4. One look and I’m a caveman
Anxo
T he Tetrad kingdom is untouchable. I made sure of that by never hesitating to punish anyone who dared to harm my people.
I'm aware of my reputation as the ruthless Horseman of Conquer, and it's a necessary front to fulfill my oath to my kingdom. My powers mean they fear me, and the blood I spill serves as a clear message:
Horsemen aren’t to be messed with.
I've carefully harnessed my powers to build a reputation that makes my enemies quake at the thought of harming my loved ones.
Six years ago, the Horseman of Death all but forced my father out of his throne so I could take over because we both knew what was best for our people, and my father was not it.
I admit the pressure and responsibilities were heavy on the shoulders of a 17-year-old me, but when the previous leaders were either too miserable with grief or too greedy for power, someone had to make sacrifices.
Instead of doing whatever youngsters do at that age, I was spending all my time holed up in my office, making sure the kingdoms were running smoothly.
Before Dean left, he made me promise I wouldn't neglect the search for his daughter in his absence and I never did. I never gave up on finding our missing Horsemen because I knew Harvey and Nevaeh were alive and I was getting sick and tired of people mourning them .
The day our future Death and War were taken, the entire supernatural world was shaken to the core.
We had enemies just like any other kind, but no one had ever dared to act on it. Then one day, out of nowhere, two young royals are snatched from their homes with no trace, clue, or proof of life.
Until last night.
One of the many spies I had spread around different realms came rushing to me with a sure location. I had the troops ready to attack at the first sign of light. No qualms about sneaking into enemy territory.
The crescent moon coven has always been a menace. Inventing problems, showing up places uninvited, and causing unnecessary disarray with intentions no one could put a finger on.
There were times I personally wanted to warn the dark queen to stay within her limits. My Warriorhead was all too happy to deliver the message on my behalf, but searching for my fellow Horsemen and overseeing three large kingdoms was keeping me occupied beyond capacity.
The coven has always been high on our list of suspects, but when they keep relocating every couple of months with zero traces, it becomes impossible to infiltrate them with spies or even cross their force field without starting an interspecies war.
But at midnight tonight, my troops broke through the barrier because we finally had some solid intel. Within four hours we had assassinated every high-ranking warrior, but by then the Queen had already escaped with a few of her followers.
I was in no position to worry about the witch when my priority was to find my Horsemen and get them home safely. When I stepped inside that dungeon, my heart nearly dropped to my feet. As far as I could see, the place was scattered with dead bodies. Some new, some old enough to have started decaying.
The Deviants sprawled on the ground were either burnt to a crisp or slaughtered. And I just knew it was her .
Nevaeh had managed to escape without help, and Fates, our future Horsewoman of Death was vicious.
My Warriorhead Hazel, and our Bookkeeper Grace , covered the southern border while Seiji and I went to tear apart the forest in hopes that Nevaeh wasn’t far.
On top of everything else, my Divine started acting like an unyielding brat the minute I crossed over the coven's barrier. As much as I wanted to take a moment to understand the change, I was knee-deep in making sure no stone was left unturned.
I can’t imagine how this day would’ve turned out if we didn’t accidentally stumble upon the bloody footsteps. It didn’t occur to me how there was only one set of prints because I was so focused on reaching the end of them.
I thought the worst possible outcome of this attack would be going home with two dead bodies and facing a broken father. But the broken body of his daughter clinging to a blood-soaked child, fighting her mightiest, wasn't something I was prepared for.
On the verge of death with her fading essence shielding her, there she stood.
Balancing on bruised bare feet, Nevaeh drove her spear with such force and accuracy I had chills. The dull gold in her eyes was so mesmerizing I had to force my legs to keep moving.
I would’ve continued to stand there in awe of the ethereal sight if Seiji hadn't crashed into my back and reminded me I was there to help, not gape.
After years of tirelessly searching for them, tonight I will finally get my answers, but the fear and defeat I saw glistening in Nevaeh's dark eyes makes me question if I'm ready for them.
I peer down at the frail woman in my arms who shut down seconds after she wasn’t responsible for her own weight. I breathe in shakily when my fingers accidentally graze against another cut on her back.
The bruises on her arms seem older, but the gashes on her back, forehead, and thighs are fresh. They still bleed every time she moves to hide from the sharp bite of cold air. Keeping my movements steady, I avoid uneven ground so her injuries won’t rub against me and add to her pain.
I’m not surprised I already feel this protective of her. Nevaeh has Horseman blood after all, but the surge of possessiveness building a home inside my chest is new.
