Dianthe Rising Read online

  With a slow glance, I took in the room. Kale was standing by the empty chair in front of the desk while Mr. Davies sat pensively in his chair. My eyes darted to the couch where a woman was sitting, nervously twisting her hands in her lap.

  I took a second longer scan of her and everything else left my mind. Her hair was as dark as mine, minus the gold streaks. She had the same shape of face and eyes. Her eyes were more a cornflower blue where mine were bronzy brown. The similarities between us were astonishing. She didn’t give the impression of my mother but more an older sister.

  “Dia,” Mr Davies rose from behind his desk. “I would like to introduce you to Eloise McLeod, your mother.”

  My heartbeat sped up and I opened my mouth to say something when she stood nervously. “Oh, Dianthe, I’m so sorry.”

  She glanced between Kale and Robin and carefully stepped closer to me. A low rumble filled the room and I glanced quickly at Kale before whispering, “It’s all right.”

  He quietened but you could still feel the tension. The only thing I could think to say and what came pouring forth from my lips was a broken.

  “Why?”

  Eloise once again stepped forward this time stopping right in front of me.

  Reaching out a single hand, hovering almost as if she were afraid to touch me, I could see the emotion welling in her eyes. The knowledge of my question reflected in her eyes. She dropped her hand and bowed her head before speaking.

  “I was trying to protect you,” she forced out between silent sobs.

  “What did I need protection from that you had to abandon me?” I asked.

  “This…all of this…” she waved her hand at men in the room. “Your father,” she stopped and took a calming breath before continuing, “The whole point of your conception was anticipated to serve their purpose.”

  “I don’t understand.” I looked around me looking for someone who had a clue. “Do you know about any of this, Robin, Kale?”

  “No,” they both spoke together.

  “I do intend to find out though,” Robin said menacingly.

  “You need to understand, Dianthe,” Eloise pleaded.

  “I only wanted you to have a normal life. I loved you so much. I did not want you to be a pawn for some god’s whimsy.”

  “Gods,” I whispered.

  “Your father, he is a god. I know him as the Celtic god, Belenus. Most know him as Apollo in the Greek mythology. All of the pantheons are linked and have matching counterparts but that is neither here nor there.”

  The logical scientific part of my brain became fascinated with the possibilities. The other part that was just Dia was having a private little melt down. My guys must have sensed it as they both closed in on me. Robin pulled me closer to him and Kale strode over to stand on my other side, both standing at attention.

  Motioning to the couch, I spoke to her, “Ummm…Eloise,” She cringed slightly at the use of her name but no way could I call her mum. “Would you like to sit with me and tell me what the bloody hell is going on?”

  A sharp glare from her and a tightening of her lips were the only indication that she disapproved of my language. Twenty years of absence did not erase the mom stare. We both made our way to the sofa and sat down. Turning to face one another, there was still a shock at the similarities.

  “Well,” I joked trying to cover my nervousness. “I know where I got my looks from.”

  “Your right, my wee lamb, you are so like me in many ways. I do see a lot of your father in you though.”

  Latching onto the mention of my father, I reach out and touch her hand for the first time. “Tell me about him and you … please.”

  She gasped at the contact and a tear rolled down her cheek. “May I touch ye?” she choked out.

  “Umm, yeah, if you would like to,” I mumbled. This was getting awkward fast.

  Eloise took her right hand and gently ran a finger down my cheek, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Oh my babe, how you’ve grown. I canna believe it’s been so very long since I’ve held you in my arms. I didna want to give you away, but I wanted you to have a normal human life. Can you understand that? I was a young lassie when I first met your father. I am from the Isle of Lewis and we have powerful standing stones. One day I was walking out by the stones and I saw him. He was so perfect. Just like the legends.”

  I could hear her Scottish accent thicken slightly as she told her story. Is this what I would have sounded like if she had raised me?

