”
I started laughing silently, my shoulders shaking.
Dry words from Elder Samson. “Someone please tell me I didn’t just hear that.”
Sin’s voice sounded breathless. “You’ll thank me once you’re sleeping under the stars.”
I kicked his shin hard, enjoying his grunt, no longer laughing. “That’s not funny.”