Page 14 of Protected

Could I risk taking her there? It would expose my kin to invasion. If I had the chance to escape, I had to. It may be our last hope to keep the Princess safe and set her on the path to usurping the queen. My mother, brothers and sisters would have to help me deal with the consequences. Clara was worth it.

"Get off of me, ew, ew. Ouch. Help, help," she screamed again, sweeping the mice off her arms, and flinging them out of her hair. The wee little marzipan fairies even tried coming to her rescue and dive bombed the ones on her shoulders, then tossing them into the branches of the Christmas trees.

But we were losing the battle.

Konig whizzed by me, using his shifter speed and in a last-ditch effort I flung my axe with all my might praying to the Icing Valkyries to guide my blade to its mark in Konig's traitorous back. My prayers went unanswered as he turned and grabbed the axe out of the air, jumped over Nuss's head and swooped the princess into his arms.

He crushed his mouth down on hers, kissing her like she belonged to him.I found a new surge of energy and exploded up and out of the horde of little beasties, rushing toward them, yelling with all my might. I scared a good half of the mice away, but it didn't take them long to circle back.

Nothing was stopping me this time. Touch my girl, and out came my berserker. The pounding of my blood filled my ears, the vision tunneled until I saw only Konig and Clara, and I surged forward. I pulled a dagger from my belt and gripped it like a stake. I would cut Konig's heart out before I let him ravage the princess.

She tore her mouth from his and he said something I couldn't hear through my berserker rage. Then my sassy woman smacked him right across the face, kneed him in the walnuts, turned on her heel, and ran.

That's my girl.

Konig dropped to the ground, his mouse army falling and flopping about as if they too had been kicked where the snow didn't fall. While I still wanted to kill Konig for his crimes, this was the perfect chance to save my friends and get all five of us the hell out of here. Hopefully to live and fight another day.

I snatched up my axe from the ground where Konig dropped it and hurled it at the closest warriors. It took one down and sent the other running. One look at the remaining two and they fell to their knees, hands behind their heads in surrender. "Face down on the ground or I'll split you in half and ask the pixies to sew you back together with the wrong parts."

They dropped and searched for my brethren and the princess. She was still running, and I whistled to get the horses to come back after they'd danced away from the onslaught of rodents. I had to hurry to get ahead of Konig and his army. It wouldn't take him long to recover. Shifters healed much faster than the rest of us. Unless of course we got a kiss of our own from the princess.

I'd make sure to give and take plenty to help her forget any other mouth but mine, the Fae Princes', and Nuss's had ever touched hers.

I continued my sprint, bypassing Konig rolling around on the ground grabbing his junk and pointed at him as I regained my wits. "That's what you get for being a rat, Maus. Be prepared to have your bollocks cut off if you ever even look at the princess again."

"Have no doubt, I'll be coming for her in more ways than one, cookie." He croaked the jab out, and if he could talk again already, we were running out of time.

I fucking hated retreating. She might be the only one I would forfeit a good death in battle for. My stride was significantly longer than hers and it didn't take me long to catch her up, throw her up onto my stallion, and jump up behind her.

"Please, Leb, we have to go back for the others." What a courageous heart she had. No wonder she was the one prophesied to save the realm.

"Don't worry love, we aren't going anywhere without the rest of your guard." I grabbed up the reigns of the Fae Prince's horses and hurried them over to the last place I'd seen them in battle.

Tau was scratched all to hell and bloody, but conscious. Marzipan pixies were fussing over him, but he moved his way over to Zucker and laid his head on head on his lover's chest. "He's alive."

Clara squirmed, trying to move to get down. "I'll kiss you too. I promise I believe. Leb, let me down, let me at them."

"There's no time." Patches of the mice were rousing and gathering together again. "Tau, can you get him over the back of your horse while I get Nuss on the other?"

I hadn't spotted the captain yet and I worried the mouse army had carried him off into the forest, until he dropped down out of the nearest Christmas tree. The sling on his one arms was shredded and it hung limply at his side. His clothes were half eaten by the mice too and somehow, he still looked like a prince and the captain of the guard.

I slid off the horse, picked him up, and laid him across Zucker's mount. It was probably not good at all that Nuss had fought and been injured badly enough that he was unconscious twice in one day. I would have to have faith in ClaraMarie's magic to heal them all.

Once we had Nuss and Zucker secured, I jumped back up behind Clara and gave my stallion the signal to ride like the wind ahead of a winter tempest. In no time we put a good, long distance between the flattened mouse army and us. Until we were in the mountains of my home, resting safely under the watchful eyes of Mother Gingerbread, I wouldn't be satisfied.

"Where are we going?" Clara shivered in my arms, and I pulled her tight against my chest.

"To my home. We'll be safe there for a time and can rest and recover before we start out on your quest to find the seven crowns of the realm."

She remained silent for a long moment then turned her head, looking over her shoulder at me. "This isn't a dream, is it?"

"A dream? No, lass. I know our lands may feel different and strange to you, having grown up in the human realm, but this is your true home. We're no dream, just as the home you left behind isn't either."

She turned back and stared off into the night, but I caught a whisper she meant for herself. "The stories are all true. They're true."

The Stories Are All True

ClaraMarie

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