Foretold (Daughters of Saraqael Book Three) (19 page)

Then she whirled him off the dance floor toward a darkened alcove. And when she had him where she wanted him, she kissed him until the last thing he was thinking about was his commander.

“I, Caleb, take you Skye, to be my wife…”

The wedding ceremony started at the stroke of midnight. The elders generated balls of light to hover right over the bride and groom and their bridal party, leaving the rest of the stadium as dark as a night sky. The silence in the stadium was hushed and expectant. Despite the crowd, there was a distinct air of intimacy surrounding the ceremony.

Skye thought it was the most romantic and perfect arrangement ever. Married at midnight on the dance floor after a ball. Her wedding couldn’t have been designed any better if she had done the planning herself. The only thing that would have made it more perfect would have been to have Nick and her human family in attendance. Fortunately, she had her spirit guardian ever-present with her as a reminder of that family. And his conveyed happiness over her pairing was really more than enough for her.

As Caleb recited his vows, excitement and contentment swirled through her. She felt like the luckiest woman—and Estilorian—in the world.

Jabari officiated the ceremony, as he had Amber and Gabriel’s wedding and Olivia and James’. Skye had asked Quincy to give her away, since he had been such close friends with her father. He had been notably thrilled and touched by her request. He had even kissed her on the cheek before he placed her hand in Caleb’s, obviously having learned a bit about weddings in his time on the human plane.

Amber and Olivia stood behind her and Gabriel and James stood behind Caleb. The elders all sat in the front rows of the many chairs that had been set on the dance floor. Sebastian had produced bouquets of blue and white flowers for Skye and her sisters as well as an abundance of flowers and greenery to decorate the stadium for the human ceremony.

When it was her turn to speak, Skye smiled brightly. She felt happy tears burning behind her eyes, but forced them back. When she spoke, her voice was clear and firm.

“I, Skye, take you Caleb, to be my husband. You are my best friend and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you. All that I am and all that I have, I give to you in love and in joy. I now offer you this vow made in love, kept in faith and honored forever.”

She felt his love for her as he held her gaze while she recited her vows. And they both felt the impressive pull of Fate that had brought them there.

A short while later, Jabari smiled widely and said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Caleb, you may kiss your wife.”

Across the stadium, the observer watched as Caleb kissed Skye.

The happy couple was so absorbed in each other that they didn’t even seem to register the resounding applause that filled the stadium. Not wanting to call unwanted attention, the observer applauded enthusiastically along with everyone else.

This kiss was relatively short and chaste, unlike the several they had exchanged earlier in the shadows. They had thought themselves alone. But they had never been far from the observer’s sight.

Unbidden anger surged as the observer reflected on their happiness. When the observer noticed the grin fade a bit from
archigos
Gabriel’s face, noticed the elder looking over his shoulder with an assessing gaze, there was a heavy damper placed on that anger. Now was most definitely not the time to rouse suspicion.

The observer could have killed any one of Saraqael’s daughters by now. It would have been ridiculously easy. Their half-human anatomies made them susceptible to all kinds of natural poisons that didn’t harm full-blooded Estilorians. How easy it would be to slip something into their food or water. But it would be better—
much
better to wait until after Caleb had fully joined with Skye before taking any action. The foolish male thought he knew what it was to be connected to another. Just wait. He would soon be as hopelessly ensnared as Gabriel and James were.

And then the observer would watch gleefully as he broke over his wife’s dead body.

In the early hours before dawn after the conclusion of the ball, Skye stood in the shower and let the water beat down on her shoulders. She sighed happily as the water relaxed her.

She was a married woman. Caleb’s wife.

Wow. She wondered how long that would really take to set in.

They wouldn’t get a long honeymoon like her sisters had. There was too urgent a need to complete the protection ceremonies at the other homelands, and she knew Gabriel was anxious to finish all of them as quickly as possible due to Amber’s pregnancy. She didn’t blame him in the least. In fact, it had actually been her suggestion to curtail the length of her honeymoon.

