Arranged (Arranged Trilogy Book 1) (8 page)

H
enrek handed
me what appeared to be a white table cloth. With a raised brow I stole a quick glance at my mother before I reached out and grabbed the fabric, a feeling of dread washing over me.

She patted the strange seat that leaned backwards. “Just pull your dress up, remove your underthings, and place the cloth over your waist. There’s no getting over the humiliation. I had to do it myself.”

“Henrek really needs to find a female assistant,” I grumbled under my breath, clearly uncomfortable as I pulled the rough cloth over my skin.

Next thing I knew I was in an awkward position with stirrups and Henrek was seeing parts of me that no one else had ever seen before. My mother was right; it was humiliating.

I tried to concentrate on happy thoughts instead of how nervous I was about the whole process. I attempted to imagine our home realm, but my mind kept returning to Michael. Aiston, my ex-boyfriend, seemed like a lifetime ago. How could this strange human boy have gotten to me in a mere flash? What was so special about him that he so quickly made me forget the ones that had come before him? It made absolutely no sense at all. It was probably just because humans were so unique compared to the fae. Forbidden fruit and all that.

Thankfully, Henrek worked efficiently and with speed. Before I knew it, I was sitting up and my mother was helping me adjust my clothing. The eggs removal wasn’t as painful as I expected, but I’m sure that was mainly due to my mother’s soothing powers, which I was eternally grateful for.

“That’s it?” I wondered out loud, my nose wrinkled.

Of course, Henrek ignored me as usual and was already across the room looking into his microscope. I was starting to get used to his odd manner. Plus, it took away some of the discomfort knowing that he saw me as nothing more than an experiment when he looked at me.

The whole process still threw me for a loop. Could you really make babies by removing something from your body like that? The idea struck me as weird and unnatural. Although it seemed like the only option at this point. Unless I was willing to tie myself to Michael for real, a true pairing.

A flush spread to my face. There was no doubt I was attracted to him. And the idea of a true pairing caused my heart rate to speed up, but I had to think logically about it and not act purely on a physical attraction.

Truthfully, I wasn’t ready for any of that. I was still young and had the responsibility of being a future queen on my shoulders. That would always come first. It had to. If I paired with a human it would stain my reputation for all time, even if it was to save a planet. Pretty ridiculous when you really thought about it.

Plus, Michael was still wary of us, that much was clear from his earlier comment. I know we’d put him in a difficult position. Going against your family could not be an easy choice, no matter how jacked up they were. And if I was truly mated with Michael, my life in our home realm would be strained to say the least. Would the people even want me to be their queen afterwards? Inwardly, I shuddered at the thought.

No, I couldn’t risk that. I was the only surviving child of our bloodline. I had to thrive and reproduce true heirs to the throne. The realm would never recognize half-breeds.

“Are you okay, Tulupea?”

My mother startled me out of my thoughts. I blinked a couple of times and actually had to look around to remember where I was. I took in the white walls and clean lines. So foreign looking compared to all the colors of our realms. The room was cold, and sterile; this is where my babies would be born. I just couldn’t seem to wrap my mind around it.

“Tulupea?”

“I’m fine. So what do we do now?” I asked, running my hands down the front of my dress.

My mother put her arm around mine and led me out of the laboratory. “Now we wait.”

Great.
Wait. Just what I didn’t want to hear. The fate of the planet was literally hanging on my genetic makeup. My chest tightened, when all at once the enormity of the situation began to sink in. I felt the terrible weight of that responsibility.

Truth be told I was filled with trepidation that I wasn’t going to be able to come through for the great Mother Earth. I immediately shoved that thought aside. Being negative would not be at all beneficial. Thoughts were just as easily as words turned into consciousness.

We would do our best in hopes that it was enough for the survival of the planet.

I tried to keep my voice from betraying my doubt and concern. “How long will it take? When will we know if it was successful?”

“I’m really not sure.” She shook her head in frustration. “My attempts never came into fruition, so I can’t give you a clear answer.”

I sighed as her words sunk in. “What if it doesn’t work with me either? Maybe we’re incompatible with humans.”

My mother shook her head with a wave of her hand, as if she couldn’t be bothered to consider such a possibility. “Let’s not think about that. It will work. It has to.”

Frowning, I rubbed a finger along the side of my temple, instantly easing the headache that was approaching. “And if it doesn’t?”

