Chapter Forty-Three
––––––––
brIA WAS UTTERLY CONFUSED when she woke up in a strange infirmary. “Where am I?” she asked groggily. Urzra was somewhere nearby, but so were a lot of other beings just like him. There were others who felt similar to the knights, but slightly different.
“You’re in our base,” someone said from right beside her.
Bria turned her head to see a teenager sitting on a chair. “Who are you?” Bria asked, then sat up.
“I’m Grace,” the kid said. “Before you ask, I’m eighteen, not fifteen. Wow, you’re almost as short as me.”
“How can you tell?” Bria asked. “I’m not even standing up yet.”
“Your feet are dangling almost as much as mine do when I sit on the examination bed,” Grace said with an impish grin.
“Where’s Urzra?” Bria queried.
“He’s taking a shower,” her companion replied, hiking her thumb over her shoulder at a nearby room. “Urz didn’t want you to see him all covered in blood.”
“It’s too late for that,” Bria said ruefully. “He was shot twice in the chest.” She looked down at her t-shirt to see it was coated in blood. The fabric was torn, but her flesh was unblemished. “What happened?” she asked. “How are we both still alive?”
Urzra was approaching and entered through a door directly across from her. “For a short while, you weren’t alive,” her knight said gravely. “My commander brought Kochab and two cambions to us. The females brought you back to life and healed us both.”
“It’s a lot to take in, Bri,” Grace said sympathetically. “Why don’t I take you to one of the empty bedrooms? You can take a shower in the new ensuites we’ve just set up and get changed into something that isn’t soaked in blood.”
“That sounds good,” Bria said, wondering if she really was dead and this was an extremely weird version of heaven.
Urzra followed them as the teen led them along a hallway and down a short passageway.
“This is the south wing,” Grace said. “My bedroom is second from the end. It has a vixen engraved on the door.” She waved at the far end of the hallway.
“That’s Zoe’s and Amaros’ bedroom,” she added, coming to stop at a blank door and pointing to the room just to their right.
“I love the lions,” Bria said. “Who carved them?”
“I did!” a female called out from a room everyone was gathered together. “I’ll carve something on your door after you two become bonded!”
“Oaklie!” another female scolded her. “They don’t even know about the bond yet.”
“Sorry, mama bear,” Oaklie said contritely.
“That’s Zoe and Oak,” Grace said, opening the door. “You can use that room, Urz,” she said, pointing at another blank door. “No one has claimed it yet.”
Urzra nodded reluctantly. “I’ll wait for you here, female,” he said to Bri, then crossed the hallway to lean against the stone wall.
Bria was glad he wasn’t going to leave her to face everyone alone. “Thanks, Grace,” she said in true gratitude as she stepped into the bedroom.
“I’ll give you guys the tour when you get all cleaned up if you want,” the kid offered.
“Doesn’t Amaros want to speak to us first?” Urzra asked.
Grace waved her hand. “Nah, they can all wait until Bri feels settled first. I’ll be back as soon as you’re ready.”
Bria nodded, then closed and locked the door.
The bedroom was filled with plush furniture.
It even had a rug that was a mixture of dark blue, gray and green.
“It matches our eyes,” she murmured as she undressed.
She took a long shower and dried herself off, then realized she didn’t have anything to wear.
A knock came at the door, then Grace spoke. “I’ve got some clothes for you, Bri. Sin created them out of thin air, so they’re brand-new.”
Bria shook her head, still dazed that she’d died and had been brought back to life.
She was now in an ancient-looking fortress and she had no idea where it was located.
Wrapping the towel around herself, she opened the door just wide enough to take the clothes. “Thanks,” she said. “I’ll be out soon.”
Someone else approached while she was getting dressed. Bria opened the door when she was done to see a pretty brunette holding a baby. “I’m Zoe and this is Arakiel,” she said, then held her hand out.
Bria took her hand automatically and felt the cambion rummaging around in her head. Feeling exposed and vulnerable, she yanked her hand away and gave Grace an accusing look for not warning her.
“Sorry,” the kid said with a grimace. “We all have to go through that. Zoe’s psychic and she can see the future and the past. She scans all of us cambions to make sure we aren’t hiding any deep, dark secrets.”
“Is that your baby?” Bria asked, trying not to feel so offended by the invasion. She hoped the psychic wouldn’t tell everyone about the death and mental instability she’d inadvertently caused with her magic when she’d been younger.
“This is little Arakiel, or Arak,” Zoe said, beaming at her son.
“Welcome to our family, by the way,” she said.
“The things that happened when you were learning how to use your power weren’t your fault,” she added quietly.
“Your skill can be very dangerous, but you’ve only used it to protect yourself and the people you care about.
” She slid a pointed look at Urzra, who was waiting patiently.
“Come on, guys,” Grace said with a cheerful smile. “It’s time for the tour.”
Bri and Urz followed their tiny guide through the sprawling stone building and both wings.
She showed them the gardens, garages and shed, then escorted them through the woods that ran alongside the north wing.
“We all love the lake,” she said when the water came into view.
“The guys like to fish sometimes, so we can have actual fresh fish for dinner.”
“I’m in,” Urzra said with a grin. “I’m not very good yet, but I’m hoping I’ll improve with practice.”
Bria reached out to take his hand and felt his love for her swell. It was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes. She’d almost lost him, but now they had a second chance.
“Aw,” Grace said, putting her fists beneath her chin. “You two are in love!”
“We are,” Urzra confirmed, staring deeply into his female’s eyes. “I never want to be parted from my female ever again.”
“That’s awesome, because you’ll get to stay here on Earth if you two decide to bond with each other,” the teen said.
Bri and Urz both looked at her in shock. “What do you mean?” Bria asked.
“How do we become bonded?” Urzra queried.
“Amaros has this big speech prepared, but I don’t think you two need to be convinced,” Grace said shrewdly.
“The gist is that Fate has given the knights a choice this time. She arranged for you all to have cambions as your mates. Anarchy released twenty Soldiers of Chaos from the Void for one night over a seven-year period. None of us knew what we were, except me. Anyway, Fate is giving us a lot of benefits if we choose to become bonded to our mates. It’s permanent and we all get a boost of power, strength, speed and all the rest of our abilities.
You’ll be able to teleport even though only half of the knights are here, too,” she said to Urzra.
“Cambions can’t teleport?” Bria asked in disappointment.
“Nope,” their guide said. “But the sex is apparently amazing with our mates, so that makes up for it.”
Bri snickered and the kid giggled along with her. Urzra was still stunned by this news. “I won’t have to return to the Void if I die or when we win this war?” he asked.
“None of the knights or soldiers will return to the Void,” Grace said.
“This is your final war with Rahab and his crew. Order and Chaos have decided to decommission their current minions. Fate’s sacrificing her power so you guys won’t be tossed aside like trash.
All of the soldiers who’ve died so far haven’t vanished.
They just stay behind and rot like normal corpses. ”
“This is a lot to take in,” Urzra said.
“No kidding,” Bria agreed. Their gazes became locked and she sensed nothing but love coming from him. He no longer doubted her feelings or expected rejection. “I don’t need to think about it,” she said. “I want to become bonded to you.”
Urzra gave a shout of joy and picked her up. He whirled her around, then kissed her until they had to come up for air.
Grace was beaming at them both and Bria could feel how moved the teen was by their joy.
“It’s apparently easy for you to become bonded,” she said.
“Usually, the knights and cambions are naked together, but you don’t have to be.
You just need to reach for each other’s minds and accept the link and you’ll become joined. ”
“I vote for being naked when we try this,” Urzra said with a grin.
“Make sure you mute your bedroom,” Grace advised him. “Unless you want all of us to listen in while you’re screaming each other’s names.”
Bria snickered again, then her knight took her hand and swept her off her feet. He sprinted back to the base and headed straight for the bedroom Grace had chosen for his female.