As a compromise, a special villa had been arranged for her and Caleb to enjoy a few days together following the wedding. It was still within Estilorian Central, but its location assured them a decent measure of privacy. The adorable stone dwelling was surrounded by an abundance of lush greenery and had a private, natural hot spring complete with a waterfall just off the back patio. It also had a nicely furnished dining area, living area, bedroom and bathroom, which she supposed was really all they needed for a few days.

She took her time in the shower. After washing herself in her jasmine cleanser, she stepped out of the shower and dried herself. Caleb had finished his shower ages ago and was probably wondering if she had fallen in.

Smiling, she hummed as she hung her towel and then turned to the vanity to begin applying jasmine-scented lotion to her skin. Caleb was crazy about scent. He would be insane by the end of the night, she wagered. And when she pulled on the white, lacy, abbreviated tank and matching lace panties that had been created as part of her trousseau, she knew that was a sucker’s bet. The poor guy wasn’t going to know what hit him.

She pulled on a modest white robe before she left the bathroom, figuring she would have a little mercy on him.

When she walked out of the bathroom, idly fluffing her hair as she did, Caleb’s eyes rose from where he sat on the edge of the bed with his hands clenched on his knees. He got swiftly to his feet when he spotted her and then stood there awkwardly. She thought he looked unusually pale, the dark blue of his sleep tank and shorts contrasting starkly against his normally deeply-toned skin.

Puzzled, she probed gently at his thoughts. It didn’t take much for her to determine that he was quite terrified. He
really
didn’t want to screw this up.

The knowledge turned her into sentimental mush.

Keeping her thoughts carefully to herself, she adjusted her posture and deliberately fiddled with the belt to her robe. She stopped a few feet from him and avoided his eyes.

“Are you as nervous about this as I am?” she asked with a hesitant smile.

He raised an eyebrow and walked over to her. “‘Scared out of my mind’ would be the phrase that occurs to me. But you’re not nervous.”

She caught his dark blue gaze and grinned widely, not even denying her pretense. “No, I’m not. Because I know it’s going to be perfect.”

“You sure have a lot of confidence.”

“Oh, yes. In both of us.” She walked right up to him and ran a hand over his arm where their shared mark now rested. “Caleb, do you like kissing me?”

His lips twitched despite his obvious anxiety. “You know the answer to that.”

“You’re right. I do. Now imagine that feeling times ten. No…times twenty.”

His eyebrows both shot up this time.

She smiled knowingly. “You really should’ve tuned into Gabriel and James at least once to get an appreciation of how it feels.”

“Are you saying you—?”

She interrupted him by putting her hand over his mouth. “You already know I tapped into Amber and Olivia’s thoughts more than I should have. Don’t judge me until we’ve tried this at least once, okay?”

He gave her a wry look, but nodded.

She removed her hand, then wound her arms around his waist. “Now, why don’t we start with a good night kiss and take it from there?”

The Estilorian traitor had saved Grolkinei’s life.

Kanika received the transmission about the rescue of Quincy the Corgloresti while Eloy’s body was still warm on the ground. Not believing that anyone could have gotten past his soldiers guarding the dungeon, Grolkinei had gone himself to check.

The sight of Eloy’s dead body contained within the still-locked cell had shocked him to his core. He had thrown the cell door open, hoping there was still someone lying in wait inside the cell that he could kill. All he found was the hair still clutched in Eloy’s hand and the silver comb that had been jammed into his leg.

He recognized the blue color of some of that hair.
Skye.

The shock had only held him in place for a minute. Then he grabbed her hair and the comb and ran back to the stairs leading away from the dungeon, sounding the alarm as he fled.

