Once Upon a Child of the Stars

Thirty Two- Take Me Home

I feel my heart aching as I enter my room once more, my eyes and cheeks wet from the tears. I just wanted to be back home with my family. I missed every single person and having been inseparable from them for my entire life, with exception of the months I spent with the Hellians, my entire being ached to be with them again. 

I laid on my bed, once again hearing the men arguing in mumbled words. I closed my eyes and prayed my father was available. I needed to talk to him, to feel the comfort he offered even in my dreams. 

Thankfully, I drift off to sleep and just moments after darkness holds me, my father appears to me. 

"Hey, princess," he says, his face showing his sadness but a smile across his lips. I simply run into his arms and he holds me close. 

"Hi, Dad," I say through my tears. "I miss you so much," I say. 

"I miss you too, baby. We all do," he says, his voice deep but comforting to me. 

"I want to come home. I just want to be home with you and mom and everyone else," I sob. 

"It's okay, baby girl. I'm here. Do you want me to come get you?" he proposes. I nod, knowing my best chance at going home lied within his hands. Xavian would have a hard time keeping me if my father demanded I come with him as they were on the same royal level. 

"Okay. I will be there in a matter of hours. Finish your rest and I will be there to get you home," he says as he pets my hair as he always did when I was upset. 

"Okay," I say softly. 

"I love you, Princess," my father states gently. 

"I love you too, Dad," I reply before the darkness of sleep once again cradles my mind. 

When I wake, my heart pounds with excitement and anxiousness about my father's upcoming arrival. I hear the howls of the lycans an I knew he was near. They always signaled when a high ranking visitor arrived. 

I swing out of bed and run outside, ignoring the Hellian men giving me confused looks as I exit the house. It was not long before they figured out what was going on and followed me. I stand outside on the wide path and look up to see my father shifting out of his dragon form as he lands in front of me. 

"Dad!" I yell as I run and throw my arms around him. 

"Hey, Princess. I told you I'd come," he says and he kisses my forehead. 

We look up and see Xavian and Raegar with Kaedian standing not far behind. My father's posture straightens and seconds later, my uncles land at our sides. 

"We are taking Luminara home," my father states firmly directed towards Xavian. Raegar steps away from his brother and comes to stand by our side, showing that he will no longer stand by Xavian. 

"You are welcome to come with us back to our kingdom, but you are not taking my daughter back with you to Hellian unless it is consensual," my father says to Xavian. 

"I am coming with you," Raegar says and my father simply gives him a nod. 

I see Xavian's jaw clench as he knows there is no way he can control me at this point. I finally feel in control of the situation, and I feel the weight of being held against my will lift. I know my family is behind me and will keep me where I want to be; home. 

Without another word, Xavian nods, agreeing to come back to the castle with us. A bit more relief washes over me as he clearly is no longer going to fight against me or my wishes. 

Within an hour, we are back in my home kingdom. Outside, my whole family waits for my arrival. My cousins, grandparents, aunts, my brother and my mom all stand with smiles on their faces. As soon as we land, I am swarmed with warm, welcoming hugs and tears of joy. 

Xavian, however, stands back and acts shunned as he was. Everyone knew he was the one who held me against my will and drove me into a brief hiding. If not for the mate bond between Xavian and I, I would still be hiding away from him. 

"I missed you so much," my mother says as she grabs me and pulls me close to her. 

"I missed you too, Mom," I say as I hug her tight. We stay closely embraced for a minute before she looks up and glares her eyes at the man behind us. 

"You!" she yells, looking directly at Xavian. Raegar immediately begins snickering as he knows what comes next. My mother storms over to the tall Hellian King and slaps him. A gasp surrounds us and I see Xavian getting pissed, but it subsides quickly. 

"You took my daughter and sent her into hiding and treated her like shit! That is my baby! You are so lucky I am just a little human because if I could I would kick your ass right here!" she yells at him. Xavian rubs his cheek where she slaps him and he simply nods. 

"If you ever, ever, pull any of that shit again I will personally come find you and you will regret ever setting eyes on my baby!" she scolds him and he nods once more. "You are her mate! You are to treat her with respect, love and kindess like she deserves! Do not make me regret letting you stay here with us," she states before she storms away. 

"Your Mamma is a badass," Raegar says with a chuckle. "You just got slapped by a human," he chuckles at his brother. 

"Shut up before I slap you, Raegar," Xavian grumbles. 

My mother walks over to me and smirks before patting my shoulder. "I got you baby," she says. She glares one last time at Xavian before walking away. I let out an involuntary chuckle at my mother's actions. 

Xavian's eyes land on me and I do not hide the smile of humor I have on my face. He rolls his eyes, but something in his eyes twinkles as if he too were humored by my mother's behavior. 

"Come, we will arrange rooms for our three guests and settle for dinner," my father says and he turns and walks away, following my mother as she enters the stone entryway to the castle. 

Everyone files back in, a light murmur of voices as they trickle into the castle. I feel an arm hold me from going in, and I turn to see it is Xavian. Raegar stands firmly, as if he were waiting for me to tell him to remove his brother from my arm. Instead, I nod at Raegar, signaling for him to follow the others and allow me to speak with Xavian alone. 

After everyone is gone, leaving my mate and myself alone outside, he finally speaks. 

"Luminara," he starts. "I do not know how to be a good mate, as you have experienced, but I would like the chance to try. I do not deserve it, and I know on your planet rejection of a mate is a legal thing and I would not blame you if you rejected our bond at this point. I do, however, want to try to be what you deserve. I feel the pull, as much as I have pretended I do not, and inside it is killing me to be apart from you," he says and I stand patiently listening. 

"Can we take this inside? There is much more I would like to tell you," he asks gently. I say nothing, but nod to him and lead him into the castle where I hope to get all of the answers I have been looking for from the Hellian king.