11. Maya #2
Unlike my mates, who were connected in a subconscious bond that surrounded me with my wolf and I in the center, my connection with her was a vibrant blue piece of cord that was slightly frayed but solid in the center.
The more time we stood in proximity to one another, the more intensely it began to glow, as if my magic was feeding off hers.
A wave of memories, short flashes, began to invade everything.
Gold eyes. Warm hugs. Flying. Large glass ceilings.
Even the smell of her natural scent, a rose and sea salt, became familiar to me.
These had always appeared in my dreams, but I had assumed they were simply fantasies to distract me from the far more depressing reality that I’d been locked in the basement from before I could remember.
My phoenix let out another excited sound as I felt hers begin to radiate a magic so pure and strong from her chest that it actually had me feeling as though I was in the presence of a goddess.
Tears flooded my face once again as suddenly she pulled me into a hug that was so tight I felt like I was burning alive.
Yet I hugged her back, through the small sob of confusion that left my throat.
“I don’t even know what to say.” Cyra pulled back, tears streaking down her cheeks as well. “I don’t understand… we thought… I mean, we looked everywhere, for months. We still have a scouting team on Earth realm… yet here you are.”
My throat worked as I tried to find the words that I needed.
“I was locked up,” I admitted softly, and I felt the energy turn darker in the room at my phrasing. I had no idea how else to explain what had occurred, though.
“Locked up?” Her voice was choked. “Where?”
“In a basement,” I rushed out. “I thought it was a church, but apparently it’s a coven. Pastor Malcolm knew I was a phoenix.”
“Did you say that you were being held by a coven?” A masculine voice had me jumping as Cyra tightened her hold on me.
I could feel that my mates were on edge and very close behind me, but they didn’t try to step into the moment between her and I.
I was finding that I wanted them closer.
Everything was growing overwhelming, and I was trying to breathe through it, but it wasn’t easy.
It didn’t help that the man now standing over us was legitimately massive.
He had been the one snapping orders. His entire energy was very similar to Marco’s in both dominance and magic, but where there was a soft edge to Marco around me, this man had me shrinking back.
My mate let out a low rumble that had the intimidating man snapping his head towards him in confusion, removing his gaze from Cyra and me.
“You’re scaring her,” Marco grit out.
“Nuriel,” Cyra’s voice was smoother, “calm down. I’m sure we can get more of an explanation. Let’s find somewhere to sit?—”
“You’re telling me to calm down?” Nuriel demanded softly, his black eyes flashing with pain as I realized how similar he looked to the man Con.
Were they brothers? He continued, his voice choked with emotion.
“Calm down, Cyra? Our daughter, who we thought was dead, shows up out of nowhere and says she was locked up by a fucking coven this entire time?—”
“Nuriel,” Con’s voice rang out. Nuriel’s jaw tightened, but he instantly went silent. He looked back down at me, sadness filling his gaze, before muttering under his breath and running a hand through his hair.
“I am furious, but we need all the information first,” Cyra explained softly, her hands tightening around me. Nuriel nodded and walked towards some guards, leaving me in a state of both being worried about him and intimidated.
“He’s harmless,” Cyra promised. “He’s just… this is a lot at once. We should sit.”
I nodded mutely as she led me forward. I hesitantly met the gaze of the red-haired man as we passed, his gaze darting between Cyra and me before he looked away, his eyes glinting with anger and what appeared to be tears. My eyes widened as I came to a stop, making Cyra look at me with confusion.
“Did he say ‘our daughter’?” I asked softly.
Cyra’s eyes filled with compassion. “Yes, our daughter. I’m sorry, this must be so much for you, Sol?—”
“I go by Maya,” I admitted.
Her eyes flashed with sadness as she nodded. “Of course. You have to understand, your fathers and I have been looking for you since you first disappeared. You were so, so young, and we had no idea what happened. To hear that you were taken is?—”
Fury blazed in her eyes as she seemed at a loss for words. Suddenly, the man who had ordered the others to calm down appeared over her shoulder. His dark hair and bright, ocean-colored eyes were a bit unnerving as he offered me a small, hesitant smile. His voice was soft as he spoke to Cyra.
“Honey, I need you to breathe. Your magic is going to cause half of us to shift if you don’t.”
My mother… my mom? What did I call her? She nodded and closed her eyes, seeming to pull on a source of calm energy, causing me to exhale, not having realized how much she was affecting me.
“I’m fine.” Cyra nodded, seeming more collected. “Maya, this is Fuji.”
“One of my dads?” I barely got out, unable to truly believe this.
Any of it. My mates were in shock as well, but I could feel their anxiety grow through our bond as I was moved further away from them.
I turned back when Atlas let out a snarl, realizing that they weren’t being allowed to follow me.
The red-haired man stood blocking them, his jaw set firmly as magic crackled through the room, his gaze on Atlas, who was practically standing toe-to-toe with him.
Marco stepped to the side as my anxiety began to grow, and I tugged my arm from Cyra, causing her to let out a sad, almost injured sound that made me feel guilty.
My voice came out far more commanding than I expected. “I want them here. I’m not talking if they aren’t part of it.”
The red-haired man turned to look at me, Atlas’s gaze narrowing on him as I saw something like respect at my tone flash through my dad’s gaze. “If they were bringing you back here, they have done their part.”
“I told you they are my mates.”
He stilled, his eyes filling with frustration, as Fuji let out a chuckle from behind me. “This is a fucking shit show.”
The red-haired man snarled but stepped back, running a hand through his hair in frustration. When the man from up front spoke, the one with sadness and compassion in his gaze, everyone turned to look at him. “Ignatius, now is not the time.”
