The Queen of All Magick: Elizabeth (15 page)

“I don’t know just yet. I shall think on it.” She tu
rned and left him there as she made her way into the fields behind the tiny house they’d been in. Lifting her arms to the sky, she felt what she needed to do and set about creating the kingdom that all would see. It would be theirs as well as hers, a place where they might seek refuge if things got bad.

“You will live there then?” She didn’t answer him. No, she thought
, she wouldn’t live there. It was for the people. She would have a home…elsewhere. And it would be simple in comparison. “The people, where do you think they will come from? This place is simply where I have come to create you when there was no privacy on earth.”

“I shall call it Molavonta.
It will simply mean haven to all that need it.” The walk around the fields tired the man, and she sat with him in the field. There was a small glen there, and she walked over to the area where some of the smallest creatures she ruled were sitting as well.

“You are the new queen.” She nodded and sat down
, making sure that Rythen was still comfortable in his rest. “You will rule us with magic as well as your love?”

“I will.” The first faerie flew to her lap and looked up at her.
“What will you be called, my child?”

“I was created to wake the flowers for you so that they were the first thing you saw in the morn
, and put them to rest when the night comes.” She looked around the field of flowers, then back at the girl. “We each have an assignment, but we weary of never getting a good rest. What say you about this?”

“Can you procreate?”
The faerie looked at Rythen before she shook her head no. “Why is that?”

“
He thinks that if our number is low we will work harder for you. But I fear it has made us hate you even before we met you.” She could see that. Without anyone to help they’d be harmed from the overload. “I should like a child or two before I’m worn to nothing.”

Touching the faerie
’s face, she felt the power run through her to the small being. The smile that she gave her back made her feel as if she’d been given a gift rather than her bestowing one upon her. She started to ask the being what her name was, but she spoke first.

“My name is Genese. I shall serve you for all my days.”
She nodded. “What shall we call you, my lady?”

“Elizabeth.”
The name made her feel like it was the right choice, and the little faerie nodded before flying away. Elizabeth stood up and went to the man and watched over him until he woke. When he did, she told him her name.

“Elizabeth?
I like it. We have a few more things to go over before I take my leave. One is the contract.” Elizabeth nodded. “It is important that you rule with an iron fist or the others will take all from you.”

“My lady?”
Elizabeth woke with a start. The faerie flying just above her was staring at her as if she’d never seen her before. “My lady? Are you well?”

“Yes
, Genese, I am well. Sad, as you can well imagine, but well.” She looked around the room and noticed that Phillip was gone. She wondered where he was when he walked into their room.

“We are to leave soon. I think this to be a grand party, don’t you?” She nodded
, the lump in her throat almost too much to talk around. “I think that Logan and the others will be very brave this night. I know that young Mathew has been working on a gift for us.”

“He told me.” She got up to dress and
felt the weight of the memory on her heart. She wished she could go back and do things over, but it was much too late for that. Pulling her favorite gown to her cheek, she burst into tears. Phillip held her in his arms until she got them under control.

“I’m all right now.” He held her just a bit longer
, and she loved him all the more for it. By the time they were ready to go, she had a grip on her emotions, but her heart was heavy.

As soon as they entered the house,
Mathew pulled her along to see what he’d been doing. She was going to die tomorrow and that was all Elizabeth could think about. It wasn’t until Sara and Mel gave her a hug that she lost it. Sobbing again, she let them lead her to Logan’s office, where they sat down. Embarrassed, Elizabeth fussed at them when both Lizzy and Savannah came in with Andi and Kim.

“I’m an old fool.” None of them
, of course, agreed with her, and she sat with them for several minutes before she started to speak. But before she could, Logan and Aaron came in, along with Rythen. She wanted to punch him in the nose, but Logan asked her to have a seat.

“I have some bad news
, I’m afraid,” Rythen said. Elizabeth felt her world tumble to a halt as they all sat down. Here it was—she was going to die right now.

Chapter 15

Rythen had been told before coming in this room that he was to keep his mouth
shut unless spoken to. He wanted to beg them all to forgive him, but he was pretty sure that if he tried that, each of them would try to murder him. He’d fucked up. There was no other way to put it, and now…he feared now it was too late. He sat near the fireplace so that he could see his Kim, and she wouldn’t even look at him.

“I’ve
been doing some research. And since it has come to my attention that this stupidity is going to happen no matter what, I turned my focus to something more. And as such, I have a few questions to ask first.” He handed Elizabeth an envelope, and they all watched as she opened it. “Did you sign that on the night that Kim was brought into the hospital?”

“I did. They said that they needed someone to pay the bills
, as they had no insurance information for her.” She started to hand them back, but Logan shook his head. “I have paid the bill, I assure you. When I didn’t get the required paperwork, I went there on my own and paid it.”

“You did. And what I want you to remember is what the nurse said to you when you were asked to sign the papers.
Or in this case, Aaron, what did he tell you they wanted when you signed the paper?”

