Ivormantis (19 page)

Several men were talking to Dominic. “Hey, Dominic, why don’t you and your mate come over to the tavern and we will celebrate your return home!” someone called out.

Dominic glanced down at his side, and his heart skipped a beat as he realized his mate wasn’t standing right beside him. A quick second later, it was revealed they had just been separated by everyone wanting to meet her and say hi to him. She was safe, a mere eight feet away.

However, the fact she was perfectly safe didn’t keep him from walking away from his friends and joining his mate. “Hi, beautiful. Are you trying to sneak away from me?” he asked playfully as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. He nipped her earlobe and enjoyed listening to her catch her breath.

“No, I…we…” she looked over to where he was just standing, only then realizing that they had been separated by the crowd. “I guess we just got separated.” She leaned back against him, loving how his hands caressed her hips. She turned her head for a proper kiss, something he was happy to give her.

“Are you hungry, sweetheart? A group of friends have invited us to the pub for some food and drink. If you are tired from the trip, we could just go home.”

“No, Dominic, I’m hungry and I’d like the chance to see your world. What do we do with our stuff?”

Just then a male elf stepped out from behind a group of people to stand before them. As soon as he saw Meldamiriel, he immediately started to get down on his knees before her. She was quick to catch what he was doing. “No!” she whispered forcefully.

The elf-man would only glance up at her for a quick second before casting his eyes downward. “You’re the Omega Elf,” he whispered in awe. “You’re royalty. I’m not even worthy to kiss your feet. I only wanted to bow to you.”

She heard her mate growl from beside her and quickly placed a hand on his chest. “What is your name, elf?”

“His name is Adorellan. He’s our pick-pocket thief,” Dominic growled out.

She turned her head to give her mate a withering look. “Thank you, but I was asking him, not you, big guy.”

Turning back to the elf-man, she quietly commanded, “Adorellan, please look at me.”

He was shifting his weight from one foot to another. Finally, he glanced up. She was ready for him. She knew he meant to only give her a quick glance before shooting his eyes downward again. Only when his eyes met hers, he found himself completely unable to look away.

Keeping her voice very low hoping that only Dominic and this elf-man could hear, she started, “Now that I have your attention, I don’t want any special treatment. I don’t want you bowing or kissing me in any way, and that includes my feet. I have come here to live out a normal life, but I can’t do that if you start treating me as if I’m different. I’m not any different than anyone else, just a female elf with white hair that happens to have a bit of magic at her disposal. But, since I can tell you want to honor me in some way, you can do this. You can stop stealing from these good people immediately. If you currently have in your possession anything that belongs to them, I want you to give it back. There is to be no more picking pockets, stealing, or even borrowing anything. If you do, not only are you disgracing yourself, but you will be disgracing me as well. Now, is that what you wish to do? Would you disgrace me because of a very bad habit?”

Unable to look away from her eyes, his tears poured down his cheeks unchecked. “No, my Omega. No, I do not want to do anything that disgraces you. I will straighten my ways immediately. Thank you, my Omega. Thank you for coming to this land and allowing me to meet you.”

“Oh, and one more thing, Adorellan. I’m not to be referred to as the Omega at all. My name is Meldamiriel and that is what I wish to be called.”

She broke the spell she had over him that had him trapped the minute their gazes locked. It didn’t go unnoticed that he was shaking as he took a step back and wiped his face. He started to walk away, but stopped and turned to face her once again. “Thank you, Ms. Meldamiriel. It was an honor to meet you.”

Silence seemed to descend upon the crowd. She turned her attention to her mate. “Do you think he will stop?”

He shrugged his shoulders as he frowned and watched Adorellan walk away. “I have never seen him be serious about anything. He has been a menace to himself and everyone else since he arrived. I can promise you one thing, though. If it works and he does change, I know a lot of shopkeepers that will be very pleased.”

That evening as she climbed into her new twice-the-size of a king bed, she looked around her in awe. She was still having trouble wrapping her mind around the fact that all the splendor around her was now hers.

After her talk with Adorellan, Dominic had paid him to carry their bags to his castle. When she overheard him specifically state castle, she chuckled, not believing that he actually would own a castle. How wrong she had been!

Dominic had then escorted her over to their tavern, where it had been a lively time. It seemed every man in the place wanted her to try some new food, seeming to enjoy watching her reaction to each new bite. They didn’t seem to comprehend that she was too full, too quickly. But as she watched a platter the size of a tabletop be sat down in front of one of the patrons, then watched in horror as he devoured every bite, she understood the situation.

Dominic and even Blain ate a lot by human standards, but she had never seen either of them devour the amount of food that was being eaten that night.

And then the drinks… She quickly discovered that the people of Dragonose loved their drink, and furthermore, they could hold their drink. Again, they couldn’t understand why she nursed on the same drink all night long when huge mugs of spirits were being passed around as if it was water.

But the real surprise that evening had come when they arrived home. As they approached, she found her mouth hanging open and jaw slack as she gazed up at the huge castle. “Dominic, who lives in this castle?” she asked, thinking surely it was King Thoran’s.