She let out a breath. “We will know we tried our best and Earth will be no more. The planet will self-implode. Eventually it will be recreated and they’ll try again. As it stands now, this is the third Earth that we know of. It was supposed to be the last, but as you can see things went terribly wrong along the way.”

Her answer wasn’t very reassuring. I could find no words so I remained silent, lost in my own thoughts.

As we made our way back upstairs my mind raced with the events that had taken place so far during my time on Earth. It felt like I’d been here a very long time, but in reality it had only been a couple of days.

So far very little had been done to ease the suffering of the earth. If there was nothing else for me to do as far as the genetic blending, then I would have to put my focus on where it belonged. The reason I was here to begin with.

I was anxious to make a difference. Internally I was making a list of all the things that needed to be done. The dreariness of the planet was bringing my energy down, and we needed to keep our supplies high in order to be of assistance. “Mother, I need to get to work before I crawl out of my skin.”

She gave me a knowing half-smile. “I was the same way when I first arrived here. Take Michael with you, and go wherever the energy takes you. There is so much to be done that any start is a good start.”

“Where is everyone else? Do you meet up with the other healers?” I’d found it very odd that so far I hadn’t run into any of the others.

My mother shook her head. “No, everyone is spread out, we each have our own areas to work on. You have no idea how vast Earth really is.”

Huh. To me it made more sense to have everyone working together to make a big difference in a short period of time. But Mother knew best.

“I know what you are thinking. But when we focused on one area we were attacked on a regular basis. So we are just doing our work in patches, and that way the humans will think it’s Earth rebuilding itself. We’re trying to make this as peaceful as possible, after so much destruction.”

“That’s ridiculous. We need to put a stop to this rebellion. Can’t they see they are only hurting themselves? If they’d stop attacking, we’d be able to work much quicker.”

My mother sighed. “It’s not that simple. And every time we get attacked, we end up killing more humans. Which is the opposite of what we came here to do.”

I wanted to argue, but I knew it would be useless. When my mother had her mind made up there was no changing it. I would just go and do as much work as I could on my own. Hopefully Mother would work in conjunction with me at times, because that’s when we could make the biggest difference.

“Don’t worry, once we have the halflings we’ll do massive work in short order.”

Sometimes I wondered if my mother read my mind. We’re not supposed to invade another’s thoughts without permission, so probably not. She was just very in-tune with my emotional body and the shift in my moods.

I had to admit I loved the idea of my children bringing peace to Earth. Vain? Perhaps.

As soon as we walked into the living room, I realized Michael was no longer in the house. I couldn’t feel his essence. Where in the world did he go?

My mother and I exchange a worried glance. “Guards, where is our guest?”

“He said he had to get a few things and he’d be back,” a voice boomed throughout the room.

“Mother, can’t they be visible inside the house? It’s annoying not knowing where they are.”

She snapped her fingers and twenty plus guards appeared seemingly out of thin air. I hadn’t realized there were so many.

“Should I go after him?” I asked, keeping my voice calm and neutral.

My mother shook her head. “No, let him have his space. We already have enough of his DNA to get to work.”

Frowning, I turned slowly in her direction. My words were hardly more than a whisper. “You don’t think he’ll be back, do you?”

Her shoulder lifted. “I have no idea. That’s his choice to make.”

I knew she was right, but something deep inside of me told me something was terribly wrong. And I wasn’t one to avoid my intuition. “Okay, well I’m still going to go out and do some work. I’ll bring back some plants for the house. The air in my room is stifling.”

She nodded absently. “Don’t stay out too late, and don’t let your guard down. I’m going to go back down and see how Henrek is doing.” She snapped her fingers and once again the guards were gone. She didn’t want me to know how many were following me.

Quickly, I slipped from the room, and out the front door.

Of course, the first thing I did was make my way toward the cave system in hopes of spotting Michael. I tried to call him telepathically—unfortunately that did not work, seeing as he was human and all. That limitation was absurd as far as I was concerned. I wondered if the halflings would be able to hear me. I needed to make sure I told Henrek that was something I wanted. That way even when I returned to my realm I could easily keep in touch with them. In that moment I realized, as of yet I’d had no say in what gifts they would acquire. I wondered what list my mother had put together. She should have consulted me.

A sharp pang pierced my heart at the thought of leaving behind my family even though they hadn’t even been born. How strange was that? I drew a slow, deep breath, trying to ease the constricted sensation in my chest. It didn’t really help much. Instead of drowning in that thought process I shifted back to Michael. Where was he?