They had escaped the holding mere minutes before it came under siege by the Waresti. It had taken a great deal of Grolkinei’s power to throw the Waresti trackers off enough to keep them from picking up their trail first on land and then by air. He had been forced to sacrifice a few of his soldiers to keep their pursuers at bay, something that further stoked his fury.

Now, he was holed up in his least-liked residence due to necessity. The huge stone fortress had been built up in the snowy caps of the mountains centuries before. It blended perfectly with the rocky landscape it encompassed, making it all but invisible to those who didn’t know of its existence. As with several of his other holdings, this one had an elaborate series of tunnels embedded in the surrounding rock leading away from the main dwelling. Those tunnels served as escape routes and handy places to keep prisoners when the need arose.

His commanders had followed him to the residence, of course. They were now all sitting around a stone table topped with all manner of food and drink, but no one was partaking of any of it. The general mood in the room was, at best, morose.

“Was there another entrance to the dungeons of which we were unaware?” Baldemar asked after a long period of silence.

“Of course not,” Grolkinei snapped. “I designed the damn structure and oversaw its creation. One way in, one way out.”

“Perhaps she can alter the minds of others,” Kanika suggested. “She might have somehow influenced the guards to allow her passage and made them forget about her presence after she and Quincy escaped.”

They all considered this. It seemed remotely plausible. Grolkinei’s temper seemed to ease a bit at the possible explanation.

“But why wouldn’t she have used that ability against Eloy?” Layla argued. “He obviously hurt her since she used her holy light and a hair comb, of all things, against him. If she could have influenced him to keep herself from harm, surely she would have.”

“Maybe it only works against weaker minds,” Kanika said with a shrug. “Eloy might have been too strong-willed for her to influence.”

“Could you scan the minds of the guards who were on duty and determine if they were influenced that way?” Grolkinei asked Kanika.

“I can.”

He would have her check, but he was almost certain that wasn’t what had occurred. Why bother returning the cell key to the guards after they made their escape? he reasoned. The guards had shown him their keys, still in their possession. They had sworn on their lives that they had been attentive throughout their time on duty and hadn’t experienced anything unusual to explain the escape. He was still debating whether or not to kill them just as a matter of principle.

“Do we know yet what this traitor wants from us?” Angius asked from his position on the opposite end of the table. “He or she has now assisted us several times.”

“No,” Grolkinei answered, frustration lacing his tone. “We have not determined the gender or class of this Estilorian, either.” He glanced at Kanika.

She raised an eyebrow. “I am sorry, my lord. I do continue to try and ascertain that information every time the traitor makes contact. But he or she is incredibly guarded with every thought.”

“Yes, well, he or she had better make good use of the coming days. The last message we received before the Corgloresti’s rescue was exceedingly concerning.”

They had learned of the efforts to reinforce the protections in place at the Estilorian stronghold. Using the powers of Saraqael’s daughters, the elders were making the base impervious to Mercesti influence of any kind. That meant Grolkinei would soon be extremely limited in those Estilorians available for conversion, having access to only those who left the stronghold. His class numbers would suffer greatly.

“We are going to have to act quickly,” Angius said. “If the plan to claim this plane is to have any success, we must strike before the enemy is beyond our reach.”

Grolkinei nodded. “I agree, and had come to that conclusion myself. I have had enough of these minor skirmishes resulting in us running off with our tails between our legs.” He looked around the table and now brought his wineglass to his lips. After swallowing, he said, “We must provoke the rest of the Estilorians to action.

“If they foresee a great battle, well, I am more than happy to bring it to them. It is time to lay our claim to this plane.”

Excerpts from the Great Foretelling:

“
Led by faith in each other, the combined powers resulting from the exchange of vows will be beyond any possible belief.”

“
At last, doubt will be overcome. And the new beings who had once been considered unworthy outsiders will lead us all to our fates.”

Caleb opened his eyes and looked around with a combination of curiosity and wariness. Above him was a canopy of trees. Sunlight filtered through the orange and gold leaves of that canopy, casting thin beams of light over the ground. A cool breeze carried the faint scent of autumn with it.

