Briannas Prophecy (31 page)

Brianna felt the comforting pressure of his hand on her back.

Larin sighed. “Once, a very long time ago, a mischievous faery fell in love with the Queen of this world. Together they betrayed the King.” He turned and sat down on a fallen log. He picked up a stick and began to doodle in the dirt, his elbows resting on his knees. “Affairs between the Fae and mortals were forbidden by both species. We were such an arrogant people then. Our council did not want our blood tainted by that of humans.”

Dropping the stick, he rose and paced back and forth in front of them, his eyes distant. His thoughts clearly turned inward. “The Queen of
Terrna
gave birth to another heir, only this heir did not have the dark hair and eyes of the people of this world. The king was furious. He knew his queen had had a traitorous affair with one of the Fae. The light skinned, blue eyed newborn babe could not be his child. The king was furious. He banished the child from his sight, to live among the witches and sorcerers of
Nasha
.”

Brianna listened in shock. This was so difficult to believe. How could she be part faery? How could she have so much magic within her when none of her spells ever worked? She glanced at Niklas and smiled. Well, most of her spells never worked. She was glad that one had, at least.

Larin paced in front of them, his silvery blue gaze turned inward toward a long ago tragedy. He stopped and turned to Brianna. “He beheaded her. That great
benign
man!” he spat. “He sentenced her to death for a love she had no control over. He had left her lonely, rarely visiting her after the birth of his spare heirs. Then he beheaded her for finding solace in another man’s arms.”

Brianna reached out to him, wanted to comfort him. He seemed so angry that he had been imprisoned for another man’s deeds so long ago.

Larin jerked his arm from her hand. He turned his tortured gaze on her. The pupils were so large that the silver blue irises were nearly invisible. He turned toward Niklas and pointed. “Your ancestor banished us from this planet. He, the weak
human
banished the all-powerful Fae from
their own
world. Never to return unless specifically invited by a member of the royal family.” He turned, walked back to the fallen log and sat down with his head in his hands. “The council realized their mistake too late, that the humans were not so different from us after all.” He laughed mirthlessly. “They had their own power, for we were sent to our own realm, never to return to this world without being specifically invited by a member of his house.” He looked up and fixed his gaze on Brianna, his eyes filled with gratitude. “Brianna is now your Queen and a member of your house. She has called me home, and for that, I will be forever grateful.”

Brianna sat down next to him and linked her arm with his. She ignored Niklas’s sharply drawn breath. “There is more, isn’t there? You’re leaving something out. I don’t know what, but it just feels like the story isn’t over yet.”

Larin smiled grimly. “It isn’t over, but it is nothing that you need to bother yourself with. Just know that you do have Fae blood running in your veins and it is stronger than you think.” He stood, looked wistfully at the river, then disappeared.

“Wait, dammit! Why doesn’t he ever stick around?” Brianna pouted. “He pops in, drops a bomb, and leaves.” She glared at Niklas. “And don’t think that this gets you off of the hook either, because it doesn’t. You’re still in lots of trouble because you should have told me that you live in a…a—”

Niklas reached out and dragged her to him.

His lips swooped down onto hers in a flash and everything she had been about to say flew out of her head. Her arms snaked around his neck. Their kiss slowly broken, she smiled. “Hmm. How can I argue with that?”

Chapter Twenty

If Brianna could have imagined what a mother was like, she would have been just like Silera. Niklas’s mother was kind, gentle, and cared for nothing more than her children and their happiness. She’d met them in the main hall, flying into Niklas’s arms as soon as they entered. She examined him from head to toe, making sure that he had returned home in one piece with no wounds or missing parts.

“I’ve missed you so much, Niklas.” She swiped tears from her eyes. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d finally had enough of us and ran away.” She hugged him again.

He bent down and returned her embrace, lifting her nearly two feet off the floor. It was plain that he did not get his height from his mother. Niklas set Silera down, steadying her as he placed her back on her feet. “Mother, I have found my bride.”

Silera’s eyes widened as she looked around. No longer did she only have eyes for her son.

Brianna watched as she hopped up and down and clapped her hands, her face lit with her happiness for him.

“Congratulations, Niklas,” she said, hugging him tightly to her. “I had no doubt that you would find your mate.” She released him and turned toward Brianna.

Niklas straightened. “Mother, I would like you to meet Brianna, my
El’edal
.”

Brianna could feel the rush of heat on her face. She knew the color was climbing up her neck to dust her cheeks. Nervous eyes darted from one of Niklas’s family members to the other. She felt like crawling under the closest piece of furniture when she realized their attention had suddenly turned toward her.

“Welcome to the family, dear. Please, call me Silera if Mother feels too uncomfortable for you.” she said, before she enveloped her in a comfortable embrace.

Brianna closed her eyes and inhaled. She smelled heavenly, a little like flowers and cinnamon, a mixture of summer and cookies. Just what she’d imagined a mother would smell like. How many people took this sort of thing for granted? She didn’t have the nerve to hug the woman back, but she wanted to. Instead, she stood within his mother’s embrace, her hands placed on the woman’s sides.

Silera stepped back, holding Brianna at arm’s length. “You look exhausted, dear.” She turned to glare at Niklas. “Why haven’t you been caring for her the way you should?”

Niklas opened his mouth to answer, but Silera held up a hand. “Don’t give me any of your weak excuses, Niklas.”

Brianna gaped at her, wondering if she would ever have the tenacity that this one small woman had. Could you even develop at thing like that? She bit her lip to keep herself from grinning. To think that she’d thought Niklas answered to no one. She watched, her gaze alternating between them.

Niklas scrubbed his face with his hands, looking every inch the little boy his mother still obviously saw when she looked at him. “You don’t understand, Mother.”