  “I assumed at first it was a trick of the light,” she continued. “But once I was upon him I saw it was the shining one. He entranced me and took me to the stones.” She shrugged and looked slightly embarrassed.

  “I think I can guess at the next part.” I smiled wryly.

  “Och well" she shrugged. "Afterwards he told me an impossible tale. It was a lot of pretty prose that boiled down to a much bitter brew to swallow. A prophesy he said, a bunch of horse shite if you asked me.”

  She stopped and looked around her, flustered for a moment having forgotten we were not alone. Clearing her throat delicately, she carried on.

  “He said, in his own fashion, that he had foreseen your birth and that you would be a catalyst. That whoever controlled you would wield great power and glory. He was near enough giddy with the idea. Male that he is. He went on and on about how your mate would be a force to be reckoned with. Evidently you enhance through," she paused, “relations the abilities of those you’re with. He said the possibilities were endless and was planning on whom to breed you with like a prized sheep. I was horrified. Not only had he just informed me he had impregnated me at the age of seventeen but that he was going to use you as a brood mare for power hungry supernaturals of his choosing.”

  I could only stare at her and gape as I looked around me at Kale and Robin. Two of the said supernaturals I had been having relations with recently.

  “Did you know anything about this?” I screeched. Anger flared and I stood up to face off with them. “Is that why you keep forgetting condoms?” I seethed. I could feel static electricity running up and down my arms from the anger that was building inside me.

  Kale reached for me and grabbed my arm before yelping and falling back a step. “Damn that burned,” he yelped, then looked at me with his heart in his eyes and implored.

  “Dia, No…I saw you were my mate before I ever spoke a word to you. I caught a whiff of your scent at the pub and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

  "I ripped that vamp apart before I had ever caught your name just because he dared to touch you. It nearly killed me not knowing what happened to you. I saw your brother take you home and was able to get his plate number. I followed you that night to make sure you made it home safely. It was only the knowledge that I could find you again that kept me from going feral. A wolf knows their mate when they find them. Him, I can’t vouch for.” Kale pointed over his shoulder to Robin.

  My gaze fell to my Fae trickster and I prayed he was honest in his want of me. I looked into his eyes and begged silently that he would tell me that he had no idea of this nonsense. A seriousness I had not seen before came over his face as he peered deep into my eyes.

  “Dianthe, dearling, what is the one truth about all Fae?”

  “They cannot lie out right but can bend the truth to breaking,” I nearly sobbed.

  Robin took my hands in his and raised them to his lips before kissing them gently. A soft popping, like the bursting of a bubble sounded above me and everything around us faded. My face cupped in his elegant hands, Robin locked gazes with me. “I’ve raised a shield around us for privacy. What I am about to say to you is for your ears only. I’m only going to say this once because you need to hear it and I will speak plainly.” Robin’s glamour dropped and he stood before me in all his magnificent splendor.

  “Dianthe, I knew there was something about you the moment I saw you in this office. There was a power hidden in you. I was and am attracted to it, but more so to you. I searched out ever
ything there was to know about you. Then I stood back and watched. When I made love to you the first time everything came together and I was lost. I have spent countless centuries roaming this world and others and nothing in any of them holds a candle to you. If you will have me, I would swear my love to you.”

  By the time, he had finished tears streamed from my eyes and I took in the gravity of what he had told me. “Do you mean that, Robin?”

  “Yes, Dianthe, I do. Will you have me?”

  “Oh God, it’s way too soon but I couldn’t imagine my world without you in it.”

  Robin dropped to his knee and pressed my hand to his lips before touching his forehead to the back of my palm. His eyes lifted to mine while his voice grew to a pure tenor as he began speaking in some form of Gaelic.

  "Tá mé mac Robin an Rí Sidhe Oberon agus a thabhairt liom tú mo mhionn. Tá mé in éineacht leat agus beidh a shealbhú tú os cionn gach duine eile. Thabhairt mé féin thar a thabhairt duit ón lá seo amach. Tá tú mo shaol agus grá. Uimh eile a thagann os comhair tú. mé a thabhairt duit go léir go bhfuil mé agus beidh sé. Dianthe, mo bhean chéile, beidh mé a bheith do fear céile dílis. mionn mé mo dílseachta don tú, agus aon daoine eile, ní fiú mo rí. Mar sin, beidh sé a bheith."