Centered in this clearing, he rested beside Skye in the bed of the villa provided for them by the Lekwuesti for their honeymoon. Actually, she was sprawled over him more than lying beside him. The curling ends of her hair tickled the underside of his chin, and the heat from the length of her body pressed against his had generated a light coat of perspiration over them both. They were unclothed, just as they had been when they had fallen asleep. Of course, they had still been in the villa itself and it had been dark outside then.

Recognizing it for the dream it was, he gently disentangled himself from Skye and sat up. As soon as he did, he spotted Sky Tomaganuk. The elder was seated on a log not far from the bed, whittling what appeared to be a piece of pine.

“He sleeps at last,” Tomaganuk said without looking up. There was mild humor in his voice. “That was nearly two days straight for you, was it not?”

Caleb withheld a sigh as he got up from the bed and imagined a pair of shorts for himself. The last being he needed giving him a hard time over making the most of his extremely short honeymoon was Skye’s spirit guardian. Lord knew he was sure to get enough grief from his brothers when he had to admit to them they had been right.

“I assume, sir, that you have something you wish to express to me since you went through all of this trouble,” he said as he stood and pulled on the shorts he had willed into existence. He glanced at Skye to make sure he hadn’t disturbed her.

“She will sleep,” Tomaganuk said calmly as he whittled. “She is half-human, you know. Unlike you, she needs more than an hour or two of rest at a time.”

Despite the fact that he knew he was dreaming, Caleb felt a flush of embarrassment heating the back of his neck. He could admit that he hadn’t been very considerate of Skye’s need for sleep these past two days. He hadn’t been able to help himself. Once she had eased him past his uncertainty to experience what it meant to fully join with her, he hadn’t been able to get enough of her.

Even when she did doze, he had simply lain in the bed gazing at her, stroking her scented hair and gently caressing her soft skin, greatly enjoying the contrast between her feminine curves and taut musculature. His uncontrollable urge to touch her always led to him waking her and starting the whole process again. He couldn’t stop marveling over the depths of pleasure two beings could bring each other. Nothing in his entire existence had ever made him feel so powerful and so powerless at the same time.

And he now completely understood why his brothers so often looked at their wives with moony eyes.

“What is the message you wish to convey, sir?” he asked respectfully, accepting the teasing as his due.

“You can call me
Qel’a
,” Tomaganuk said, looking up from his craft. His light blue eyes were both kind and piercing.

For the first time, Caleb understood the meaning of the title when he heard it. It translated to “holy spirit.” While he had always assumed it was something like this, knowing that he could translate it now made him feel even closer to Skye.

“Very well,
Qel’a
,” he said with a bow of his head.

The elder nodded. “I thought you should know that Skylar is very much like a granddaughter to me. I have watched her grow from a newborn babe.”

Struggling against the urge to run to the bed and cover her naked form with the sheet, Caleb simply swallowed hard against his discomfiture and nodded.

“I also wanted to say that I believe you are a perfect match for her, and I am very happy for you both.”

His eyes widened slightly in surprise. Then he again bowed his head. “Thank you,
Qel’a
.”

“Skylar needed to pair with a strong individual, someone who wouldn’t be easily swayed by her strong emotions, but who would respect them. You have never made her feel as though she needed to change her temperament, though she reacts quite dramatically to most things.”

“Why would I want to change her?”

“Perhaps so she could learn some restraint?” Tomaganuk shrugged and went back to whittling. “I imagine there have been times you wished she could manage more self-control.”

There was some truth in that, he acknowledged to himself. “Only because she endangers herself so often,” he clarified aloud.

“But you know that it is this lack of restraint that allows Skylar to achieve what it is she does,” the elder said in his patient voice.

Caleb nodded. He was only too aware of the fact that his avowed’s uninhibited nature allowed her to accomplish unimaginable things, like transporting herself and another being to safety. But that inhibition came with a price.

