Falling Into Place (40 page)

“No, I’ll take care of it.” She turned and
straightened Robert’s tie. He wore slacks, with a button down
shirt, vest and a tie, which she really wanted to wrap around her
hand so she could bring his mouth back to hers, but they had a
party to get to.

“I take it you want to get going?” He
chuckled.

“I do.” She moved from between her two men
and slipped her sandals on.

“Are you still going to talk to Fallon about
training with her?”

“Yeah, because practicing by myself is
getting weird. I need some guidance.” Liz shrugged and looked out
the window. “I’m doing things I’ve never seen before.”

“You always did.” Tremaine chuckled. “It’s
good though. Between the three of us, we can work some pretty
impressive magic.”

She winked back at him. “Maybe we should all
start practicing together.”

“Good idea,” Robert grinned.

* * * *

Tremaine watched Liz and Fallon talking
under a tall shaded tree near the lake. He was starting to question
his judgment in inviting Amalie, but he knew she was going to
chicken out.

“Tremaine. You have news for me?” His
stomach dropped. He wasn’t expecting Amalie quite so soon.

He turned slowly and forced a smile. “I do.
Good news in fact. Your daughter is alive and well. You’ve even met
her, and will be working with her soon.”

Her eyes swept to Liz. “Elizandra is
Deidre?”

He nodded. “She doesn’t know I called you
here. She’s worried you’ll want nothing to do with her after all
this time. So I figured it best to bring you up to speed
beforehand.”

Liz looked up and froze when she saw Amalie
standing next to Tremaine. Guilt slammed into him, but this was a
good thing.

Amalie smiled. “You know, calling me to tell
me she didn’t know I know would have been wise. I can see the fear
in her eyes. I won’t turn my back on her though.”

“I didn’t figure you would,” Tremaine told
her.

“No, I won’t. I just have two questions.
“When did you find out? And does Draecyn know?”

Tremaine looked back over at her and shoved
his hands in his pockets. “Draecyn is dead, but he knew. I didn’t
realize he knew until a couple of weeks ago when I found out.”

She nodded. “He was probably wise to keep it
to himself. Who else knows what she is?”

“Only a few people I can trust. I want to
keep it that way.”

“So she does take after both of us?” Amalie
looked back to Liz who was making her away across the yard. She
snagged a glass of champagne on the way.

* * * *

Liz didn’t know if she should be annoyed,
mad, or happy that Tremaine went against her wishes to invite
Amalie. Of course, she should have known. He had her best interests
at heart, but she was a chicken shit all the way.

“Hey, Amalie,” she said awkwardly, wondering
if the woman knew she knew.
God, what did Tremaine tell
her?

Her smile brightened. “I’m sorry I didn’t
know sooner, Liz.” Her eyes closed. “That wasn’t your name when you
were born.”

“What…what was it?” Liz stammered.

Tremaine wrapped his arm around her waist,
pulling her close. He kissed her head, and she melted into him.

“Deidre. But Elizandra fits you. I wish I
had never stopped looking for you. I wish I could go back and
change things.”

“Thank you for that, but Tremaine said you
found a body of a child. I can’t imagine what you went through, but
I don’t blame you. Besides, dwelling on the past gets you nowhere.
So let’s start here and now.”

Liz held out her hand, but Amalie pulled her
into a hug. A lump formed in her throat.

Her mother murmured, “I look forward to
getting to know you. Really getting to know you. Even if you don’t
share who I am to you, I do want to know you as a daughter.”

“Okay, yeah. I just…,” she glanced back at
Tremaine as Amalie let her go. “That sounds good.”

Robert took her other hand, his brow raised
at Tremaine who shrugged. “Good to see you Amalie.”

Amalie smiled back at Robert. “You knew when
you set up our meeting, didn’t you?”

“I did. I was hoping Liz would choose to
bring it up then.”

Liz sighed. “I planned on it. I’m not very
good at the whole having a family thing.”