“We do, sweetheart.” He chuckled at her wide eyes. “If you don’t like it, we’ll build another,” he said lightly, causing her to blink up at him in disbelief. The subject of money had never come up while they were at Blain’s, because frankly, she had never had any. She wasn’t sure she would know what to do with it if she had any.

He quickly escorted her through the double doors, where she felt certain she had stepped into a fairy tale. Staff and servants bustled about, several coming up to them and introducing themselves and welcoming Dominic home. She took in all the beautiful furniture and beautiful carvings spaced throughout. She turned and looked at her mate. “Did you make these?”

He smiled down at her, happy to see her interest. “Yes, I did. I guess it’s what you could say I do when I’m not in the king’s inner circle or being a warrior.” He stopped and shrugged his massive shoulders. “It helps relax me. I sell some of it at the market place.”

She was now settled into bed with him, tucked up under his arm, her head resting on his shoulder. “Thank you, Dominic.”

“For what, love?”

“For bringing me home. For the first time since I was six years old, I truly feel safe and at home. Thank you.”

He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss. “You are exhausted, baby. Rest. We have the rest of our lives to enjoy, starting tomorrow.”

It was in the wee hours of the morning. Meldamiriel was sleeping soundly when suddenly a figure appeared out of nowhere. The figure wore a long, flowing white gown. Meldamiriel could feel no ill will toward her. She only felt peace. When the figure was standing in front of her, the voice was soft and melodious.

“My child, I have watched you from afar for a long time. I am so proud of the woman you have become. King Thoran was correct when he stated you have not tapped into all of your powers, yet. But you will.

“It is no coincidence that you are the mate to a mighty warrior. This land needs you and your powers. I am afraid there will be some dark days ahead for this land and its people. Your love and loyalty will be put to the test, but you will come out victorious.

“Take care of yourself, my child, and listen to what your body is telling you. For inside you right now is the beautiful creation conceived from you and your mate’s joining. You, along with King Thoran’s sons’ mate, will play a pivotal role in turning this world around so it thrives once again.”

The figure turned to walk away. “Wait,” Meldamiriel called. “Who are you?”

The beautiful lady stopped and looked over her shoulder. “I am Mother Nature, my dear.” And then she walked off into the darkness.

Meldamiriel only partially woke up from her dream, just enough to curl her little body tighter around her mate, but not before placing a hand over her now flat stomach. “A baby,” she whispered in awe.

Unbeknown to her, Ivormantis picked up on her conversation and had listened in carefully.
Hehe
, he thought to himself.
For once I know something before Dominic does
!

Epilogue

King Thoran sat in his office staring at the papers in front of him. How could he have been so wrong? How could he have missed this all these years? How could he let something like this happen in the first place?

The information in front of him was enough to make both he and his dragon mad enough to rain fire all through the land. He always considered himself a fair and just leader. Where most lands that were ruled by kings were dictatorships, his was not. He implemented a system years ago that made sure all major changes were to be put to popular vote. There had been many things over the years that had been vetoed, and although he may have felt strongly about it, he allowed the majority vote to stand.

And now to find out that he had traitors in their midst. His own people, people that he had known most if not all of his life, working with their enemy.

The questions that remained unanswered were why and how many were there? This was a sticky situation at best and he was going to need his very best warriors involved in settling this quickly and quietly. He prayed there was little bloodshed, unless it involved the Raptorians. Those bastards could go burn in hell!

He was glad Dominic had returned home and was completely healed. The fact his mate was an Omega Elf would benefit them also, but only if Dominic would allow her to become involved.

He needed to get in touch with the one person he trusted above anyone else, save his two sons. He needed Blain and his mate, Natasha, on this upcoming mission. He knew his sons would have been home in a heartbeat if he contacted them. He decided against it. Their mate was pregnant with twin girls. He didn’t want the babies in danger, and danger they would certainly be in if he called his sons home. No, he would leave them out of this one. However, it was going to take Blain, Natasha, Dominic, Meldamiriel, Quinn, and the rest of his inner circle to bring a peaceful end to the situation.

On the Menu at

The Dragonose Pub Grill

Drink Specials
:

Dragon Piss

¾ oz. butterscotch schnapps

1 oz. cinnamon schnapps

4 oz. Mountain dew citrus soda

Mix ingredients together in a whiskey sour glass, and serve.

Satan’s Piss:

1 ½ oz. Bacardi 151 rum

3 dashes Tabasco sauce

Pour rum into shot glass. Add tabasco to the top. Serve room temperature.

Flying Dragon
:

1 part Bacardi Dragon Berry Rum

2 parts Lemonade

2 parts Sprite

Pour ingredients over ice and garnish with a lime or kiwi wedge.

Dragon’s Breath:

½ oz. Firewater Cinnamon Schnapps

½ oz. Bacardi 151 Rum

Pour in Firewater, float Bacardi on top and ignite.

Fireball Whiskey Recipes

The ‘HOT’ toddy: