Chapter Six #3
She snickered harder.
Keres paused in her sniffing of the flower and said, “Wait, what?”
Rowan kept her chortling to herself, and Mell sighed. “Where were you?”
“In her garden.”
Mell looked at the rose and clapped a hand over her eyes. “From her bush to yours.”
Rowan howled with laughter as tears streaked her cheeks.
Keres pulled the rose away and blinked, and then she started laughing. “Got it. My sister is a pervy little omega as well. Her jokes are a lot less benign.”
Rowan perked up. “Is she magic?”
“Not yet. She’s cute and agro with four baby girls.”
“One mate?”
“Four.”
“Ouch. One is an omega.”
Rowan grinned. “Is his primary alpha a giant bug?”
“A spider. Do you know them?”
“I know Carlos. He’s a friend of the family. All the old families with giant houses used to get together for a potluck. Carlos’s wife is a bitch.”
Keres smiled. “She’s been relocated out of the country indefinitely. She used to abuse Carlos’s natural daughter, and now she wears the mark of every slap she gave to the child that is now a very powerful mage.”
“Oh, shit. That must have been a fun Thanksgiving.”
“I think it was just a Friday night family dinner. Either way, she’s gone, and Emhara’s free. She has three dark elite deltas. It’s quite the scandal in our community. The deltas are highly prized.”
“Oh. Collectibles. Nice.” Rowan smiled.
Dante snorted.
Achilles came in and looked at Rowan. “Do you want to see her?”
She didn’t answer but sprinted past him and outside to see the statue of Aspen, her head tilted back and mouth open as if singing.
Rowan blinked away tears and covered the opening with a defensive spell, just in case the early birds found the statue tempting.
“You look gorgeous, Aspen, and your butt is rock-hard.”
The wild music played when she was speechless, and Aspen was speechless now. Hope spiralled in every note.
Rowan smiled and nodded. “Do you want me to stay out here with you?”
A lullaby played.
“Fine, but you are going to be protected. I have your curse with me, so this is going to be interesting. Early morning.” She took some of the energy that had been left by the elite in her great hall and spun an armour-plated ward around the statue of Aspen.
She skipped back to the kitchen and called out, “Who wants pie?”
The thunder of feet caused her to pull the emergency pies out of the cupboard, along with the extra ice cream. The plates settled, and by the time the dessert seekers were there, everything was ready to feed the sharks.
She leaned on the counter and watched the pie disappear.
Achilles said, “Where did you get this? It’s amazing.”
“My kitchen. Apples from the garden. Honey from the bees. Cinnamon from the weird tree that moans in the rain like it’s having a good time.”
The alphas froze, shrugged, and kept eating. Rowan laughed.
Keres asked, “Weird tree?”
“My sex drive had to go somewhere, so I picked the weird tree. I tried the apple tree, but it nearly exploded with fruit.”
The healer leaned against the table and looked at her. “I am really recommending that you drop that shield before the morning.”
“Why?”
“Because your cousin needs you alive and not crushed in your own skin.”
Rowan looked at him. “Spoilsport.”
He smiled. “It’s in my job description. Fun sucker is right there as well.”
The other orcs laughed. One said, “It’s on his alternate business card.”
Rowan looked at Dante. “You. You don’t get a fourth piece until you let me know if the rough draft was good.”
Dante nodded. “They were precise. You are good to go. I also started a draft for the new building that just popped up.”
“Nice. Well, I will circulate the copies and sign them when they are filled out. If there is ever a problem with credit, I will take it to Avor.”
The orcs jolted, and she smiled sweetly.
The healer set his plate down. “Okay, come on, Rowan. Let’s get through that shell of yours.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t wanna.”
He walked up to her, put his hands on her waist and gently flipped her over his shoulder. “This is not a standard technique for dealing with patients, but I think it will get the point across.”
She bit him on the back, and he winced but kept walking. There was laughter from the orcs and dark elves and a gasping giggle from Mell.
She spit out his shirt and said, “So what is the game plan here? I can close the property wards. I can close one on your feet right now.”
“We need to find some of your blood on this property.”
She grimaced. “Go to the garden. The plants will give it to me.”
“What?”
“I watered them with my blood... accidentally.”
“It will be sufficient. Will you go and get a sample?”
She wrinkled her nose, knowing that he couldn’t see it. “Yes.”
“Will you leave your garden afterward?”
“Maybe.”
He sighed. “This is for your health and cessation of pain.”
“I might need the shield if someone attacks tomorrow. I might need to protect people.”
He paused, and he slid her into his arms. “You are scared.”
“Terrified. I have been fighting what I don’t understand for years. I don’t know what will happen if this little protection comes down.”
He followed the path to her garden, alive and glowing in the night. “You are gathering a community around you. You are no longer fighting alone.”
“No one was here before.” She sniffled.
“But they were; they are simply not instant. Your friend who came. What did she do?”
“Alora helped. She got me help. She has a weird adaptation, though.”
“What is it?” He walked her to the garden, and he breathed deep as he opened the lock to the gate. He steeled himself and walked into the garden.
“She’s a calmer. She keeps alphas calm when they go berserk. She just stands there and makes eye contact, and they shake their heads and ask what is going on. The Omega Centre hires her for first contacts.”
He set her on her feet. “Can you call your blood?”
“What do you want me to call it?”
He shook his head. “Save me from smart-mouthed omegas.”
She snorted. “You don’t have that kind of luck.” She sat on the path and put her hands, palm-up, in the dirt. She asked for her blood to come back to her for a while. The soil under her skin got wet, and the blood filled her hands. She lifted them to the healer. “What now?”
He smiled. “May I use the blood to heal you?”
“Yeah, sure. I am a little backed up, and you may be in the blast zone.”
He nodded. “I understand the warning. Thank you.”
She sat there with her blood on her hands, and he reached for her with those vines and flexible branches.
She heard a humming sound, and it was coming from him.
His lips were moving, and his eyes had a bright rainbow glow in them.
The vines moved and drew lines on her body with the blood.
When he had created puzzle pieces, light began to stream along the bloodlines.
She fell back as the shell on her started to crack. She felt her power pushing at the shield, and she hissed, “Here it comes.”
Light blazed around her in all the bright colours that normally resided under her skin. Wave after wave of power came out of her, and it roared in her ears, and she heard triumphant music coming from all around her. It was wild and beautiful, and it was for her.