Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Colbie
W hen we return to the Aramis palace, we arrive in an office. The nausea isn’t so bad for me this time, and both Nox and I look on with amusement while everyone else groans and clutches their heads and stomachs.
A throat clearing behind me has me whirling around. Lucas is behind a large desk, his eyes wide with surprise. He stares at Titus, and he gives him a look of consternation. “You really know how to make an entrance, don’t you?” he grumbles before getting up and giving Gryffin a hug before doing the same to me. He envelops me in his arms and presses a kiss to my head.
“I’m so proud of you. What an unstoppable queen you are going to be,” he murmurs quietly. His praise makes me feel all warm inside, grateful to have his support, and I squeeze him back.
“Though, I do feel sorry for you having to put up with that one.” He nods his head at Titus, who just narrows his eyes at the king. “I’ve been dealing with that pain in the ass for years now.”
“Ah, he’s not so bad. Under that dark and deadly facade, he’s a big softy.” Titus is back in his assassin garb, but Gryffin informed his dad of his mate status.
“Yes, well, it certainly eases my worries knowing you have such a formidable mate to watch your back.”
“Hey,” Brodie grumbles, throwing himself into one of the chairs and pulling me down to sit on his lap. “We aren’t completely defenseless.” He scowls at the king whose eyes twinkle with delight.
“No, you aren’t,” he agrees before turning his attention to Nox, who is the only person in the room he isn’t familiar with.
“Hi, I’m Lucas, Gryffin’s father.” He puts out his hand for Nox to shake. Nox looks a little rattled at the friendly greeting but returns the handshake.
“I’m Nox,” he replies, and Lucas nods.
“Yes, I have met your mother a few times. Unfortunately, we aren’t as friendly as I hoped, but I’m sure Colbie is going to right everything I couldn’t.” Wow, no pressure! Before I can respond, the door to the study bangs open, and the already crowded room is filled with chattering, shrieking women, followed by Archie and Adam.
“My sidepiece!” Archie shrieks and throws himself at me, not caring one little bit that I’m on Brodie’s lap. Brodie grunts, a whoosh of air escaping his lungs, as Archie’s knee makes contact with his crotch. Archie’s little arms wrap around my neck, and he has me in a chokehold as I hug him back. “I thought you had gone forever.” His little voice trembles, and I rub his back, trying to comfort him.
“I could never leave my favorite little man,” I tell him, and he relaxes and spins around so he can see everyone else in the room, waving to the rest of the guys.
“I’m sorry,” Gracelin mouths, but I shake my head. I love the delightful little boy.
“Welcome back,” Mia says warmly to us, and Gryffin introduces his family to my two new mates. I gave him permission to tell his family everything, so they know of my parentage and who my two new mates are.
“Now, we have issued a kingdom-wide announcement for tomorrow’s coronation. It will be held in the colosseum. I just need to know if you have any family you would like to invite,” Evie says, her attention on us.
“Evie, just let them catch their breath,” Layla scolds, but she glares at her co-mate, so I answer to keep the peace.
“My grandparents, of course, and I guess my mother, but she is still avoiding my calls.” I tried to call her from Chaos Kingdom. Cell reception is spotty between kingdoms, but Loki rigged something that makes it possible from his palace. It’s how his assassins feed him information if they can’t physically return. Not all of them are fae hybrids with the ability to sift like Titus. “There’s no one else really.” I feel a little sad about that. I might have invited Niles and Brock, but they were banned from the shifter zone, and I can’t see Lucas lifting that, especially considering their relationship to the Tidemans.
“Fuck no,” Liam grumbles. He has no relationship with his family. Liam was the youngest of four brothers and the only polar bear like his mother. The rest were grizzlies like his father, and he was tormented for it. From what I understand, his family members are not good people, but he doesn’t like to talk about it, so I haven’t gotten all the details yet.
She nods, sympathy in her eyes. “I can’t stop them if they turn up, but I won’t issue them a specific invitation.”
“I will speak to my father myself,” Micah assures her. “He’s a stubborn old bastard and holds a grudge like no one else. Unless he knows that I am one of the queen’s mates, he will ignore the announcement.”
