Page 22 of Birthright

“That, I have already pledged. It would be an honor to display the mark of her birthright for all to see.” He stood as tall as he could with his chin tilted up.

I looked to Tynan and Manus, who both nodded. So I knelt before Hogan. I was worried. He wasn’t as accustomed to pain as the rest of us were, and his blue-green skin and scales were so soft. I hesitated.

“I’m stronger than you think,” he assured.

I nodded in apology and placed my hands on his shoulders. His jaw tightened, and his eyes squeezed shut, but Hogan remained silent. When I withdrew my hands, dual symbols of the radiating autumn sun shimmered auburn-red on his tiny scales.

“Thank you for the honor.” Hogan winked as I stroked his face with the back of my hand.

He looked up to Manus, crossing his arms over his chest. “I didn’t cry out.”

“You knew it was coming,” Manus shot back, looking again at his shoulders in the mirror.

CHAPTER 10

Iopened my eyes to darkness. With the windows covered, the only indication of morning was Tynan’s cool and motionless body lying next to mine. His chest didn’t move and his eyes didn’t flutter at my touch. I guessed it was sleep. He wasn’t dead. Well, not really, but I didn’t want to know at that moment what happened when he slept. Plenty of time to learn about this remarkable man.

I sighed. Thinking too much about our circumstances would drive me mad. We were now irrevocably connected. Dwelling on the distant future would only spoil the time we had together. We had years. I loved him, and that had to be enough.

I snuggled up against Tynan’s naked body, enjoying the quiet of the room. No Hogan, no Manus, and none of the others fussing about to make sure I had everything I needed. Yet even with Tynan’s luscious skin pressed next to mine, the pull of the forest became too strong to ignore.

I dragged myself away from him. Ready to experience the wild with my new awareness. That’s how it felt, a new power ignited within. Everything around me had new sharpness and clarity. It wasn’t so much a visual thing as it was a new perceptual experience entirely.

As I soaked in the massive, claw-footed tub, I thought back over the events of the last couple of months. So much had happened. So much had changed. I touched the mark of the priestess on my belly. It no longer burned, but even underwater, the colorful streaks gleamed in the candlelit bathroom.

I felt guilty that I hadn’t missed my old life, my human life, at all. I did worry about the parents who had raised me and wondered if they were okay. They believed I was dead, killed in the attack. It all seemed like a lifetime ago. But Doran had carefully explained that it was better this way. It would give them some closure. Doran was right, but I know they suffered. I had to figure out a way to do something for them, even if they couldn’t know it was me.

I got out of the tub and dried off, but realized that without Hogan there, I had no clothes. I wrapped myself in a towel so I could go search for the Gnome. Public nudity around my closest confidants was one thing, but traipsing around the manor in my birthday suit was one step too far. As I brushed out my astonishingly thick new hair, I heard the chamber door open. Can I hear better?

“Good morning, dear,” Doran chirped as I met her in the bedroom. Grinning from ear to ear, Doran stopped to take a moment to admire the sleeping, naked Vampire in my bed.

“Oops,” I said as I pulled the sheet from around his knees up to his waist.

The older Witch smiled and sat on the far side of the bed, not taking her eyes off Tynan. “I enjoyed the company of a Vampire Lord once, for about a month. He was a fabulous lover.” Turning to me, her smile narrowed to a sly grin. “From the sounds of the sky last night, I assume you would say the same for Tynan.”

A smiling, lighthearted and playful Doran was new. I watched her face as she savored her own memories. The softer look was becoming on her. She smiled again at the blush on my face. “I…the magic…” I really didn’t know what to say, but she understood and didn’t pry for details.

“I have seen Manus and Hogan this morning.” She touched the tattoo on Tynan’s stomach that peeked out above the edge of the sheet. “May I see your mark?”

I let the towel fall. I was proud of the mark and no longer ashamed of the body that carried it. In my human life, I would have died of embarrassment to stand naked before another woman. Now I was a Witch. I was Keena, Priestess of the Wild, and my flesh was an embodiment of all that I was. I would never again feel the shame of a stifling, uptight society. Maybe I would have walked naked through the manor looking for Hogan.

“The sign of the sun. It bodes well for you, my niece.”

“Manus said that too. What did he mean?” I sat on the edge of the bed beside her.

My hair was now long enough for me to sit on, so I had to push it back.

“You need not worry about that today. I feel the pull on you, the draw to be in the forest. Go and enjoy your domain, my niece.” The soft lines etched into her face from the weight of her duties had practically disappeared. She looked so content.

“I feel it too, but I also know how much damage I’ve caused by not being as informed as I should be.” I looked at Tynan. He was so peaceful, so gorgeous. We both just admired his form for a moment without talking.

“You’re a wise one. I’ll tell you some of what you need to know now, but I want you to enjoy this day, Keena. You’ve earned it, and you have much to discover.” She took a deep breath and got a faraway look in her eyes as she remembered.

“When Feldema came into her powers, it took us three days to get her out of the ocean.” The memory seemed to stir feelings of regret. “She was a beautiful young girl. As she got older, the power-hungry woman you see now grew bolder. I all but encouraged her arrogance. I thought she needed the confidence. As with most things, though, Feldema took her confidence to the extreme. I’m ashamed, but much of her attitude can be laid at our feet. Since you didn’t come into your powers as a teenager, Feldema, like the rest of us, assumed she would be my successor. I never would have dreamed she’d become such a…” She hesitated. “Bitch.”

“People are what they are.” I ran my fingers over my mark. “What’s her mark?”

“She is the Priestess of the Seas. Her mark is the crashing of the waves, the power of the sea. Yours is the rising of the autumn sun, the power of the harvest and giver of life.”