His Royal Mate

2

“I told you I would.” I smirked as we took the log bridge back across the creek toward home.

Another memory overlapped with the last. I was in the garden with Cheyenne. He was showing me the herbs and flowers, taking his time to explain what each plant was, having just studied them with his tutor.

“And that is a Lilac Daisy,” he said with a note of authority. “Not only is it beautiful, but it smells good. The stem and petals can be ground up into a medicine that will combat headaches and joint swelling.”

“Fascinating.” I feigned interest to appease him because he was so excited about the most minute things.

“Don’t you think the flower is lovely?” His face melted into a wide smile when he looked at me; I must have been almost sixteen, and he, nearly fifteen.

“I do, Cheyenne.” I gave him an appeasing grin in return.

We were only friends, but he had such a sweet demeanor. I cherished our time together. I’d fallen in love with Lex. He was a bully and a tease, but we were also too similar in our bull-headedness. Having strong opinions, we were often at odds, choosing opposite sides of a fight where no winner could be declared. We tied more times than we won or lost.

Suddenly, the memories I was seeing cascaded forward in fragmented pieces. Kissing Lex for the first time in front of the rose bush topiary. Sparring in training when I pretended to be the Oxclaw Prince of Solbrook. Making love for the first time in his bed, then hiding from Amadeus and the king. I saw Lex killing Ulryk Bevata to save me from being r***d during his brutal attack. Lex going over the falls, and the anguish I felt when I thought he was dead. Me diving into the lava pit, defying his gut-wrenching cries.

I stayed under the water, submerged, remembering as my skin had sluiced from my body like a snake in shed. The spring breathed me in and out of its waves while it caressed and held me like a mother cradles her child. The pain pulsed within, but no longer tormented me. I felt like I was in a deep sleep from which I wasn’t sure I would wake, and I rested and recovered from all the trauma I’d endured in my life. The water kept me safe from my own thoughts and memories when my mind finally cleared and calmed.

After what felt like an eternity of rest, my body no longer burned. The pain had fully subsided. I wasn’t sure if I was still alive, but as I lifted myself from the water and gazed down at my reflection on the glassy surface, I saw no injury. Gone was the charred and mangled skin; it was now smooth and soft. My face had the same look, and yet was also very different. It radiated a beauty I’d never seen before. While I was not vain, my features were more refined and regal than they had ever been.

Voices of the souls that had brought me to this place were but a distant hum now. I didn’t need to listen to any more of their cries. I understood them, felt their pain, knew their anguish, and because of it, was tasked with their salvation.

As I exited the pool, I shifted into my wolf and was surprised to find that she, too, had been made more beautiful by the ordeal. She was black with a trail of blond diamond fur patches down her back and on the tips of her ears and paws. She was massive, much bigger and stronger than before.

I could feel magic pulsing through the air as it filled my body with an undeniable force. I’d unlocked my mage, yet beyond that, I carried with me the power of all those souls who had perished. I was their voice, their beacon, and their chance for resurrection.

I wanted to tell Lex I’d found my mage, but then I remembered I’d jumped into the pit with him screaming and wailing for me to stop. He must’ve thought I was dead. I had to get to him and let him know that not only had I survived, I was thriving in a way I’d never thought possible.

I looked around me to find a way out. Magma and lava flowed everywhere. Above me, in a pool of bubbling lava, was the Genesis Pit. The air was hot and thick with the smell of sulfur, yet the spring gave off a misty floral scent. The warring aromas made a heady mix. Beside the spring were tunnels that coursed next to the fiery pits, but were not touched by them.

I considered the mages who must have made those tunnels. Were they a way for survivors to escape? I wouldn’t know unless I ventured forth. With the surge of power coursing through my veins, I pawed my way toward an underground tunnel, one of many that had been carved into the base of the active volcano. I had to find Lex.

My wolf sniffed the air to see if she could catch his scent on the wind whipping in from above. By instinct, she followed the magnetic pull Lex and his wolf had over us. Strangely, the draw to be near Lex was stronger than it ever had been. It was as if he were a missing limb, and my wolf ran through the dark underground tunnels, driven to be reunited with Lex.

There was a lightness in my soul I’d rarely ever felt. As we ran toward Lex, I could sense our happily ever after. He was undoubtedly my mate, and now that I’d found my mage and my wolf was so powerful and strong, nothing would ever get in our way or defeat us. Joy was but a breath away. My wolf raced along the path, following the scent on the breeze swirling above us.

While the distance was long and arduous, our goal was steadfast. My wolf stayed focused on Lex. We followed the wafts of air for miles and miles as the tunnels twisted and winded through the bowels of the volcano.

Suddenly, after so much time spent in the dark, there was a pinprick of light ahead. I didn’t know how long I’d been in the pit, but time had no measure there.

My wolf ran toward the light, and I felt time solidifying again, a sign that I was leaving the magical realm and entering reality once more. Finally, my wolf saw the opening looming ahead of us, and with a burst of strength, she dove for it, eager to rejoin her mate.

Bursting through the entrance, we were bathed in daylight. I was shocked to discover that we reentered the world only a few yards away from where I’d jumped into the Genesis Pit. The distance felt endless, and yet it was only a few hundred feet down.

For a moment, my wolf stood and got her bearings, perhaps also realizing that magic had made us believe we were deeper in the pit than we really were. When my wolf regained her senses, we realized there was a group standing before us, arguing amongst themselves with urgency and panic

“Please, don’t do this. It’s not worth the risk!” Sir Vanoire implored in a stern and commanding tone. “If she survived the fall, she will return to you.”

“It’s been too long. I can’t live without her!” Lex cried out frantically. He was so beside himself with worry, it looked like he was about to jump into the Genesis Pit after me.