Tracing every scar on her body with my eyes, I tamp down the sudden urge to burn the world around me and hide her in my arms so the flames won’t touch her.
Calm down, Anxo.
Nevaeh doesn’t need overprotective men in her life, she is perfectly capable of saving herself.
The thin material of her dress— if you could even call it that —is soaked with blood adding to her unease. Pulling the shivering girl closer, I pray Fates to look out for her until I can get us to safety.
Walking down the planned escape route, I push my Divine forward and create a barrier of fabricated reality.
Casting the illusion, I hide our scents and sounds to veil our presence on the off chance someone tries to follow our trail. Everything is normal inside the transparent hexagon bubble, but anyone passing by will see or hear nothing but wildlife.
“Oh, come on Anxo, yellow fits perfectly!”
Seiji’s whining destroys my train of thought, which has wandered to all the work that will be waiting for me back home.
Man, I hate paperwork. Absolutely despise it.
With the kid in his arms, Seiji turns around and starts walking backward. Before I have to reprimand him for being careless, he turns back to fall in step with me.
“No.”
“Ugh, fine. What about purple?”
I have no idea why he insists on making us look like tooth fairies in colorful armor, but it’s not happening .
Not in this lifetime.
“Seiji. I love you, brother. I really do but now you’re pushing it.” I say, carefully sidestepping a tall patch of grass. “We are not painting our armors yellow or purple. Hazel mocks us enough already, I’m not giving that siren more material.”
“But plain, dark armors are no fun.” He stomps gently, igorning the whole purpose of stomping.
When there's an uncharacteristically long pause, I turn to find Seiji lost in thought.
“What do you think happened to Harvey?”
Man, I’m dreading that conversation. A single glance at Nevaeh and the boy tells me I’m not ready to find out what happened to Harvey. I can’t even imagine anything worse than what these two have endured.
“I don’t know, buddy. But we’ll find him.”
At least, I hope we will.
We’re ten minutes from where the girls are waiting for us when Nevaeh shivers in my arms. Her shifting starts a strange burn in my chest. A stabbing pain in my heart that builds up with every step I take.
Breathing through the pain, I keep walking, but when the world around me spins off the axis, I have to stop.
Can’t risk precious cargo.
Dropping my guard before I drop Nevaeh, I heave through the sudden rush of emotions. With every breath, every blink, every thought, I feel like I’m going to combust until suddenly everything goes numb. I try to push past the discomfort only to groan when desperate longing fills me to the brim, almost knocking me off my feet.
My arms squeeze around Nevaeh without thought, and the touch helps me breathe, but barely.
The instant Nevaeh sleepily nuzzles her face into my neck, I’m done for. As if the physical acceptance clicks something into place, I feel her weak Divine eagerly trying to reach out.
The rush of all these new feelings makes me a thousand times more aware of her touch. Her soft breath fanning my neck and how the brush of her cold as-ice nose against my skin makes me shiver.
I didn’t let my eyes wander before because I thought Nevaeh was not my mate, but now, glancing down at the sleeping beauty in my arms, I feel stupid for not appreciating this breathtaking woman.
Despite the bruises, dirt, and blood shadowing her, I’m mesmerized by her delicate features. Her button nose buries itself in my neck, and seeing her unconsciously seek my warmth is my downfall.
I finally found her.
Seiji suddenly looks over his shoulder and backtracks.
“Anxo? Hey, what’s wrong? Did you hear something? Should I call the girls?” His head is turning wildly, searching for what made me freeze.
“ Mate .”
Looking back at me with furrowed brows, Seiji huffs sympathetically. “ Oh. Look, I know how much you want to meet her. You've been praying since you were like six. There’s no way Fates haven’t heard your billion pleas. Trust me, you'll find her soon. I have a feeling—”
“No, no, she—Nevaeh. Seiji... she is my mate.”
My mate . My Nevaeh.
His mouth drops when I finally manage to find the right words. Seiji's eyes bounce between me and my girl in disbelief, making me shift her closer to my chest.
Oh, drop it you caveman. He’s not even into women!
“And how the fuck are you only figuring that out now ? You’ve been holding her in your arms for like half an hour!”
Okay, he has a point, but I’m not worried about semantics. I’m content finally meeting her. My mate. My other half. My reason to keep going.
“I don’t know. Her Divine was barely there so maybe that's why.”
I don't know how I missed it before, but I realize this is the first time I'm sensing her essence. The little trickster tried to threaten us with a Divine.
What a woman.