“That would be lovely, thank you. We want Colbie’s reign to be a new beginning for shifter relations,” Evie says with so much hope. Again, no pressure.
“I would love for my parents and sister to be there, but they are likely to be in danger since they are in a mixed relationship.” Titus sounds sad.
Archie’s attention turns to the assassin, who had been shadowed against one wall during the conversation. I hear his gasp, and he struggles to get off my lap before darting over to the hybrid.
“Who are you?” he asks, wide-eyed and awestruck. “You look like a warrior. I’m Archie, Colbie is my sidepiece.” He puffs out his chest and holds out a hand for Titus. “Why are you hiding your face? Are you ugly?”
Gracelin groans and goes to snatch Archie away from Titus, but my mate drops into a crouch so he’s the same height as Archie.
“I am a warrior, and I only show my face to those I trust,” he tells the boy before reaching up and removing his cowl and cloak. “But I trust you since you have such good taste in sidepieces.” His eyes twinkle when he looks at me. I roll my eyes, but I can’t stop smiling at seeing how kind the assassin is to the boy.
“Titus?” I hear a gasp and find Violet, who I hadn’t noticed, looking at my mate with wide-eyed shock.
“Hello, cousin.” Titus smiles at my friend, and it’s my turn to gape as I look between them.
“Oh my goodness, you’re Colbie’s fairy mate! Mom is going to be so happy. Does this mean your parents will visit more often now?”
“I hope so. When Colbie’s relationship with the Chaos king becomes common knowledge, and she disposes of the ban on cross mating in the kingdom, it will become a lot more hospitable for them.”
Violet beams at my mate and claps her hands happily, and I just kind of shake my head. Aramis is such a meddler, but I’m glad.
“My parents are focusing on the missing children. I spoke to them this morning, and they said they are hot on the trail. If they find them, they will keep watch over them until we can get there to extract them. My sister, her mates, and her children probably won’t come either, but I can’t wait to introduce you to them,” Nox tells everyone.
“What about you two?” I look at Gem and Brodie. I don’t know as much as I would like about my mates’ families yet. There just hasn’t been enough time.
“My parents are kind of aloof,” Gem explains. “Both of them have precognition as their gift, so they find it difficult to be around people.”
“That’s a thing?” I gasp.
“Yeah, it can be for phoenixes. There aren’t very many of us. We were one of the races targeted in the great war. As far as I know, they are the only two in existence at the moment. They live in an isolated area and avoid being around big crowds so they don’t become overwhelmed. I think it’s bullshit. They can block it if they try, but they are also very self-involved, so they don’t try too hard. I was grateful when the trait didn’t pass down to me.”
“Yet,” Layla warns. “Sometimes it can take years for mythicals to grow into some of their powers.”
Gem grimaces.
“I’d love for my parents and brother to be there. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them. They are so busy with their wolf pack that we don’t see each other as much as I like,” Brodie says. “My younger brother should be starting college soon. I wonder if he’s been bond marked.”
“Wouldn’t they call and tell you?” Gretchin asks, and Brodie shrugs.
“I don’t know, but probably not. Wolves are kind of funny about bond marks. They think their loyalty should stay with the pack. It’s why I’m not as close with them as I used to be, because I put my bond group ahead of the pack. They wouldn’t be thrilled if Briden was marked. They’d probably encourage him to hide it, kind of like Nox. So if he is, they might avoid coming to the city in case he runs into any of his bond group. They would have made me hide mine, but I was already at college with Hunter and Gryffin when it appeared.” I can hear his disappointment for his parents in his voice. I guess I don’t have a monopoly on asshole parents. Well, my mother anyway, because my father is turning out to be quite a blessing.
“Right then, I guess you guys can go do whatever, but Colbie, we need to have you fitted for your gown.” Evie turns her attention on me, and I groan.
“Can’t I wear something already in my closet?” I ask, thinking about all the dresses in there.
