Leighton

56. The War begins

Iris

I hadn’t made it to Ara’s spell room before Allura started to whine I my head. “Quick there is a wolf in trouble .”

As I walked in Ara was standing looking over an unconscious Piper.

“What happened ?” I asked her, her normally composed face looking confused.

“I don’t know, she was accessing her powers and them started screaming, I couldn’t reach her.”

“Why didn’t you wait for me ?”

“I thought she would take longer to master it.” She shrugged.

“Is she okay?”

“She just passed out. She will wake up soon with a blinding headache.”

As she spoke Leighton came running into the room.

“What’s wrong ?” He looked at Piper on the floor and loved to pick her up.

“Turns out she isn’t going to be any use for the spell.” Ara told him and I could see the rage on his face .

“I told you this was dangerous.” He turned on me. “We will find anothery way to stop Alfundis.”

By this point he had picked Piper up and made his way to the door. Estelle appeared in the doorway, surprise marring her face when she saw an unconscious Piper. There wasn’t even time to explain and then Peter burst into the room.

“What the f*** are you doing with my mate ?” He snarled at Leighton.

“What you should have been here to do.” He snapped back as the Princess looked between the two.

Before I could interject Estelle spoke. “Leighton, he is here now so let him look after HIS mate.” While she didn’t seem upset her emphasis showed otherwise.

“I’ll take her to the infirmary. He can take it from there, if he bothers to sticks around.”

I watched as Peter’s fist clenched and unclenched but he didn’t say a word. He followed Leighton out of the spell room but Estelle didn’t.

“We should go check she is okay?” I suggested.

“Will she be okay ?” Estelle asked Ara.

“Yes, but I don’t really understand why she passed out. You were all fine.” Ara mused.

“Her wolf is weak, I don’t know why but I’ve always felt it. I hoped meeting her mate would fix it but it doesn’t seem to be helping.” I told them sadly.

“Maybe if she concentrated on her mate instead of Leighton it might have a chance.” Estelle said bitterly, “Oh great what now.”

Someone mind linked her and she rushed of without explaining.

I tried reaching out to her.

“Hey! Are you okay ?” I didn’t know her that well but if there was a problem with her and Leighton, that I could help with. She had no need to doubt him.

“Not now Iris.” She shut me out. At least I have established a mind linked with her so she could link me in future but I had a funny feeling this Princess liked to do things her own way. I turned to Ara.

“Okay. While we are alone. What’s the chances of this plan working?”

“Why is there a hint of distrust, I’m your friend?”

“I don’t think you really have any friends Ara, you couldn’t choose to keeping hurting them if you did.” As I said the worlds, event though they were stoppable the I felt bad. “I just don’t understand.”

“You do, nothing would stop you being with Oliver. It’s no different just because I don’t have a silly mate bond.”

“I wouldn’t sabotage his life, just because he chose someone else.”

In fact, I had never considered that she could feel anything like to felt for Oliver, because she didn’t have the pull of a mate bond. Occasionally mates had rejected each other and they seemed to move on. Although even when I thought about I didn’t know anyone that had, so I couldn’t be sure they didn’t still hold a candle.

“I wasn’t actually trying to sabotage anything. Was I being selfish? Maybe. Was I hoping he might wake and remember how things were? I don’t know. Did I think Greer would walk in? No I didn’t. I can’t help loving him Iris. God I’ve tried. All it does is make me think that we are meant to be together. Otherwise I would move on.”

I could see the sadness in her eyes for the first time she didn’t hide from it.

“You mean on all these years there hasn’t been anyone else ?”

“Of course there has, I’m not a nun. It’s just no one compares to him or…” She trailed off but before I could question her I had a frantic link from Estelle.

“Get Greer to to the spell room, we need to go again. Now. He is here.”

Estelle

I was in a foul mood when my father summoned me to his office.

“My spies have informed me that activity at Abaddon Castke has increased dramatically. We need to assume he will attack soon.”

My father deliver his news and he looked older suddenly.

“Okay, we are prepared. Piper isn’t going be any help in making a weapon so I think it’s best we just use the wolves we have, that can handle the spell.” I started thinking out loud. “Leighton should probably organise the army, I know you control the barrier but I feel his power increasing so I think it will yield to him.”

“He isn’t King yet, Estelle. The barrier will only respond to me.”

“Well maybe be need to think about the future. After this war, how long do you want to rule for?”

I needed hoped if I could give Leighton a time frame he would feel better about the situation.

He was already worrying about being King, I wanted to speak to him about but Piper reached out for help and he just left. I was trying to keep my jealousy at bay because I knew he was overwhelmed and helping her was something he could manage.

“This isn’t the time for this discussion. Estelle. We need to finish the spell. We aren’t ready.”

“But we can be, it’s not like they are attacking this minute.” As I said the words I started to get a bad feeling. The look on my father’s face confirmed it.

“Now?” I asked, my panic rising. He was right we weren’t ready.

He was too busy sending out orders to his army. I knew Seamus would be sending wolves to the borders.

“How long will the barrier hold?”

He puffed up his chest. “It’s made with my blood. It will stay until while I am King. Unless..”

“So we wait them out. Wait unless what??”

He just ignored me, and just before I could shout at him he snapped at me.

“Get to the spell room. You need to be ready when he comes.”

“I thought you said the barrier will hold?” I was almost knocked out the way as he blasted past me out of his office.

“Just be ready!”

I ran as quickly as I could back to the spell room. Leighton finally linking me as I got there.

“Estelle ? Where are you ?”

“I’m back the spell room, what’s going on ?”

“We are under attack. Come to the medical bay so I can protect you.” He demanded.

“I have a Kingdom to save.” I told him sharply. I wasn’t going to hide away. I would make sure we were ready when the King came.

Ara was waiting for me, frantically stirring the potion bubbling in the middle.

“Is this going to work ?” I asked her.

“It better, or …in fact you can’t even imagine it.” She said and there was no doubting her words.

Greer and Iris appeared, Oliver and Jackson with them stony faced.

“Shouldn’t you be helping the army ?” I asked them as Greer and Iris stepped up to their places.

“Who is going to protect your stubborn a****, if we do that.” Oliver drawled, hiding his fear much better than Jackson who kept staring between Greer and Ara, clearly worried. I couldn’t blame him for that, but I was quietly confident that she wanted to defeat our enemy’s as much as we did so she needed Greer, for now at least.

Ignoring the fact that Leighton wasn’t here I watched as the potion changed colour, a sign it was ready before I took the goblets and passed them around.

“When the King arrives he can join you but if we get started Iris can then focus on him alone.”

I wondered how we could get him hear faster. If I send Leighton to help, surely my father could come and help us earlier, give us more time.

“The King needs to stay by the barrier for as long as possible, it will weaken when he joins you.”

I didn’t get a chance to do anything anyway as Leighton came rushing into the spell room. I stared at him for a moment. Before he stepped in front of me.

“I know you need to do this, but what have I to do?” He asked pulling me into a bone crushing hug.

“You need to keep him away until we are ready.” I knew the enormity of what he had to do. I looked over at his friends. “But you have help.”

I hoped they read the code, I knew they wanted to protect us, especially when we were in a vulnerable state but if they let Adalfudis get to us too soon it would all be in vain.

I took my place and drained my goblet, it tasted slightly different from before. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my gifts. This time it was much easier, I could almost feel my wolf standing beside me.

I listened as voices joined Ara in chanting her spell and looked to my side. My wolf was standing beside me.

“Don’t worry I’m not going anywhere.” She said as I watched as light and air started to circle around her.

I was aware of another presence, at first I assumed my father was here then a scent filed my nostrils. My mother’s scent.

I looked to my others side and there, stood staring me was her wolf. She was small and she looked tired but her eye sparkled with life.

“Mother ?” I linked her and was surprised to hear her voice in my head.

“My sweet pup. I’m sorry, for everything Estelle. But I can help you now.”

“I don’t understand. What are you doing here.”

“There is no time Estelle. I’m dying. I need you to listen carefully.”

The bodies were still chanting in the background but all I could concentrate on was the sadness now surrounding her wolf.

“I’m going to give my power to you. Use it, just like yours.”

“But what will happen to your wolf?”

“She is ready Estelle. Remember darling I love you, I always have. Be the Queen you were born to be my darling.”

With that I felt a surge of power. I watched as white air and white light circled each other and formed a beam, heading straight for Iris.

A beam of light trailed from Greer to Iris already. A band of mist wrapped itself around the beam and started to morph it into something.

As my powers reached Iris I felt the presence of the wolf beside me leave.

“Don’t go.” I whined, fighting tears at the silence that replied. My lapse in concentration caused the beam to stutter before I caught it.

My father appeared in his spot, I hadn’t noticed him enter.

I watched in awe as eventually a band of water joined with our powers. The three beams swirled around each other until before our eyes a sword materialised. Breathtaking in its beauty, the reflection sparkled like it was made of diamond.

“We did it.” Iris whispered in my head.

“What do we do now ?”

“You wait here, without your wolf you can’t fight.”

As she spoke I became acutely aware that my wolf was quiet. I looked around and couldn’t see her. As I searched my mind for her all I felt was sadness. I pushed it away, she couldn’t be gone. When this was over I was going to go up to the hospital bay and find her still sleeping.

Iris had shrouded us in mist, I couldn’t see Leighton but I could feel he was there. I wished she could let him through I had never before felt so vulnerable.

“I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.” I heard his voice in my head, steadying my thoughts.

It was eerily quiet in the bubble of mists. I wondered what was going on outside. Ara insinuated that the barrier could fail when the King came to the spell room, it was surreal to not know what was happening outside.

I didn’t know how long it was before something shifted in the room. Suddenly I had a feeling that we weren’t along anymore. The air grew colder, a darkness seeped into the mist. I couldn’t see Iris anymore but I could feel she was here.

I wasn’t able to feel Leighton, even I knew he was strong I couldn’t help but worry. Being stuck in this bubble didn’t help, I knew why I hadn’t been told this part. I would have thought twice about agreeing. It didn’t seem right to leave the fighting to everyone else.

I tried not to lose myself in dark thoughts. Leighton would be okay, my mother was going to wake up. The plan would work. It had to.