What worries me is her potential reaction to finding out she is now bound to someone for life. An hour after tasting a little bit of freedom no less.
If Nevaeh says she doesn't want me, I’ll lose my mind and run away to the mountains.
Too dramatic? Maybe .
But I can’t live in the same realm as my mate and not have her in my arms. That would absolutely wreck me.
“How do you think she’ll react?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll pray for you.”
So, he thinks I need prayers?
Seiji saunters away, leaving me to beg Fates not to tear her away from me.
I’m not letting her go. Not happening. Never.
Following behind Seiji, I adjust my mate so my cheek is pressed against her head. I'm hoping this will help her Divine recognize me as its other half and heal her faster.
I try and fail to keep myself from kissing her forehead gently. Nevaeh's proximity is the only thing distracting from the fury spreading inside me that demands I show those monsters what happens when they hurt my mate.
I promise the sleeping woman in my arms I will never let anyone hurt her again. I promise to make this coven pay for every bruise on her delicate body.
They will pay for every scar I can see and the ones burned in her memory.
Crossing the coven's barrier, I'm not surprised to find Hazel covered in blood from head to toe and Grace anxiously pacing.
When her eyes find the two unconscious people, Grace runs to me. “Please tell me that’s not his blood.”
Her horrified eyes search the little boy as she pulls on her waist-length cornbraids to keep her panic at bay.
“I don't think so, most of it is Nevaeh's.” When her chin trembles, Grace hides her face in my bicep, and I kiss the top of her head to offer some comfort.
This woman always feels others' pain like her own.
“And Harvey?” Grace asks.
“Nowhere to be found. I'm hoping Nevaeh will know more, but she needs a ton of stitches and rest before she can tell us anything.”
Hazel steps closer to scan the damage, and I just know she is taking inventory so she can repay the ones who did this with interest. “It’s official. I’m going to skin that voodoo-loving bitch alive.”
Straight to murder with this one.
Keeping in mind the fragility of our situation, I hurry everyone towards the car so we can take off.
I’m in the middle of forming a plan of action when I hear Hazel and Seiji arguing.
Sensing an upcoming fight, Grace gently takes the boy from Seiji and steps back from the explosive airheads.
Please Fates no. I can't do this right now.
“Anxo, who gave him the keys? I’m not getting in that car if Seiji is driving.”
“Then run home, bitch.”
Hazel is clearly not in the mood to suffer through Seiji’s driving, and I kind of agree with her.
There have been way too many incidents with him running wild in the human realm to even consider letting him drive with Nevaeh and the little guy in the car.
Even before Hazel takes a deep breath, my ears start ringing. When words fail, Hazel starts whistling .
This is what I was hoping to avoid.
Help me Fates, I will lose my ever-going patience and kill them both if Hazel doesn’t stop right this minute.
“That doesn't work on me! I don’t feel anything!”
“Yeah? Is that why you're covering your ears,” Hazel retorts, which thankfully means no more whistling.
The crazy siren is going to burst my eardrum one day.
“Because you don’t have any rhythm! You're so bad at being a siren, it makes my ears bleed.” Swearing in Japanese, Seiji shakes his head, muttering about how she very likely fried his brain.
You need a brain for it to be destroyed.
Most days, I feel like a single parent to these morons.
I’ve spent too many days trying to break apart fights, dealing with their whining, tears, and angry teenager-like attitude to not be considered an honorary one.
It's like a rehearsed routine now. Seiji purposely gets on Hazel’s nerves until she snaps and runs after him with her daggers. Not long after, Grace comes to hide behind me because she knows there will be bloodshed.
“Do something, Anxo.”
On cue, Grace stands behind me, shielding herself and the kid the best she can.
I sigh tiredly and count to three to rein in my frustration. I need these kids to grow up like now .
“Stop. Both of you.” Finally some quiet. “I’ll drive. Let me strap just Nevaeh in the front—”
Seiji gasps like someone told him his Yakitori tastes like shit. “How. Could. You? I never expected this from you, Anxo. A pretty girl walks in and you forget all about me? Oh, how the tables have turned on my poor soul.”
I knew this was coming. Seiji is not good at sharing.
Seiji will give you the world if he loves you, but this man will also take away the last sip of water you need to survive if he doesn’t care about you.
It’s a strange balance.
Once my mate— oh how I love saying that —is secure in the passenger seat, I turn to a huffing and puffing Seiji.
When I go to hug him, the idiot grumbles about ‘accidentally hitting one old lady and suddenly he loses his driving privilege’ before I shove him into the backseat.
