Twist Of Fate

Chapter 17 Acassus

I stood guard all night, making sure they weren't disturbed, and that they were safe. I owed her that at least. If I had known about her father sooner, I never would have brought him with us. Even when Darius had ordered him locked away, it never dawned on me that her father had put her through so much hell. I just thought Darius had an axe to grind about some transgression.

I have never apologized so much in my life as when Garret filled us in. I had only grabbed him because he seemed to be helping her. I presumed they were close and he could help ease our way with her. I would have killed him myself if I knew better.
I never thought of mentioning Sirus to Eve. He was forgotten the moment I laid eyes on her and we bonded. My infatuation for her ran deep and Sirus was out of sight, out of mind. At the very least I presumed Darius or Lysario would alert her.

My brother was in much the same boat but hid his fascination with her much better than I did. But he was always watching her, discreetly, of course, patiently biding his time and waiting for key moments to interact with her, wooing her a little more.

That little prick Lysario was a hindrance, distracting her from us. Hopefully, the others made some headway with him tonight. Those stuck-up golden pansies always thought they were better than us.

I lie and watch the moon move across the sky and listen to the sounds of relaxed breathing coming from inside the house. I continue to lie there as the sun begins to rise and I can hear the sounds of Eve being woken intimately by Reece. I listen to them make love and marvel at the way he drives her to completion while telling her words of love and promises of the future. They are true mates in every sense of the word.

One day if I am lucky, I too will be the same.
Eve eventually stumbles out in an oversized t-shirt to the porch and sits on the step resting her back against my side. Reece comes out shortly after in boxers, carrying three cups of coffee. I return to my human form and place my legs on either side of Eve's, hugging her to me and drinking the coffee Reece has given me.

I thought she may have been standoffish with me, knowing we were here because of Sirus, but she seems to accept my touch fine. Reece has glazed eyes and I know he is linking with the others. He turns to us.

"Sounds like they got their shit sorted. Garret said he threw a few fists before they made progress and there are a few bruises and cuts."

"Of course he did." Eve chuckled.

"Regardless, I enjoyed being here with you last night Reece. It was lovely to have some normalcy for a night."

"I did too, we should escape here every now and again. I think it was good for us both." Reece agrees, sipping his coffee.

"Are you feeling up to training today still, or would you like to postpone and head home?" I ask her.

"Oh shit, I forgot." She groans. "Yip I'll do it, I'll just down another coffee and I'll be good to go."

We head back inside and make the second round of coffees, black like the first since Reece has no milk here. Garret waltzes in with Eve's workout gear and hugs her to him, pressing his forehead to hers.

"It was extremely unpleasant not having you home with me last night but you look well-rested and relaxed, so it was worth it." He grumbles. She lightly kisses his nose.

"How's your punching hand?" She asks, inspecting the knuckles on his right fist.

"Didn't hurt me, they definitely felt it though."
She laughs and grabs the clothes he brought with him and steps away. But he quickly pulls her back and kisses her thoroughly, before allowing her to escape.
She's back fifteen minutes later, curves showcased in her tight-fitting workout clothing and her hair up in a ponytail. That rack of hers drives me wild and I have to readjust my growing limb.

We head off to the training ground where warriors mingle and Mikyda stands to the side with the first large group of his men. The warriors fall into their lines as they notice Eve and stand silently waiting. Eve waves Mikyda's group over to her.

"As most of you know by now, the Dark Fae have joined our ranks. Today we start to integrate them into the units. This is a quarter of their warriors present. They will bring with them new ways of fighting and will be great additions." There are some grumbles among the light Fae and Eve's eyes narrow.
"Yes, I'm aware of the rumors around the dark Fae, because some look less human and act less human." She points to a light Fae close to the front. "Tell me, what do you enjoy doing in your downtime?" The Fae shrugs.

"I hunt and spend time with beautiful women like yourself." He answers smoothly. Garret growls at the idiot.
Eve nods and points to a huge Dark Fae by her side. He has the wicked jaws of a praying mantis, five eyes, and a scorpion's tail, but otherwise, the rest is relatively human-like.

"What do you like doing?" She asks him.

"I quite enjoy playing the harp and fishing when the weather's nice." He says in a highly educated voice.

"Don't let looks deceive you all, some of these guys are quite lovable rogues and they know how to throw one hell of a party. I suggest you all make nice so you can attend the next lot of festivities." She motions them forward and tells them to find spots among the rest. Then she starts running them through their paces.
Some are sent off to run, some are off doing weights and some are sparring. There are defense groups and weapons training. Eve and her team have them sorted and organized quickly and efficiently. Eve cruises around the groups, offering pointers, and showing moves in slow motion so they see how her body reacts before they attempt it themselves.

Not once does anyone give her any shit. Fully aware of the lethal weapon she is. But I do notice some of the light Fae giving her a bit of an evil eye. Eve smiles brightly at me and walks over to where I stand with Mikyda. Then looking me in the eye she reaches up, I bend to get closer to her height and she wraps her arms around my neck. Without hesitation she kisses me, nipping at my lips and tangling her tongue with mine.
I groan into her mouth as her kiss lights up my body and I cradle her against me. She slowly withdraws and surprises Mikyda, doing the same to him. She looks over to the Fae who were glaring and smiles.

"Eat shit and die, fuckers." She says under her breath as she chuckles at them. "Now they have something to glare about." She kisses us both again and saunters off to another group.

"We are so fucked." Mikyda says, watching her walk away.

"Not yet brother, but certainly moving in the right direction." I agree. My eyes never leaving the sway of Eve's ass as she walks away.