Elizabeth
looked around the room, and Rythen had a feeling she was trying to see how this would get Kim into trouble. She stood up then and glared at Logan. Rythen nearly laughed, but he was afraid she’d turn her anger on him.

“He said that they need someone to be responsible for her.
And if you think to make her pay me back, so help me I will beat you within an inch of your long life. To think I was going to miss you more than—” Logan cut Elizabeth off with a quick kiss. “Whatever was that for, young man?”

“You remembered.”
She looked as bewildered as the rest of the room, and Logan cleared this throat as he handed out some papers to everyone in the room. “This is a copy of part of the contract between Rythen and Elizabeth. I’d like for you all to read it if you don’t mind.”

Rythen
looked down at the pages handed to him and nodded. Then he stood up. Christ. It was right there. He must have looked strange, because after a few minutes, Aaron asked him if he was ailing. It was all he could do not to jump for joy. Rythen looked at Logan.

“You’re a good man.”
Logan bowed and smiled at him. “I wish I had had someone as you all those years ago. I might have turned out to be a better man. At least a smarter one.”

“You might have
, but I sincerely doubt it.” Mel handed the papers back to Logan as he continued. “So what? We tried to fix this. There is no child other than me. I don’t know what you wanted to come of this, but it’s much too late for them to have a child.”

“No
, it’s not.” Logan nodded to him, and Rythen smiled at Mel as he continued with Logan’s permission. “Don’t you see? They do have a child. Or, at least Elizabeth does.”

No one said
anything, but he could feel their confusion. He thought about clearing it up for them, but Aaron suddenly jumped from his chair and picked Elizabeth up, swinging her around the room.

“You
have a child. She’s a bit on the older side, but you have a child. And I, for one, am the happiest uncle in the world.” Elizabeth put her hand to his head as if to feel if he were feverish. “I’m not ill, you old bat, but you might be now. Don’t you see? You took responsibility for her. For Kim. And when you paid the bill, you as good as adopted her. She’s your child.”

The
y all turned to look at him, and Rythen smiled. He felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Taking the contract from Logan, he tore it up into small pieces and tossed it into the air.

“The contract is specific about the time and the date. And as such I cannot go back now and change it. So
, that being said….” Rythen bowed before his creation. “Elizabeth, Queen of all magick, I grant you the gift of life so that you may spend your days with your daughter, Kim Craft.”

Rythen looked around the room as they celebrated.
Kim sat there staring at him so long that he nearly asked her what was wrong, but he didn’t. And he didn’t belong there either. Instead of joining them, he bowed once again, this time before her, and disappeared. It was time for him to go.

His things were
lying on the bed. Rythen was putting the last of his things into his bag when he heard someone knock at the door. He was both surprised and pleased to see Draco there. He bid the man welcome.

“I see you leave us.”
Rythen only nodded. He expected the man to be thrilled but saw that he looked saddened.

“She will be back. Elizabeth
, I mean. There was some wording to the contract, and Logan saved the day. She will reign as queen so long as she wishes.”

“I thought that might be the case.
She has a responsibility to the child and should be able to see her training through.” Rythen wasn’t even surprised that he knew it already. The man probably knew all along. “I have come to see if you’d like to fly with me. You said you might enjoy it. And seeing that you’re leaving, I thought we’d have one more.”

Rythen nodded and moved toward the door. “I flew with your sire
, you know. He was a good man. A great father and husband as well. We all have learned a thing or two about him in that respect. His mate loved him to distraction.”

“Aye, she did. My mother still misses him
, I think. He died in the other world, and when she passed of a broken heart…well, I don’t think she ever truly died without him there beside her.” Rythen used his considerable power to find the old dragon. And when he located him, Rythen smiled.

“I can have him brought here if you’d like. I know we would need the permission of Mel…the queen
, but I can manage it if she says yes.” Draco looked at him with tears in his eyes, and Rythen caught one before it fell. The tear turned to a diamond as soon as it fell into his palm. “This will make a lovely monument to him, I think.”

“Or a beautiful ba
uble for your own mate.” Rythen looked up at the old dragon. “You will have her again, I think. Her heart will seek what her mind does not yet realize it misses.”

“I’m sure you’re wrong.” The next tear that fell from Draco’s eyes was a sapphire.
This one he caught and handed to him. Rythen took it and held it to the sun to look at its purity. “This will be worth a great deal on earth. Mayhap I will take them to her. She will need something to get by on, and it should fetch a few dollars.”

“
And you think that because you’ve said so, I’ll take whatever it is that you’re holding?” Rythen turned to see Kim standing behind him. She looked as beautiful as the gem he held in his hand and just as hard. “What? You suddenly have nothing to say for yourself?”

“I thought you’d be enjoying the party.” They both turned when Draco sighed heavily. He was such a
fearsome creature and yet gentle, too. “What?”

“You should have your head examined.
She comes to see you, not banter about a party she left to see you.” The shove to his back nearly had him tumble to the ground, and he might have had Kim not caught him before he fell. “Go and find a nice glen to play in. You will see much growth if you only find the right place.”