“Yes,” Tomaganuk agreed. “Much as Gabriel has combated Amber’s lack of faith caused by frequent upheaval in her life on the human plane, and much as James fosters Olivia’s love of learning while ensuring she is physically strong enough to defend herself, you will serve as a grounding presence for Skye. You will ensure that her emotions will not rule her and lead her into danger.”

He thought bleakly of how he had initially denied his feelings for her, resulting in the delay before they paired with each other—and, thus, her death.

Tomaganuk’s gaze conveyed understanding. “Caleb, if you had not shown such care with your feelings, clarifying with yourself what you felt for Skylar before you confessed it to her, she would not have been receptive to you. She relies upon your matter-of-fact and level nature to balance her completely opposite tendencies. Although she is your equal in stubbornness and likely would not admit it, she needs you as much as you need her.

“And because she will conceive as quickly as her sisters did, you will soon need each other even more than you ever imagined.”

Caleb realized without much surprise that Olivia must be pregnant, too. Then he blinked at the image that flashed through his mind of Skye growing round with their child. He again looked at her as she slept. He had never felt so protective of her as he did just then.

“This foretold battle,” Tomaganuk continued with a quick glance up before he returned to his whittling, “will most definitely take place. It will require Ambryl’s strength, Olaya’s judgment and Skylar’s spirit, as well as a powerful connection of all three. When the time comes, you must think to the Great Foretelling.”

“The Great Foretelling?” Caleb repeated with confusion.

“Yes. You will understand when the time comes. You will not remember much of this dream when you awaken. But it will return to you when you need it.”

“I don’t want Skye or our family to come to any harm.”

“I know. That is why you will remember.” Tomaganuk looked up from his work. “You are now my grandson in every way that matters. Whether or not you are prepared for it, Skye’s insight now belongs to you.” He smiled. “Enjoy the time you have left. Hardship will follow only too soon.”

Caleb slept.

When awareness finally returned to him, he blinked slowly awake and wondered idly how long he had been asleep. He knew that he and Skye had fallen asleep while it was well past the middle of the night on the second day of their honeymoon. Now as he regained consciousness, pale pink and orange sunlight lit the horizon as the sun rose on their third day. That meant he had slept for several hours.

The cobwebs slowly cleared from his mind and he became very aware of his wife pressed against him. He knew he should let her sleep. That didn’t stop him from shifting so that she rolled from all but on top of him to being on her back, beneath him.

He watched her forehead wrinkle as she slept, listened to her murmur some manner of complaint over his rudeness. It made him smile as he ran a finger along the markings around her eyes. Her markings were interwoven, light blue swirls joined with tips of dark blue triangles, creating a colorful crescent around each eye. The result resembled a mask of sorts, and it made her already potent gaze even more arresting.

She was absolutely beautiful. He had thought so from the moment she first transitioned to this plane, but only now that he had admitted his feelings for her did he feel free to really think about her in such a way. He could even admit to being incredibly proud and honored that she bore his mark.

Leaning down, he kissed her tenderly along the outer ridge of her left eye, then did the same to her right. She sighed and shifted beneath him. Because the movement exposed her neck to him, he trailed his lips along her jaw and the side of her neck. That caused more movement and a sound that might have been a purr.

He raised his head and caught her gaze as she came awake. “Good morning,” he greeted her.

She smiled and ran a hand through his hair. “Good morning.” Then her lips formed into a soft pout. “I guess we have to leave and rejoin the others, don’t we?”

“We do,” he agreed with equal reluctance. He kissed her to remove the pout, then kissed her again just because he enjoyed it so much. When he pulled back, he said, “But they can surely wait until later in the morning for our return, right?”

She pulled him down and kissed him deeply in response. His brain pretty much stopped functioning as all of the blood in his veins flashed with heat. This time when they parted, he struggled to catch his breath and managed to say, “Or maybe early afternoon.”