The deeper I got into the abandoned city the stronger the feeling of unease became. Something was very wrong. I picked up my pace. For once I was glad to have the guards’ protection.

A
loud wail
stopped me in my tracks.

Someone or something was in pain. I cast out my senses, searching out a heartbeat. Five guards surrounded me. I pushed my senses out farther. One strong heartbeat and one that was
very
weak, the distance was around sixteen hundred meters away. I took off in a sprint toward the direction of the beating hearts. Once I knew I was vectored in correctly I let go of the link—all the heartbeats were giving me a headache. My heart pounded from effort, sweat trickled down my back. I wasn’t used to running and clearly not very good at it but I had to push myself harder. Someone was in grave danger.

Several moments later I crested a hill, and my steps faltered. I stood, trying to catch my breath.

Below me was a magnificent dragon. A long red tail repeatedly slapped the ground in despair. I hadn’t had much contact with dragons before. I eased forward slowly. If the dragon noticed me, it didn’t let on. As I got closer my heart dropped. In front of the dragon was a body. A broken, bloody body. So bloody that I almost didn’t realize it was Michael at first until I felt his essence. When I felt a thread of his energy it stole my breath.

I felt tears sting my eyes at the sight, and swallowed back the lump in my throat. Ignoring the growing chill, I kept moving forward.

As I approached, I frantically searched my mind for the name of the dragon. Michael had told me on our first meeting but it had slipped my mind. Cautiously, I took a few more steps forward before speaking, being careful to stay a safe distance from the dragon’s tale. “Michael told me about you. I’m sorry I don’t remember your name, but I know you’ve helped him in the past. And you’re friends.”

The dragons head snapped around, the large yellow eyes dropping to meet my own. A blow of fire pushed me back, singeing my hair. I stumbled to the ground slamming my knee on a rock. Slowly I rose to my feet keeping my hands limply at my side, to show him I was not a threat. “Why didn’t you bring him to the healer? He doesn’t have much time.”

Its tail slammed hard onto the ground, causing a slight tremble under my feet. I wished he would shift into his human form, but I know when a shifter is highly agitated it’s nearly impossible to shift. “Please let me help him. I am a healer.”

His head swayed back and forth, and then as if changing his mind he took a step backward. I let out my breath.
Thank the gods
. Michael didn’t have long, and even I didn’t have the power to bring back someone from the dead. I was so glad I knew the dragon was his friend or I would have killed him on the spot. That would have been hard to explain.

Who’d done this to him?
I didn’t have time to worry about that now. I had to focus on keeping him alive.

Without wasting time I ran to Michael and dropped to my knees. I stared down at him with dispassionate objectivity, as a healer should. But inside, my heart ached.

Gently, I placed my steady hands on his heart. The beat was so faint it was a mere flutter. His injuries were extensive. Internal bleeding, so many broken bones. But I couldn’t be bothered to focus on how many until I knew he would make it. Of course he’d make it.

Hope leapt alive within me. If anyone could save him, it was me.

I reached deep into my core and shot a jolt of my own energy straight into his heart. His body convulsed, and then stilled. The heart \beat was gone.
Oh no. No. No. No!
Had I overloaded his energy system? What was I thinking? I should have taken into account that he was human. I haven’t worked on many humans, so I wasn’t sure of what they could handle. In my panic I’d given Michael too large of a jolt. The dragon roared.

My own heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. I needed to focus. There was still time.

Closing my eyes I released slow, gentle pulses of electrical energy directly from my third eye into his heart. A trickle of sweat ran down my back. In a sense my energy was massaging his heart. At the same time I placed one hand on his forehead and the other just above his navel. The heart was its own system, but the body had another energy pathway. I pushed upward slightly, while releasing some of my own energy into his, and a sigh escaped my lips when his heartbeat came back to life.

My shoulders sagged as I closed my eyes in relief. He would make it.

Rocking back on my heels, I moved my hands on different positions over his body, healing the internal injuries first. The bones would have to wait.

I looked up at the dragon and gave him a slight nod as my energy continued to repair Michael’s body.

The air wavered slightly before the dragon shifted back into his human form.

Standing naked before me was a very muscular blond teenager. If he was self-conscious he hid it well. Uncomfortable, my gaze flicked back toward Michael.

His eyes fluttered open and I swear my soul soared at the sight. With my thumb I wiped away a trickle of blood running down the side of his handsome face.