“Absolutely not,” Gracelin exclaims. “We already have the dressmaker working on something fit for a queen. She just needs to fit it to you.”
“Damn it,” I grumble, and Archie giggles.
“Colbie said a naughty word. She needs a time out.”
I look hopefully at Gracelin, but she shakes her head.
“Colbie is an adult who is allowed to say those words,” she says. “I’ve told you that when you’re an adult, you can do the same.”
I sag back into Brodie, who chuckles beneath me. “Fine,” I mutter, and the others laugh.
“Come on, pamper day will be fun,” Violet enthuses. I wrinkle my nose, and she laughs.
“Hunter, your dad wanted to speak to you as soon as you arrived regarding the outpost. He said to tell you and Micah to head over to the barracks when I saw you,” Lucas tells him.
“Will do,” Hunter replies, and he comes over to give me a quick kiss. Micah does the same, then they both leave the room.
“Eww. Am I going to have to do that?” Archie asks. He lost interest in the various knives strapped to Titus’s body. I watched Titus gently push his hand away every time he reached for one.
“Do what?” Adam asks.
“Kiss Colbie like that? On the lips? Is that what sidepieces do?”
Everyone chuckles, and I shake my head. “Nope, only cuddles and lots of games,” I assure him, and he returns his attention to Titus’s arsenal, satisfied with my answer.
“Here.” Titus holds out his hand, a small, child-sized dagger appearing on his palm. He hands it to Archie. “Mine are far too sharp and dangerous for a young warrior to learn with, but this one is perfect for you to practice with.” He bends it slightly, showing Gracelin and Adam it’s rubber before handing it to the boy.
Archie’s eyes widen with excitement and glee. He takes it and suddenly thrusts it into the air. “Die, die.” He slashes it around, and Gracelin groans again, glaring at Titus.
“You’re on my shit list,” she tells him, but Adam grins and nods his approval.
“Archie, you will have lessons with me once a week to learn how to use it. You’re a warrior now, and that means you need to learn to be responsible with your weapons,” Titus explains, and the boy stops stabbing invisible people and nods solemnly.
“Okay, I need to learn how to protect my sidepiece.”
“Well, your sidepiece doesn’t need protection at the moment. We are going for mani pedis and a massage. The staff is waiting for us.” Gretchin holds out a hand and tugs me off Brodie’s lap. He releases me reluctantly. I lean in and give him a kiss before doing the same to the other remaining five.
“Jesus, it’s not like you won’t see them later,” Gracelin complains, and before I can say another word, the three girls bundle me out of the office, through the palace, and to a Roman bath style area. I still don’t have the whole layout of this huge place, but from the looks of it, I’m going to spend a lot of time in here. There’s a large communal pool with statues of women holding jugs with water flowing out of them. I see massage tables and chairs in a separate room with one-way glass for us to see out, but no one can see in. On the other side of the glass is an outdoor pool area, but it’s miserable outside, with snow flurries drifting through the air.
“Oh wow, winter has arrived,” I murmur as they hustle me into one of the massage chairs, and I stick my feet into the foot spa.
“Not quite. We will have a few days like this before the snow finally sticks to the ground. Thankfully the colosseum has retractable roofing, so if it’s like this tomorrow, no one will get wet.” Gretchin takes the seat next to me, Gracelin sits on my other side, and Violet takes the one next to her. “Now tell us everything that happened over the last few days, and don’t leave out any details.”
I watch as four beauticians approach us and take seats in front of the spas. I don’t ever remember having taken the time to have a pedicure before, so this will be interesting. I’m also kind of worried about sharing everything with the girls, because I don’t really want the four strangers to hear everything.
Gretchin must understand my dilemma, because she pulls out four stones and hands one to each of us. “Privacy stones,” she explains. “You can talk, and none of them will hear a thing, but we can still hear if they are talking shit about us,” she tells us, and I look at one, trying to ascertain if she heard what Gretchin said, but she doesn’t even lift her head.
“Don’t worry, this is a common thing for them. Our moms do it all the time,” Gracelin assures me, so I let go of my worry and share my very entertaining tale with my girls.