They kissed again. He knew he would never get enough of the taste of her…the feel of her. He knew he would always treasure the love they had for each other.

Okay, maybe late afternoon
, he thought after another minute, and then grinned when she laughed.

Stars had begun making their appearance in the evening sky when they finally returned to the rooms they shared with their siblings. They flew across the Estilorian city and then made their way to the passages Sebastian had directed them to use before they left for their honeymoon. The Lekwuesti elder had assured them that the passageways would remain vacated so that they could return without getting accosted by anyone.

“It sure was nice getting away for a little while, wasn’t it?” Skye asked as they entered the first passageway.

Caleb reached over and took her hand. A ball of light bounced along the ceiling as they walked. He nodded in response to the question.

“I guess we’ll be heading up to the Scultresti homeland tomorrow,” she continued. “It looked like a big enchanted forest from a distance.”

He didn’t comment. He was well used to her rambling when she felt a need to fill the silence. He also knew from her thoughts that she was anxious about something, but he couldn’t quite pin-point what it was.

“Do you think our joining is going to impact our success with the ritual?” she asked.

And he knew they had finally hit upon what was worrying her. He stopped walking in the middle of the corridor and turned to face her. He reached up and touched her cheek.

“Not at all. Why would you ask that?” he wondered.

She blushed and looked down at his chest, not meeting his gaze. “Well, every time one of the elders has talked about my abilities…my energy, I guess…well, they talk about, um, how pure I am.”

He blinked at that. And he realized then that even though he had the ability to share thoughts with her, he would never fully understand how her mind worked. He did, however, understand very clearly that this was a topic of great importance to her.

Rubbing his thumb from the corner of her mouth along the smooth line of her jaw, he thought,
The purity of your energy is unrelated to your virginity.

She nibbled on her bottom lip.
Are you sure?

He knew she was completely unaware of the fact that the innocence in her blue gaze hadn’t diminished a single iota in the past few days. Her usual air of ingenuousness continued to emanate from her like an aura. One corner of his mouth rose.
I’m sure.

Her dimple made an appearance. “Okay,” she said, her trust in his response obvious. She pulled him close then and kissed him. When they parted, she took his hand and resumed their walk without another word.

We’re back!
she sent out when they approached the door leading from the passageway to the corridor of their rooms.

Welcome back
, Gabriel returned.
We’re all in our room. Come on in.

They reached the end of the passageway. Caleb opened the door as well as his senses, ensuring there was no danger before escorting her out into the hallway. It was quiet; there weren’t any other Estilorians staying in the same wing as they were. It was only a few yards to the door leading to Gabriel and Amber’s room.

Skye opened it and bounced inside with a wide smile and a cheerful, “Hi, everyone!”

Their siblings had all been gathered around the table. They all rose and exchanged hugs with the newlyweds.

“We sure missed you,” Olivia said as she pulled away from hugging Skye. “Did you have fun?”

“Oh, sure,” she said with her bright smile. “It was great to—hey, food!”

She turned then toward the table, obviously distracted. Her expression looked like she had never seen an edible substance before. She hurried over and grabbed an empty seat.

“Are those turkey sandwiches?” she asked as everyone shrugged over her behavior and took their seats.

“Yep,” Gabriel said, handing her the platter. His gaze flickered up to catch Caleb’s. It was obvious he was highly humored. “Didn’t you two eat while you were gone?”

Caleb felt the flush building in his neck and saw Skye hesitate over the mildly-toned question. He knew she was thinking as he was that they actually hadn’t left the bed.

Well, there were the two times in the hot spring
, she thought with a slow smile as she caught his eye.

Grinning at that, he returned,
And the time in the shower.

And when their embarrassed silence was met with a round of hearty laughter from their family, Caleb simply reached for the cheese and crackers and thought that it was nice to be home.