I wish it was just one old lady.
Grace follows him with a relieved breath, sitting in the middle with the kid on her lap, so Hazel and Seiji aren’t tempted to start again.
On the road, it dawns on me we can’t return to the kingdom just yet. First, Nevaeh and the boy have some severe injuries and need rest and treatment. Second, we don’t know where Harvey is and what to do next regarding him. And third, the amount of Divine we used back there means there’s a risk of witches tracing the portal we’ll use to get home.
Those portals are sacred for a reason. Even the thought of witches finding them makes me uneasy.
Staying in the human realm is our next best option. The scent of humans mixed with other supernatural species will ruin our trail if anyone tries to follow.
As I park at the hotel’s entrance and turn off the engine, Seiji asks, “How long are we staying because I’ll need more clothes if it's longer than two days.”
“You also need a new brain,” Hazel mutters.
“And you need better comebacks. Staying out of the water for so long is not helping your wrinkles either.”
Before Hazel can tear him a new one, I cover his mouth and warn Hazel with my eyes.
I'm so tempted to leave these two in this realm and close all portals leading home.
“Obviously there's a change of plan. We’re staying here until both of them are healed. We need to find the boy’s family. Not to forget Harvey. There's no way we're leaving without him.”
After sorting out the details and making sure everyone is on board with the new plan, I exit the car.
Hazel starts whistling before we reach the doors. It’s not low and pitchy like before. This is different than what she uses to torture us.
The power behind her tunes intensifies, forcing every human within a mile radius to stand still with their backs to us as we enter the lobby. She alters the tune before we enter the elevator to my penthouse. Her magic makes sure we don't leave witnesses of us carrying an unconscious woman and child into the building .
That would raise more than a few questions.
When the elevator doors shut, Hazel stops to take a massive gulp of air.
“I love it when you don’t use your powers to make us deaf,” Seiji taunts her. Again.
I will never understand why this imbecile insists on poking the grumpy bear.
“Don't start again or I'll make you run around the block naked.”
Seiji scoffs arrogantly, “And these humans will thank you for blessing their eyes with my beauty.”
We gag in sync. I’m thankful for the doors opening before Seiji goes on about his privates.
The floor-to-ceiling windows in the living area reflect the lights twinkling from the hundreds of buildings in our view, and the dark sky reminds me how tired I am.
Walking down the hallway, I stop near the stairs to wait for everyone to gather. “Grace, take the kid to the spare guest room and call two healers. Arrange for one of them to stay here full time.”
“What about Nevaeh?”
“I’ll take her to my room.”
I’m about to turn around when Hazel stops me, her eyes full of suspicion. “Why your room?”
“Be right back.” I quickly escape to rush upstairs.
I’m sure Nevaeh is tired of adjusting in my arms and wants a proper bed to rest on.
Opening the door to my darkened room, I pad over to my bed and carefully slide her into it, not minding the blood and mud stains.
Tucking her in, I decide to clean the grime on her face and the areas I can see without invading her privacy. I’m sure she doesn’t want to sleep with dirt stains on her face. The last thought makes me freeze.
Anxo, you airhead.
Nevaeh has been living in such dreadful conditions for so long, and I don’t even know the worst of it yet. I can’t touch her when she’s unconscious and vulnerable.
Let's wait until she is up so she can tell me to shoo away if she doesn’t want me around.
Taking a moment to gather my rage and sadness before I cry, break something or both, I leave the room silently after covering Nevaeh with a soft blanket so she doesn't get cold.
Before going downstairs, I peek into the room Grace tucked the little boy in to check on him. With the way I found him, it’s hard to stop myself from sitting at his door like a guard dog until his parents come to take over the protection duty.
Running down the stairs, I'm excited to tell my family about Nevaeh but stop abruptly when the three idiots are waiting for me with teasing smiles on display. When their teasing smirks turn into crude gestures I turn on my feet to walk away, but Grace and Seiji stop me by flinging themselves on me.
Boy am I glad that Grace is such a tiny thing because Seiji alone is enough to break my back.
To my surprise and absolute horror, Seiji starts cheering loudly and Grace starts laughing with tears running down her face.
Hazel comes strolling behind them with a rare genuine smile on her face. She doesn’t hug me like the others, but the twinkle in her eyes is enough to give away her excitement. “Congratulations on finally finding your mate, Horseman Alarie.”
Them celebrating my happiness with me is why I call them my family. Not the one I was born into, but the one I made. And I’ll forever do my best to keep these on their faces.