18. Maya
Maya
“Promise me you will come back after all this.” My mom’s voice was filled with heavy emotion as I nodded. I didn’t know when I would come back, but I would. I tried to ease her thoughts.
“I promise.” I squeezed her hands. My eyes moved over to my fathers, who were standing behind Cyra, the grouping kept small and only accompanied by a small number of soldiers at the edge of the Fire Lands.
I knew my brothers hadn’t shown up because we would be seeing them soon on Earth, but I still wished I’d had a chance to say goodbye to them.
It felt like all of this was going to disappear the minute I left the Dreki realm, and I wasn’t positive how I felt about that.
“I love you, baby,” she whispered, kissing my forehead.
I softened. I knew she didn’t expect me to return the sentiment—I could feel it through her bond—and that lack of pressure made me feel better.
I didn’t have a lot to base my emotions for my mom off of, but I knew that I cared about her and that we had a connection that very much proved our relationship.
“I missed you,” I admitted as I melted into the hug she gave me.
She sniffed and tightened her hold on me before pulling back, breathing in deeply. “Alright, now I’m being ridiculous. You’re going to be back. You even said it.”
“Breathe,” Fuji reminded her, appearing behind her again.
I didn’t have confirmation because I hadn’t been around them more than this past day, but I had a feeling that Fuji did this a lot.
He seemed to ground my mom, and I could relate to that, knowing how much better my mates made me feel when I was worked up about something.
She nodded, and he stepped to the side and hesitantly opened his arms.
I met his hug and immediately let out a happy sigh, the familiar scent of ocean water surrounding me and making me wonder if it was because of the coastal line in Washington or because of a previous memory.
There was authentic happiness in his gaze as I pulled back and looked towards my other fathers, not knowing exactly how to handle this. I mean, did we hug…
Pele stepped forward and motioned me toward him.
I was instantly smiling as he wrapped me up in a hug as well.
I let out a small laugh as he picked me up and spoke earnest words.
“I know you don’t remember much, little bird, but I promise that when you come back, your mom and I will show you all the places we used to go.
You always have a home here, no matter what happens out there. We want you here. Always.”
Tears filled my eyes as I nodded, feeling rather emotional as Ignatius, standing next to him, cleared his throat.
I looked over and found tears in his eyes as I offered him a hesitant smile and then surged forward, wrapping him in a hug.
He grunted and welcomed it back, his temperament seeming rather calm.
When he placed a kiss on top of my head, I couldn’t help but smile.
“When you get back, we are talking about your mates,” he grunted, his eyes narrowed over my shoulder. I couldn’t help but laugh. I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to get over the idea of me having mates anytime soon.
“No you aren’t.” Haco shook his head and opened an arm for me as I hopped on over and gave him a quick hug, his warm scent causing me to have a flash of memories that didn’t make a lot of sense but were filled with love and warmth.
Also the smell of flowers, but that seemed to permeate this realm in general.
“Your brothers can help you with anything, remember that,” Haco said, pulling back as he examined my face. “Do not be afraid to ask them. They’re assholes, but they won’t be towards you.”
I believed that, actually.
Nodding, I finally shyly looked over to Nuriel and Con.
I stepped forward, and I felt nervous for about a second until Nuriel picked me up in a hug, making me squeak.
Atlas growled behind me, making one of my fathers chuckle.
I knew that fast movements around me upset my mates, but I couldn’t help but love the hug, squeezing the grumpy man back as he set me down, his eyes filled with emotion.
“The other teams are going to be meeting you there,” he insisted, his eyes filled with worry. “You will stay safe, Maya. I’m serious—no unnecessary risks.”
“I promise.” I nodded, feeling a bit bad because I wasn’t positive I could fully keep that promise. His eyes darted towards my mates, and he exhaled.
“Commander Moretti, if anything happens to her?—”
I winced as Marco nearly let out a growl, his bond with me growing with frustration.
“Nothing is going to happen,” I promised and then continued, “They would never let anything happen to me.”
Nuriel examined my expression and offered a grunt before nodding and stepping back. Finally, I looked at Con, who was watching me with a sad expression. I approached him and offered a small smile.
“Here.” He offered forward a cloth-covered object. “This will take you back here whenever you need without an official portal.”
I took it and realized it was a delicate sapphire necklace, the chain gold and the bulb at the end a dark blue sphere.
I pulled it over my head and tucked it into my oversized sweater that I was wearing with leggings.
I hadn’t wanted to argue with the boys when they wanted to cover me in their scent, so I had taken Atlas’s sweater happily.
“Thank you,” I offered softly.