Silera glared at him. “I understand completely.” She cast a sympathetic smile toward her. “Isn’t just like a man to think of his own needs over that of his
El’edal
?” She wrapped an arm around Brianna. “Come, my dear, we’ll head for the kitchen and get you a bite to eat. You look absolutely famished.” She turned, tossing a glance over her shoulder. “Put her things in the Rose Room, Niklas, while we have a little mother-daughter chat.”

“Mother, the Rose Room is—”

Silera turned and gave him another glare. “I know exactly what you are going to say, Niklas. You may have claimed her, but you aren’t truly wed until
I
witness it, and there most definitely isn’t going to be any hanky panky going on in my home.” She arched a brow at him. “You made me a promise, remember?” The last was said with an odd gleam in her eye. She gave him a look, which said she knew exactly what he wanted to do before she turned back to Brianna and took her hand. “Come, my dear, you need something to eat, and we have a wedding to plan.” Silera looked back at Niklas and scowled fiercely. “What are you still doing here? Did I not tell you to put Brianna’s things in the Rose Room?” She spoke slowly as if she thought he was simple.

Niklas sighed, “Yes, Mother.” He looked at Brianna and raised his brow. “Do you see what you have been missing?”

Brianna smiled slightly.
Yes, Niklas, and I think I’m going to love your mother.

Niklas scowled after her as she followed his mother from the room with a smile. “Why do women always stick together?” he groused.

The palace was huge! It was actually bigger than it had first appeared, mostly because Niklas’s entire family lived there. Brianna wondered what her role would be in this fortress. It was a small city. Their servants had their own quarters and were treated with respect and deference. She found it hard not to stare as they walked through the massive structure.

Silera smiled. “You mustn’t let it overwhelm you, my dear.” She squeezed her hand lightly. “I know it can seem a bit much at first blush, but it is all worth it, you know. I wouldn’t have chosen differently. Nico was—” Her face reddened. “Well, worth it.”

Brianna swallowed thickly, trying not to pay attention to the fact that they had just entered a dining room that could easily accommodate a hundred or more people. The cathedral ceiling rose two or three stories over her head, interspersed with murals and skylights. Huge crystal chandeliers hung from the painted surface, their crystal links causing the light to prism, throwing colors throughout the room. “You weren’t born here?” Brianna asked curiously.

Silera laughed and the light sound echoed slightly off the walls. “Oh, my, no! I was born on a backward planet that Nico was trading with at the time.” She reminisced with a smile.

“Our ruler brought me here as part of his entourage to care for him and his family. I was a servant who did the queen’s laundry.” Her eyes grew distant as she remembered. “I was just a girl at the time, barely thirteen.”

Brianna was startled. She had assumed Silera had been royalty before she married Niklas’s father. She had such a regal bearing.

“Nico saw me outside washing clothing one day. He took one look at me and asked my King for my hand.” Silera sighed. “It was like something out of a story. He bought me from my people, and I’ve been living here ever since.” She sighed dreamily.

Brianna was appalled. “He
bought
you?”

Silera looked amused. “You must remember, dear. I did say a backward world. On my world I was property, chattel, if you will. It was the way for women there. If you didn’t marry well, you were sold into service.” She smiled sadly. “Unlike my world, this world honors its women. Sometimes even land is passed from mother to daughter.” She shook her head and sighed. “On my world, women are bought and sold, and sent to marry for alliances. It has been that way for centuries.”

Brianna was having a hard time believing that there were places that still practiced such archaic thinking. “On my world women live for themselves and think for themselves. No man can tell us what to do unless we allow it. And if a man did tell us what to do, we don’t necessarily have to do it.” She cast her gaze around the huge room, wondering what in the world she’d gotten herself into.

Silera wrapped her arm around her once more. “Do not worry about such things, Brianna. It will only serve to make you ill. I know my Niklas would never try to impose his will on you in that manner.”

The other woman’s arm grounded her to the present, but her words only terrified Brianna. They didn’t make her feel better about her situation. Silera obviously knew little about her son. He already had imposed his will on her, by forcing her to come to this world with him.

What would he do next? Would he carry her off to one of the worlds where women were property? Horrendous thoughts flew through Brianna’s head. What if he’d been lying when he told her that he would take her home? What if he didn’t intend to allow her to have any semblance of a normal life, whether here or on Earth?

She bit her lip hard. The coppery taste of blood hit her tongue, her fear was alive, a being that raised its head and roared. Brianna placed a protective hand over her stomach. How much more time would go by before she found out the truth?

“Try not to be frightened by it, my dear. Niklas would never treat you as property. His father had every right to treat me as such after he bought me from my former king.” She smiled wistfully. “But he never did. I was enamored of him, of course. I thought I would die when Niko told me we were to be wed, but he would not consummate the marriage until I was nineteen. It felt like an eternity. Although I did get him to capitulate.” She giggled. “I found a key to his room and slipped into his bed totally nude when I was not quite eighteen. He couldn’t resist me when I stood before him as naked as the day I was born.” Silera’s eyes took on a faraway look as she remembered Niklas’s father. “I do miss him. He was such a kind and generous man. I loved him dearly.” She smiled softly, just before she grasped Brianna’s hand in a firm grip. “Come along, my dear. We’ll just go into the kitchens and find you a bite to eat before I show you to your rooms.” Silera half pulled her into the huge kitchen.

Brianna could do nothing but follow. The shock of Niklas’s betrayal was still strong, so she allowed herself be pulled along like a child. When they entered the gigantic room, she was surprised to see there was a dish of spaghetti waiting for her on a large round table. She knew this was not a dish of their world.