The Queen's Mate

FIFTEEN

“Are we sure that it was Anderson?” Adonis questioned intently looking at Damien who sat beside Eleanor on the couch whilst he sat opposite to them and Liam leaned by the bar counter nursing a drink.

The two found Eleanor crying in Damien’s arms when they returned with her belongings and both were immediately struck with deep worry. Upon finding out the reason behind her tears, they were furious beyond measure but calmed themselves for her sake.

“Of course, it was him! Who else would it be?” Liam ridiculed whilst looking at Adonis as if he had lost his mind but the blond angel only gave him a serious look which wasn’t missed by Damien.

“It was the mares. I felt their magic.” Damien muttered. “Who else did you suspect?” He asked looking straight into Adonis’ eyes.

Eleanor raised her head to look at the man who had come as her saving grace as she waited patiently for him to tell them his thoughts. Adonis exchanged meaningful glances with Liam before turning back to the brunette.

“A few hours ago, I told Liam about the endless enemies that Eleanor has.” He stated thoughtfully before he went on to repeat his words from before.

| A few hours ago. |

Adonis followed Liam into Eleanor’s elaborate townhouse as he marveled at the beauty of it, realizing that the place resembled the brunette so much that it was uncanny.

The rooms were large and spacious, painted in hues of the sky and the clear oceans with an ample passageway for the sunlight to pour in and drench the place in a peaceful golden mist. Every inch of the house resembled the brunette’s elite taste and that brought a small smile to Adonis’ face.

Liam watched how the blond marveled at his surroundings with his jaw slightly ajar and he could not help but gaze thoughtfully at him. There was something about Adonis that intrigued Liam and scared him, at the same time.

“Come, let’s get her things and go back before something else happens.” The Ravena stated shaking off his prior thoughts and making Adonis nod as he followed him into Eleanor’s closet.

Adonis gazed at the size of the room and shook his head. “No, this is too much work.” He affirmed.

“Yes, I am aware. But what do you suppose we should do?”

Adonis glanced at Liam and smirked before he waved his fingers and in the spur of a moment, all of the necessary belongings for a lengthy stay were packed and ready in front of them.

“A little magic always helps,” Adonis stated smugly. Liam rolled his eyes at him with a grin, “show off.” He mumbled making the angel laugh.

Before the blond turned to walk away, Liam stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. Adonis looked at him questioningly. “You have known Eleanor since way before then I have,” he spoke with a tinge of hesitation in his voice; Adonis blinked at him encouragingly as Liam continued, “is there something other than the Elarma blade we need to worry about? Something that could hurt her?” He asked innocently.

A small smile came over the angel’s lips seeing Liam’s concern for the brunette but that did not dissolve the unsettling feeling in the pit of his gut which screamed at him about the million other things that could come to hurt his best friend.

“She always had a difficult life, even though she is the daughter of the creator himself. Her mother left the realm when she was very young and so did her brother; her father is a very proud man and even though he loves her to death, he is still too poised to accept that to her face. Other than that, you should know about the fact that both Lilian and Marcus are strong rivals and Lilian can stoop to any extent in order to hurt him. Even if it means hurting Eleanor.” Adonis explained and by the end of it all, Liam had to take a breather in order to adjust his thoughts to the revelation.

He had never even imagined Eleanor being related to the cosmic beings, let alone her having a past as messed up like this.

“So, would Lilian try to kill her?” He asked.

Adonis shrugged, “depends on her plans for Marcus. There isn’t a certainty to what Lilian Lightbourne can and cannot do. She is as unpredictable as they come.”

“Does she even know about Eleanor’s presence in this realm?”

The angel shook his head at that. “Marcus made sure that only a few people in the Angel Realm would find out about Eleanor’s real identity in the human world; or the fact that she is here, at all. Lilian does not know anything yet, but if Anderson continues his charades as now, it is quite possible that she would find out because of all of the commotions in Maredime.”

Liam gave him a look of confusion at the end of his sentence. “Maredime?”

Adonis chuckled, “the realm of the mares, pretty boy.” He answered with a charming smile. Liam nodded and looked away to hide the embarrassed smile on his face before he cleared his throat.

“So,” he breathed, “does this mean that we need to stop Anderson, now more than ever?”

“Precisely.”

|End of Flashback|

“You really believe my own mother would come here and kill me?” Eleanor asked Adonis once he was done telling them about their conversation. To say that she was mentally disturbed after listening to his words was an understatement.

Damien turned to look at her with sympathy. She did not deserve the chaos that was going on in her life, not even a part of it.

He could imagine what she must have felt like when her adoptive parents were murdered over the nuances of a world, she had no clue of. A bitter taste entered his mouth when he remembered some similar instances from his own life before gazing at Eleanor with warm eyes.

The heiress was already going through so much and to find out that her birth mother could possibly be hungry to spill her blood was surely going to rattle her spirits. However, the brunette seemed to be taking it a lot better than he had imagined; which then made him realize that he had been underestimating her strength when he shouldn’t have, considering that underneath everything human about her soul, she still was the queen of the supernatural realm and the ruler of thousands of beings, including himself.

“Lilian would do anything as long as it means that she would be in a position of power,” Adonis answered but regretted his words when he saw her flinch. It looked like his words had taken the form of glass shards and pierced her heart in an instant.

She did not understand how to reply so she simply went back to nervously fiddling with a loose thread at the hem of her dress. Damien noticed her before he was overcome by an urge to comfort her, and so he leaned forward and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze, which made her look at him.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. No matter who comes looking.” He whispered with such resolve that she wished deeply to believe him. Her eyes stared into his and it was like something clicked in their souls and a wave of trust passed over their bodies reminding them that they were going to be safe as long as they stuck together.

She did not know what caused her to say it but when she opened her mouth, all that came out was an affirmation of the fact that she believed him.

Liam and Adonis exchanged raised eyebrows at the bond between the two, seeing that it had only been a few hours since they had first met each other.

That was when the lift leading up to the penthouse dinged and the sound of heels clucking on the marble floor was heard.

Eleanor broke eye contact with Damien, who also turned around and let out a ragged sigh seeing the person who had decided to join them.

The brunette and Adonis shared looks of confusion seeing the petite brunette who came walking in like she owned the place as her eyes stayed trained on her phone. Her skin was flawless with a golden tan and her high cheekbones highly resembled Damien’s. Her plump lips, however, looked more similar to Liam and Eleanor was certain that the woman had brilliant brown eyes like the other two Ravena brothers. This was probably Rebekah Ravena, their younger sister.

“Damien, you called me and here I am, now tell me what the problem is.” She ranted before she finally looked up and realized that it was not just her brothers that were in the room. Adonis was for a moment star-struck seeing the Celestial’s beauty and the mischief that danced shamelessly in her eyes.

Eleanor felt a little conscious on the inside but still looked forward to knowing the other brunette, especially since both her brothers had been epically charming to her.

“What the hell is going on?” The sister questioned Damien who cleared his throat and stood up to go and stand beside her, “Eleanor, Adonis, this is my youngest sister, Rebekah. She will be helping us defeat Anderson.” He announced.

Rebekah made a disgruntled face, “who the hell is Anderson, and what’s going on here?” She repeated her question in a much harsher tone this time and Eleanor was confirmed of the fact that she was in fact nothing like her brothers; certainly not when it came to temper.

Liam shook his head. He knew bringing in Rebekah was going to be a disaster but since it was Damien’s call, he trusted his judgment.

This time the eldest Ravena looked Rebekah square in the eyes, “there’s a lot for you to catch on. Come.” He muttered before sauntering out of the room swiftly as Rebekah gave Liam a questioning look who only shrugged.

The sister huffed and after looking at Eleanor once again, she walked away after Damien.

Eleanor and Adonis were left to wonder what twisted game their life was going to play on them now.