“Well, I won’t keep you from the party. I
will have lunch ready when you arrive, and we can get acquainted.”
She squeezed Liz’s hands before taking her leave.

Liz stood there, not sure what to think or
feel. Tremaine stepped in front of her, peering into her eyes. She
swallowed hard, and said, “Thank you.”

He grinned. “I figured this might be the
easiest way. I wanted it to be a surprise. I knew she would love
you. I don’t believe she ever stopped.”

“You knew I’d chicken out.” She nipped at
his bottom lip before placing a softer kiss on his lips. “Thank
you.”

* * * *

“Is Clint flirting with my sister?” Robert
stammered. “And is she smiling back?”

Liz looked over and grinned. “You know, he
might be what she needs.”

Tremaine’s eyes popped wide, and he choked.
“What?”

“He’s a good guy. He won’t push her. Look,
he’s talking with her, and being sweet.” She looked back at Robert.
“He knows about being a victim. He can relate, even if he deals
with his pain differently. Maybe they can help each other.”

“He does?” Tremaine asked.

She looked back at him. “He does. That’s all
I’ll say. Now, do you think anyone will mind if we head home? I
want to be alone with the two of you.”

“It is getting late,” Robert murmured.

“Take us home,” Tremaine whispered as he
walked into Liz, pushing her back into Robert’s arms. He blinked,
and they were back in their room. Their hands pulling at clothes,
their mouths on each other’s skin.

Brandy L Rivers is the author of the Others of
Edenton Series. There are more Others of Edenton in the works. She
is also working on the first couple books in the Others of Seattle
series.

As an avid reader, Brandy has always loved writing.
She became serious about it as a stay-at-home-mother. She has a
file full of manuscripts she plans to edit and put out there
eventually.

She lives in Western Washington with her husband and
three kids, where she is already working on the future stories in
the series.

If you are interested in receiving emails about
future book releases, please sign up for her email distribution
list by visiting her site at:
www.brandylrivers.com

You can also find her on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/brandylrivers

And at Twitter:
https://twitter.com/BrandyLRivers

Abyss -
Faerie version of hell. It is a dark,
desolate wasteland.

Air Faerie
– A fae descended from the Air
Kingdom in Faerie. They mostly cast air or electricity based
spells. Some can dematerialize, scattering their cells. They can
watch without being detected in this form, and travel great
distances rapidly.

Alpha
– The leader of a werewolf pack. Usually
the most dominant wolf in a group.

Alpha Voice
– A command given by the Alpha
using pack magic. The command forces a single or multiple wolves to
obey.

Awakening
- Faeries come to age after their
first sexual release with another faerie. This process brings their
power to the surface, it will strengthen what might have shown as a
weak power, or produce new ones to the individual Fae.

Bond
- Faerie’s can form a bond with another.
It is similar to werewolves mating. The two Fae’s magic mingles,
strengthening each other. It is a slower process but once it forms
it can’t be broken.

Blood Oath
– Contract created between a
vampire and another being. It is written in the vampire’s blood.
There is dark magic involved that compels the vampire and the other
party to follow through on the terms.

Brownie
- Fae that takes care of a family or
house. They tend to have brown hair, skin and eyes. They are
typically very secretive.

Circle of Protection
– A spell many casters
use to protect something or someone. An invisible shield and will
keep most things out or the person being protected in. The spell
will end if the caster breaks the circle or dies.

Compulsion -
Sirens and nymphs can force a
suggestion on someone during sexual release.

Dales
– Group of vampires and dark mages that
run an illegal fighting ring for Others. The majority of the
competitors are Others that have been abducted and forced to fight
either through blackmail or mind control. They were a problem ten
years before but disappeared until recently.

Dark Mages
– Usually rogue mages, though
sometimes just mages that use darker arts such as necromancy, blood
magic, death magic or other illegal magics.