  It was surreal, he spoke in Gaelic, yet the words formed in my mind as English. It translated itself into something I could understand and the words flowed through me in both languages.

  I am Robin, son of the Sidhe King Oberon and I give you my oath. I give myself to you and will hold you over all others. You are my life and love. No other comes before you. I give you all that I have and will have. Dianthe, my wife, I will be your faithful husband. I swear my allegiance to you before any others, even my king. So it will be.

  Power rose around us and as the last words died away, autumn colors washed over me. The essence of Robin bathed me in its glow. A small burning sensation crept up my left arm to my shoulder. I looked down to see henna like scroll work with runic symbols covering me from fingertip to elbow. A look down at the hand holding mine showed the same symbols working up Robin's hand and arm.

  “What’s happening?” I asked. Utter joy crossed Robin's face in the form of a radiant smile. He kissed my fingers before standing and taking me in his arms.

  “We have joined in the way of the Fae. It is a very old and rare custom long forgotten to the mists of time and myth. Basically, you’re now Mrs. Goodfellow,” he winked.

  Too stunned to reply, I just blinked at him stupidly for a few moments before my mouth started to work again “Okay,” I said. “I can go with that. I’ve only known you for about four days but hey, sometimes you just know.”

  “Yes, and we definitely knew,” he grinned. “Now shall we go and royally piss off the wolf?”

  Chapter Eighteen

  My head rested in my hands but I opened my fingers enough so I could peek through. Things did not go well once we reappeared in the office and emotionally, I was drained.

  Mr. Davies, or David, as he insisted I called him, left with my mom or Eloise or whatever the hell I was going to call her half an hour ago. Now it was just Robin, Kale, and me sitting in silence—a very heavy oppressive silence. When Robin and I popped back from our little Vegas style Fae marriage, Eloise took one look at our entwined hands and began to cry.

  David, man that felt weird using his name, paled before bowing to me and murmuring something along the lines of, Your Highness.

  Kale, he looked perplexed for a moment. Robin smirked, raised my hand, and kissed it boldly showing off the markings.

  That’s when all hell broke loose. Kale howled in fury and launched himself at Robin. Mr. Davies grabbed Eloise and pulled her to the other side of the room as the two mule headed males began to throw punches.

  I stood there, mouth agape once more, at their juvenile antics. Fed up to my back teeth, I was done with their behavior. In absolute 'I’m fucking tired of this shit' fury, I stomped down brutally on the hardwood floor. A shock wave boomed from the spot my foot landed and everyone in the room went flying. The walls shook and framed photographs fell from the walls. Aww hell, now I had destroyed a room.

  At least I held everyone’s attention. The two male idiots stopped fighting and stood staring at me waiting to see what I would do next. I glared evilly at them while we just stood there awkwardly. I finally broke their stares and looked to David.

  “Will you take Eloise out of here please? She looks like she has had enough for one day. I would like to have some time with my mates. In private if that’s okay.”

  “Of course, My Lady,” Mr. Davies sketched a shaky bow in my direction. “If you will, Ms. McLeod, please follow me.

  He took Eloise by the elbow and carefully led her though the trashed room. My work place was having no luck with staying in one piece. Thank fuck I didn’t work in the museum proper. I turned my back on Kale and Robin and walked over to the couch. I pulled it back upright, sat down, and put my head in my hands. Yeah, I’m just gonna sit like this a while.

  Thirty minutes later and nothing changed. I still sat where I was and they still stood where they had been. The silence began to get to me. Both men stood on either side of me broodily staring at each other.