When she
turned to walk away, Rythen nearly cried out for her to stop. But the time for demands was over. It was time for him to ask things. He stepped beside her as they turned toward the field that they’d all repaired.

“I was told that in a week the faeries will have their hands full with picking the
fruit and other things that now grow here. Some of the things that they are finding are seedlings that hadn’t been seen since the forest was destroyed.” Rythen hadn’t heard that and told her so. “Mel said that the forest has been dead for a very long time. She said that it was too much for her to do alone and that you’d done most of the work.”

“I had a great deal of help.” And now that he wasn’t full of his own
self-worth, he could admit that he’d had a great deal of help. “I think that Elizabeth deserves the credit. Had she been the leader I had hoped she’d be, then no one would have come to help her when she asked.”

Kim nodded as they stood on the edge of the
tree line. The trees had tripled since he’d been there last, and he remarked on that, too. Kim didn’t say anything, and he found himself at a loss for words. When she turned to him, he could see her hurt.

“You would have left me
, wouldn’t you? It’s no less than I deserve after the way I treated you, but I would have said goodbye.” He tried to wrap his mind around what she was saying, but she continued before he could. “I could have made you very happy if not for the way you bossed me around all the time. I’m not going to let a man do that to me again.”

“
And you shouldn’t.” She nodded and turned to the forest again. Taking a chance, he moved up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. When she didn’t jerk away, he felt his heart pounding in his chest. “I was a fool.”

“You’re not
going to get a disagreement from me on that score.” He turned her then and looked into her eyes. He could see her love there and was almost afraid to speak. “You hurt me. Not with your claws, though that was enough, but you broke my heart when you dismissed me so much.”

“I was a fool.” She touched her
fingers to his forehead, and he closed his eyes. “If you’d give me a chance, I’d very much like to take you out again.”

“No.” He looked down at her
, and she smiled. “Not that I don’t think we could find a restaurant that will allow us to come inside, but I don’t think I’d like to share you with anyone just now.”

“Share me?” She nodded.
“And why would you have to share me, pray tell? Do you like me, Kim?”

“No.”
Rythen tried his best not to let his pain show on his face, but he was sure it was there for her to see. Before he could tell her he was sorry she felt that way, that over the course of the last few days he’d fallen in love with her, she said, “I don’t just like you, Rythen, creator of magic, but I think I might love you.”

~~~

When he didn’t say anything, she turned again to the woods. Elizabeth had told her that she needed him. And as much as she wanted to tell her she didn’t, Kim found that she really did need him. And not just to irritate her either. He caught up with her just as she was coming to the small lake that sat a mile or so in.

“You’re in love with me. How can you say that after the way I’ve treated you?” She
wasn’t sure what to say, because she’d not been all that nice to him either. As she sat on the ground near the water, she pulled off her boot and socks. She might just drown herself if this failed too.

“I said I might. Don’t get your underwear in a twist. I still might not.” The water was cool over her feet
, and she could see tiny fish just below the surface. “You should have stuck around. After you left, Duncan brought out—”

She was suddenly on her back
, and Rythen was over her. Before she could figure out if he was going to strangle her or not, he kissed her. Christ, she’d missed him. As he deepened the kiss, she wrapped her hands around his shoulders to pull him closer. He lifted his head just as she was wrapping her ankles around his hips.

“I’m going to make love to you right here if you’ll allow it.” She nodded
, and he smiled at her. “But first I have something I’d like to ask you.”

“
Yes.” She laughed when he did. “If you’re going to ask me if I’m okay with making love out in the open with you, I will be.” He shook his head at her.

“No, that’
s not what I was going say. But it’s good to know that you’re willing to try it.” He rocked into her pussy and felt his cock thicken. She moaned when he did it again. “You’re distracting me.”

“Yes, I know. Please make love to me.” He nodded
, then shook his head. When he made no move to take her, she rolled him to his back and sat up over him. “I will have to do it then. I want to finish what we started in the restaurant before we were so rudely interrupted.”

She closed her eyes and
thought of them both naked. When he cupped her breast, she looked down at him and knew that she’d done it right. Moving back over his thigh, she wrapped her hand around him and fisted him. Leaning forward, she licked the tiny hole there before taking him into her mouth. He nearly gagged her when he rocked upward. But when she swallowed him, she moaned as well.

“
Christ, love.” He continued to rock upward until she cupped his balls. Then his entire body stilled, and she looked up at him, letting his cock go with a small pop sound. “I want to…nay, that’s not right, I need to fuck you. Come inside of you.”

He pulled her forward
, and she guided his cock into her pussy. He took her breath away when he rolled her to her back and slammed deeply. Her body arched up to take him deeper as he pulled her ass tighter against him.

“
Come, love. I want to feel your pussy milk me.” Kim cried out when he slide his finger along her ass and pressed against her hole. “I know you were hurt here once, but I’d never harm you. The thought of fucking you here, coming deep in this tight hole, makes my body ache to take you.”