The King & the Stable Boy

LI: Throwing Down the Gauntlet

My nails rake down his back as he pounds into me, both of us finishing with no other sound in the room but our panting.

"What was that?" I question my mate.

"It was three months of pent up frustrations let's say." We both laugh and I begin to trace the new pattern on his bicep.

He said that it was a magical symbol meaning protection.

I remember him recounting his tale of how he was badly injured and just had the strength to shift into a bird in an attempt to fly off before he was captured. What a pitiful sight it must have been, a king trapped in his own castle in a cage as a bird. I couldn't imagine the humiliation.

He said that Evan had managed to slip through the cracks as he wasn't recognized as a castle dweller so he hid until the siege was done and the rebellions reinforcements had come to reappear, claiming to be from one of their strongholds. They placed him on guard duty over the hostage medics, one who of course was his mate. They placed their heads and magic together to devise a plan to help the castle guards who were mostly hiding out underground, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

In this time, no one knew of William's whereabouts which is why he seemingly dropped off the face of the earth for two and a half months. As he recounts, he was able to heal himself enough within two weeks, and one day while they were all sleeping, he shifted into a small lizard, crawled out of the cage and turned back into a bird flying out of an open window. From there he went to an old powerful witch he knew  that lived in the port city of Solomon and she spent her time fully healing him and giving him enchantments to help him.

William didn't return until two months later, going through the tunnels. At this point, the guards were certain that the spy was among their ranks, so that's why no one was able to report back to me that William had been found. Only Roman and his three higher ups knew about the king's return. When they attacked the rebels it was a hard fought fight but they had managed to win and keep those that weren't slaughtered for questioning.

Which brings us back to now, with my mate beside me once again.

"You're a cruel man for leaving me in a new unnecessarily gigantic home with two children that wouldn't shut up about your whereabouts while I had no answers to give them."

A sad look crossed his face as he pulls me closer and kisses my forehead.

"You know I would never do it unless I had to." he reassured me.

"How long until we can move back?"

"Honestly, I don't know. This palace has more of an advantage with the wall surrounding it and the hills surrounding it just before the town. It will take a while before they are able to weed out spies for the staff over there as well."

I nod, snuggling up against his chest once again, falling asleep.

I'm woken by the thump of wings in the air and a sharp hiss. I find Kyren and Nika at the foot of the bed, play fighting, and from the looks of it, Nika is winning. Hard to believe she's fully grown now, seems like just yesterday when I could pick her up in my arms.

The spot next to me is cool to the touch, meaning that William's been up for a while. I get clean and dressed before going down to the dining hall, finding my family gathered around a table as my mate shows the kids where we are on a map, what surrounds us, and what's underground.

"Daddy! Papa wants to take us on a picnic up the mountains, can we, please?" Mira asks, her brother echoing her excitement.

"If he's feeling well enough for the hike, I don't see why not." I answer them both.