  I’d became the bone between two mangy mutts, but it was a bone that was capable of fighting back, and they knew it. The awkward silence grew thicker and no one wanted to make the first move and break the cease-fire.

  In the midst of the standoff, a sudden harsh noise startled all of us. The phone ringing was loud in the quiet of the room and we all looked at each other blankly for a moment before it clicked that it was my phone.

  I dug into my pocket desperately trying to get it, anything to change the atmosphere in here. After pulling it out of my pocket and sliding my finger across the screen, I answered it with a breathy, “Hello?”

  “Hey, sexy, what’s up? Are you free to talk?” Daniel’s masculine voice rumbled through the line. The tension in my shoulders relaxed as I heard his voice.

  “Hi, Daniel, I’m in the office right now but I’m not working so you’re good.”

  “Great,” he chuckled. “I’m downstairs. Do you want to head out with me for a while if you’re not busy?" My eyes slid passively over the two men who were both glaring daggers at me, I smiled.

  “Yeah, I would love to go out with you, Daniel.”

  An uncomplicated night out sounded divine. "Give me ten minutes and I will meet you downstairs.”

  “Sure thing, sweet lips,” he purred.

  Gahh... What was it with cheesy endearments from these guys? Did they take classes?

  A silly smile crossed my face before I told him bye and hung up. Finally, I looked at Robin and Kale and gave them my adopted mother’s classic Irish death stare.

  “I’m leaving and I am going to have a nice evening with Daniel. I suggest that you two boys…” I pointed to both of them, “go somewhere private and sort this out.”

  I waved my hand at the general destruction of the room. “Fix this first though. This is ending right now. Kale you mated me. I turned my head so he could see the scarring on my neck. Robin you mated me. I raised my arm so they could both see the marks. We are a family, and while families fight and squabbled, this, this unacceptable. Talk, fight, hell, make out. I do not care. Go get it out of your systems or there is no us. I refuse to be part of a relationship where I’m a bone of contention. Do you understand?” I said the last deadly quiet.

  They both stood there stock still, like a deer caught in headlights.

  “Answer me damn it,” I yelled at them.

  “Yes,” they both spoke lowly.

  “Good. I do not like to argue, it hurts me and I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m always hurting. I refuse to be a victim. My mum raised me to take charge of my family and make sure their needs are met. We are not there and if you boys can’t get there, then you’re not going to be part of my family. Got it?”

  Two heads nodded and I finished with, “G
ood I’m leaving now. The next time I see you it better be with an understanding between you two or not at all.”

  With that, I turned around, back straight, and walked out of the room. The sensation of my heart cracking as I did hurt, but I needed to be strong.

  I walked down the stairs and made my way to the front lobby. Daniel was standing at reception waiting on me. His eyes lit up when he saw me.

  “Wow, you look amazing, Dia. Is this a special occasion?”

  “Depends on what you call a special occasion.”

  I held up my left arm and I showed him the markings. “Evidently I just got married.”

  “What?” He opened and closed his mouth. After a moment, he guessed. “Robin?”

  “You would be correct. In addition, you may want to have a heads up on the fact I have added another member to my polygamist relationship. I would totally understand if you want to call it quits right now.”

  Daniel took my hand in his. “How about this, we go somewhere, sit down, and you can unload on me. Feel free to rant and afterwards we can make any important decisions.”

  I found it impossible to believe how well he was taking this. Therefore, I totally forgot my mental filter. “Are you serious? You really don’t want to cut and run?”

  “No, sexy, I don’t. I may not have a scooby what is going on but I am more than willing to sit down and listen. I want you, Dia. After Saturday night, I figured there would be strings attached. I do suggest we find somewhere private to talk though. I’ve got a feeling what needs to be said is not for public consumption?”

  “Yeah, you could say that,” I moaned. “I’ve no clue where to go. My place is probably not the best for privacy as they both realize where it is. You got any bright ideas?”

  “Well, unless you want to go back to my place?"

  I shook my head no. If we went to his, there would be very little talking done.