Druids
- Humans who possess mostly nature
magic. They aren’t as common as mages. Most tend to stick to other
druids. They cast mostly earth and air spells, though most can
manipulate fire and water. Druids can shift into most animals with
practice.

Earth Faerie
– A fae descended from the earth
kingdom of faerie. Their powers include superhuman strength and
super sensitive hearing, smell and sight. Most can manipulate the
earth itself, or create compounds of rock from dust or dirt. Some
are able to communicate with animals.

Enthrall -
Sirens and nymphs can force a
suggestion on someone during sexual release.

Fairy Struck
- This happens when a human has
become addicted to a faerie’s affection. This is rare and usually
done on purpose or when the faerie is careless.

Fire Fae -
A fae descended from the Fire
Kingdom of Faerie. Many have visions. Their magic is generally heat
and fire based.

Iron
– Certain types of faerie have an
aversion to iron and other metals with iron content

Liche
– A mage who undergoes death magic
rituals to transcend their human body and become a spirit. The
process takes years, and the body decays. Eventually only the soul
is left, making them nearly impossible to kill.

Mages
– Humans who possess elemental magic.
They can either sling spells like weapons or heal, though it is
rare for a mage to be a healer.

Magistrate -
Somewhat like the Silver
Council’s Sheriff, though their territory is larger than one
city.

Mana-blades
– Enchanted swords or daggers that
are tattooed into the skin. They can be pulled like a normal
weapon, but only by the one with the tattoo. Most people cover the
blade with another tattoo to hide the magical weapon. The blade
themselves do more damage than a normal blade, and depending on the
creature it cuts, can do even more specific damage.

Mate
– Werewolves, and some other creatures
sometimes create a bond with their soul mate. The bond is nearly
impossible to break unless one party dies. The bound couple will
sometimes feel what the other is feeling, or sense the danger the
other is in.

Necromancer -
A mage whose magic revolves
around the dead. They are usually mediums, and often have other
forms of magic.

Nymph -
There are water nymphs and wood
nymphs. The water nymphs originated in Faerie near lakes, oceans
and rivers. Wood nymphs originated in the oldest forests. Most of
their magic is powered by love, lust and similar emotions, and
enhanced through orgasm. Some nymphs have other forms as magic as
well. Unlike most faerie, they have no glamour and are stuck with
their unusual coloring.

Others
- Any being that isn’t quite human.
Werewolves, vampires, shaman, druid, mages, witches, warlocks, fae
are some examples.

Pack
– Or werewolf pack is a group of
werewolves in an area. The size of the pack determines to size of
the region. Werewolves in a pack have a hierarchal structure based
on the creature’s innate dominance. Usually there is an Alpha who
is the leader, and several enforcers who enforce the will of the
leader, and the rest of the werewolves. Every pack is run
differently

Pack Enforcer
– Werewolves high in the pack
hierarchy who carry out the alphas orders or discipline.

Satyr –
Fae creature with a goat’s legs and
hooves. Fur covers their bodies from the hips down. They have horns
upon their heads. They are known for their insatiable sexual
behavior and known to be well endowed.

Sealed Bond
– Some mated werewolves will form
a sealed bond that is stronger than that of a mate bond.

Shadowstalkers
– Specific breed of vampire.
They are one of the most dangerous breeds. They manipulate shadows,
are adept at mind control, and generally only feed off Others whose
blood can be quite addictive for its magical properties.

Shaman
– Humans who possess nature magic.
Similar to druids, but not the same. Most shaman can shift into a
specific animal.

Shield
– A protection spell. Forms a wall
usually of one or two elements.

Silver
– Wereanimals have an aversion to
silver. It burns, and wounds caused by silver weapons or bullets
are much slower to heal than a normal wound

Silver Council
– Organization of mages. They
are the governing force of most Others. Not everyone recognize
them, but they try to police all Others. The Silver Council is
mostly made up of formally trained mages. They occasionally will
employ other casters.

Silver Council Enforcer
– The mages who police
Others.