A low moan of pain escaped his bloody, cracked lips. I sent a wave of energy to the pain receptor in his brain, shutting it down. Poor guy, even with my powers it was going to take a couple of hours for his body to be back to normal. Right now I was focusing all my energy on the internal injuries, those were the ones that could still potentially kill him.

“Who did this to him?” My voice came out in a dangerous whisper.

“His family.” The dragon’s words stilled me.

I sucked in a deep breath as the anger coursed through my veins. I couldn’t believe it.
His family? Oh they were going to pay, and pay dearly.

Mother, I need your help, Michael has been badly beaten.

I’m on my way.

I knew she would be there shortly without having to ask directions. It was easy for her to vector in on her own flesh and blood.

“Michael, it’s going to be okay. Can you speak?”

He nodded his head, and licked his lips—his voice came out in a croak. “They know about you and your mother. I’m sorry.”

My brow wrinkled. “How?”

“My brother’s memory was not erased and he followed after us back to your place. When I was walking back home he confronted me. I tried to speak reason but he wouldn’t hear of it. When I tried to escape he knocked me out.” Michael closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “When I woke up, I was being kicked all over, by my tribe.”

“Shh, don’t think of that now. Just relax. Stress will cause the healing to take longer.”

I sent a wave of calming energy to him. His eyes closed and his head lolled to the side.

The hatred in me was building and the ground beneath me rumbled.

Calm down, Tulupea. Do not let your power get the better of you.

Mother, it was his tribe that did it.

I figured as much. They will be taken care of.

I will take care of them,
I replied firmly.

We’ll talk about it once we get back home and Michael is safe.

As far as I was concerned there was nothing to talk about, but I knew arguing would be futile.

“Thank you,” the dragon boy said in a gruff voice.

I nodded. “I’m just glad I got here in time. If I had been ten minutes later I don’t think he would have made it. I know you have a healer friend, why didn’t you bring Michael to her?”

His head hung and his shoulders sagged. “The rebellion has killed her. They set fire to her house while she slept.”

I drew in a sharp breath. This was getting out of control. What were they going to do, fight until there was no one left standing? Where was the logic in that? Somehow we had to find a way to bring this world back together. And just planting some flowers was not the answer.

Just then my mother arrived. She was out of breath and her hair was in disarray. Without a word she dropped to her knees and placed her hands on Michael’s body. I felt a surge of her energy. I worried it would stop his heart again but he was fine. We stayed that way for another twenty minutes or so, switching hand positions until we thought he was healed enough to be carried back. The internal injuries were repaired and most of the bones had healed, but a beating of that degree did a lot of damage, both physically and mentally. It would be a few days before Michael was back to normal.

My mother snapped her fingers and one of her guards appeared. “Be as gentle as possible.”

The guard nodded and lifted Michael with ease, before tossing him over his shoulder. I didn’t think that looked very gentle, but I knew Michael was out of danger.

“I could have done that,” the dragon boy said with a frown.

I’d forgotten he was there. He was standing there with his arms crossed, still completely nude. Granted, he was a beautiful specimen, but still, it was beyond awkward so I willed clothes onto him. A crooked grin flashed across his face. “Sorry about that. Normally I carry clothes on me, but I got a sense that something was wrong with Michael and left in a hurry.”

I nodded. Their bond must be strong. “I’m glad for your connection. I’m sorry, but what was your name?”

“Blake, and yours?” His eyebrow shot up.

“Tulupea and this is my mother, Acacia, Queen of the Badlands Realm.”

Blake took a step backward. His worried gaze landed on my mother. “From the Unseelie Court?”

I was not in the mood for this nonsense. “Yes, Blake, we are dark fae. Get used to it. Your reaction is rich, seeing as how your kind is feared in every realm.”

Blake bowed low toward my mother and then me. “Forgive me for my ignorance. It’s an honor, I’ve just never met anyone with your stature before.”

He was smooth, I’d give him that. But right now I had more pressing things to worry about than a hot dragon.

“Mother, don’t try to stop me. I am going to the rebellion’s camp and I’m going to take care of this problem once and for all.”

She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it. “I’ll go with you. You’re right, it’s time to put this to rest.

“Guards, make sure the boy is safe, and well rested. Anything he wants, give it to him and at least one of you stay visible so he does not think he’s alone.”

The guard nodded and took off in the other direction.

“I’m going with you,” Blake said, his voice leaving no room for arguments. I shrugged. I didn’t care who came with me, all I knew is there wouldn’t be any of them left standing when I was done.