A meow had me looking back as Bella bound forward out of Atlas’s hands and towards me. I scooped her up as I looked back up at Con to find him staring at her in confusion. His head tilted to the side. “Is that a cat?”
“Well, right now she’s a kitten.” I smiled and placed her in my hands, raising her up so he could look at her better. “My mates got her for me as a present.” Someone made a noise of approval nearby, but I was interested in Con’s reaction. He was studying the kitten with interest.
“She’s adorable.” He blinked and then shook his head. “How did you even get her into the Dreki realm?”
I pulled her back to my chest and looked at Atlas.
“He protected her with shadow magic.” My bond with my mom hummed with approval, and I realized that I should start telling them all the amazing things my mates had done for me, because it seemed to make them feel better about all of this.
Stepping back, my attention was pulled by an arriving carriage.
“These should be them,” Marco announced as my mom nodded.
The younger flight was supposed to have arrived at the castle earlier and traveled with us here, but my parents had suggested it wasn’t safe.
Unfortunately, the command line was blaming them for a lot of what went wrong during their mission, and while my parents didn’t agree with it, the damage had been done.
I was finding myself more and more glad that we had agreed to bring them with us.
As the younger flight got out of the carriage, my heart clenched, realizing how young they truly were.
And exhausted. All of their faces were drawn, cuts and bruises littering their faces as they tried to look attentive.
They were dressed in dark uniforms, and their handler stepped to the side, allowing the oldest, who appeared to be only sixteen, to approach.
“Your Majesties,” he offered as he and the others bowed towards my mom and fathers. He then turned to Marco and offered a tired expression. “Thanks for letting us come with you, Commander Moretti.”
I could feel concern in my bond with Marco, but he nodded. “No problem. I think we are ready to head out, if you guys are.”
All six of them nodded, and I watched as Marco stepped back towards the edge and fell, my heart racing as his dragon once again made an appearance.
I smiled and immediately ran over towards him, promising myself that once we were back on Earth, I would meet the other boys, who were now shifting.
I wanted to make sure they felt welcomed.
I knew they weren’t technically running, but leaving your home couldn’t be easy.
It was just another reason that I knew my mates would understand and take care of them.
Offering a small wave to my parents, my mom flashed a smile and Marco took off.
I let out a tired sigh and clasped my hand around the necklace that Con had given me, feeling as though it was a piece of proof that all of this existed.
Resting my head on Marco, I let out a happy hum and closed my eyes, feeling as though I finally had some purpose.
I had felt lost in this new world, but now I knew what I needed to do.
I needed to know Pastor Malcolm wasn’t hurting anyone else any longer.
I needed to know if there were others being kept like I’d been.
I needed to know they were safe.
This determination soared through me as we landed and made our way towards the portal, keeping myself comfortably between the twins, who both offered me looks that spoke to the amount of love I felt for them.
I closed my eyes as we submerged ourselves in the odd portal, everything around me going dark as I kept a hold on them, knowing it was locking me to reality.
While I had only done this once before, I realized exactly when something went wrong.
There was a coolness to the portal that hadn’t existed before. Almost as if it had been opened differently. I could smell the ocean air before the portal opening even appeared, and a sense of dread began to grow inside of me.
My phoenix attempted to break out but I breathed through it, knowing I needed to keep calm until I saw what we were walking into.
Well, falling into. When the portal opened up, the twins and I fell forward, and immediately all three of us stood as I ignored my busted knee from the hard rock we had landed on.
A sharp growl left Marco’s throat from where he was in front of me, the wind picking up as I realized we were somewhere on the coast, not in the Council building.
The water was cold and hitting us from behind in small splashes, making me know we were steps from falling into the stormy ocean.
I shivered as I looked around at the tree line of pines.
But that wasn’t what had dread filling my heart.
No.
Instantly, I moved forward, gripping Marco and Henry’s arms as I locked eyes with Anna.
That alone wouldn’t have been unusual if it wasn’t for Larry next to her, tied up to a tree and looking nearly unconscious.
I blinked, trying to process what was going on before I traced the circle of fire surrounding all of us, including the new flight who looked absolutely confused and scared as they made it through the portal.
I swallowed, noticing people stepping out from the tree line. More specifically, magic users.
I wasn’t positive at first what type, but then it became far too clear.
“Maya.” Pastor Malcolm’s voice rang out as my heart sank and my knees nearly broke, my gaze finding his as he walked towards Anna. The world grew dark as I tried to keep focused on what was going on instead of on the panic threatening.
“What the fuck?” Atlas sounded enraged as he followed up the group.
Malcolm kept his gaze on me as he offered a horrifying smile.
“I told you I was coming to take you home.”