“Our daughter shows up out of fucking nowhere after thirteen years, with one of our most dangerous command squads in tow, claiming they are her mates—after she was imprisoned by a witch coven, mind you—and you are telling me that this is not the time to lose my shit?” He growled, fire lighting up along his fingers before it was snuffed out quickly. “You’re a goddamn piece of work.”
My eyes bounced back to the man with warm brown eyes as he approached us and let out a tired-sounding sigh in reference to Ignatius. “You aren’t solving anything. We need to figure out what happened.”
I found myself nodding in agreement as the man smiled down at me, a small amount of amusement jumping in his gaze before he continued. “Besides, I don’t think Sol—sorry—Maya cares what you want regarding her mates.”
It was true. I didn’t.
Henry made a noise of approval. Clearly I had been broadcasting.
“Let’s sit down,” the man continued. “I’m Pele, by the way.”
I nodded, watching as my mates passed Ignatius, he and Atlas having a bit of a stand-off as we walked around the throne to a large lounge area filled with couches and a table.
Almost immediately, Cyra led me to a couch and turned to face me as she sat, her hands clasping my own, her eyes running over my face.
“Please don’t worry. I promise you, we will figure this out,” she said softly.
I nodded, finding myself at a loss for words.
I had confidence when it revolved around my mates, but outside of that, I felt a bit lost. When Ledger sat down right next to me, I breathed out a sigh of relief as I turned to look into his gaze.
The calm strength I saw there had me relaxing.
In fact, I suddenly felt the others attempting to fill our bond with affection and softness that had me centering myself.
“When did you find her?” Con asked as the others spread out throughout the lounge area, my mates mainly staying directly behind where I sat.
“She arrived in Washington about two weeks ago. I ran into her at a gas station, and she ended up at the same school as the twins,” Marco immediately answered in a smooth, practiced tone as if he was reading from a report. I didn’t like that.
At the same time, I knew our moments together were private, but it had been so much more than just being in the same place at the same time.
I realized that now. There had been a reason I ran into Marco that day, and I would have never guessed it would change my life, but it did and I couldn’t be happier.
“Where were you before that?” Cyra asked, drawing my attention back to her.
“I was locked in the basement of a church—well, what I thought was a church—for as long as I can remember,” I admitted. “Pastor Malcolm and the woman claiming to be my mother kept me there.”
“Someone was claiming to be your mother?” Cyra hissed, her eyes flashing with that same anger again.
“I suggest we stick to the larger facts. The details of Maya’s story are a bit hard to hear,” Croy admitted, causing all my dads to look up at him.
Were they my dads? I mean, biologically it was becoming obvious that was how this happened, but did I call them my dads?
Or should I call them by their first names?
“What the hell is a wolf doing with you?” Nuriel demanded of Marco.
I straightened slightly and let out a growl before stopping myself. “He’s one of my mates. I already explained this.”
I was even surprised by my tone, but I couldn’t help it. I had never been around people that questioned my mates, and I was finding myself not only protective but possessive over them.
Nuriel’s eyes widened as he muttered a curse and ran a hand over his face, clearly not knowing what to say.
Croy let out a low rumble of approval that had me looking at him, his eyes flashing with heat, and I could tell he wanted to say something…
I just wasn’t positive what. Hopefully he would tell me later.
“Let’s try our best to piece this together,” Pele suggested, his eyes running over each of my mates.
“You don’t remember anything before the basement?” Cyra asked hesitantly.
“No.”
Her eyes filled with sadness as she squeezed my hand. “When you were around five, we were on a diplomatic trip in the Earth realm. Blue Phoenixes shift early—very early, in fact—and while you were just a fledgling, we went on a flight together. That was when you disappeared?—”
“I was shot down,” I muttered in realization. “I thought it was a dream, but I am pretty sure that’s what happened.”
“Shot down?” Ignatius demanded, his face filled with panic that didn’t match his temper. From his expression alone I felt like the man was mad at me, but I was starting to realize that may just be his mannerisms.
“I believe so,” I whispered and looked back at Cyra, “but I had been in that basement as long as I can remember. I assumed any other memories were dreams. Also, until two days ago, I hadn’t been able to shift?—”
“The coven most likely blocked her magic when they killed her the first time,” Croy explained. “It was also why you probably couldn’t locate her.”
“They fucking killed you?” Con hissed.
“Yes.” I shrank slightly, feeling less confident. Atlas’s hand found its way onto the back of my neck in a soothing way.
“Maya has been through a lot,” Henry said, his voice filling the space. “I don’t think anyone is in the correct mindset to hear her story, frankly.”
Realization seemed to fill the room as I blushed, knowing that they were probably figuring out that my time away had been anything but pleasant. I swallowed and tried to redirect the question. “So… I’m from here?”
“Yes, you are the True Heir, princess to the Dreki realm,” Cyra immediately answered. Her words still were stunning me, because the idea of me belonging to anything important, ever, seemed inconceivable.
“Because you’re the queen? And my mother?” I clarified, the lights starting to darken slightly on the edges as my neck broke out in a cool sweat.
“Maya—” Henry’s voice tilted in concern as he probably realized I was starting to feel sick again, my fever spiking. My phoenix was out of control and overwhelmed as Cyra said something, my brow dipping in confusion. Pain radiated from my abdomen as I leaned back against Ledger.
Everything started to spot black as the reality of their words hit me, the truth of what I had believed in so long forgotten.
I hadn’t been just locked in a basement, I’d been ripped away from everything.
A mom. Dads. An entire realm. A choked sound left my throat, and I felt fire lick my skin dangerously as my eyes fluttered shut.
I heard commotion breaking out into the room, but when I slumped forward, the only thing I could smell was the familiar scent of my mom.
That was right before I blacked out.
The last thought that plagued my mind? Were there more like me?