Page 1 of Beyond Her Sight

1

Her mother’s handwriting was elegant with big loops marking the start of every sentence. Claire’s hands shook slightly, causing the words to vibrate in front of her eyes. The warmth of her Triad bonds settled her as her men shifted closer.

Arielle Clarissa Mayfaire,

To my dearest daughter,

If you are reading this, then the unspeakable has happened to your father and I. Everyone told us it was terrible timing to have you with everything going on in our Realm.

Maybe they were right.

Maybe we were selfish to bring you into this world during a war, especially one at a scale the Realm had not ever seen.

But the second they placed you in our arms we didn’t care. You were ours and you were so loved. If you remember nothing else from my following words, remember that, dearest daughter, you are so loved by your father and I.

Unfortunately now, I have to place a burden upon you. A burden that no parent wishes to ever have to pass down to their child. Something is stirring in our Realm, something dark. I don’t know if it is the usual corruption from too much power, a resource that our Realm covets greatly but also greatly misuses and overestimates, or if it is something deeper. But nothing has been sitting well in our Realm for many decades and I fear the events of the last few years are only the beginning.

By now you have met Toan. He is a good man and a dear friend even if I made his job more difficult than it needed to be. Tell him he served me well and that I don’t blame him for the events that will transpire after I leave with you tonight. He couldn’t have stopped me nor should he shoulder the guilt I’m sure he feels now.

He has been entrusted with another task tonight, taking my journals and my visions and hiding them around our great Forest. He will know where the locations of these are but he will need your magic to retrieve them. In my words, I have stored every theory, scrap of information, or flash of a vision I have accumulated over my lifetime. The answers for what’s to come are there, hidden in a puzzle to prevent others from stumbling across them. All the journals are needed to put the puzzle together and unfortunately that task now falls to you.

As I write this, you are sleeping soundly beside me. I hate to wake you but soon I must. We have a traitor among us in our Forest and even the Royal Tree is no longer safe for you. You were born to do great things, my darling love. Trust in your own gifts, your magic, and your men. You will need everything you have to get our Realm through this.

With so much love,

Your mother, Winona.

The bone deep ache in Claire’s being was back as she read through her mother’s words. Her stomach hurt and tears burned in the back of her throat. She swallowed quickly. The heartache and grief were written in between the lines of her mother’s words. Even now, Claire could see where tears had stained the page and where her mother’s handwriting had gotten shaky. Her mother had been terrified.

“I…” She looked up into Desmond’s bright blue eyes. He hadn’t moved from his kneeling position in front of her.

“I…” she tried again. “I don’t think I can do this tonight.” Tears burned in the back of her eyes, her vision blurry as she tried to focus on him.

Desmond’s smile was gentle and his eyes burned brightly with the love Claire felt through her bond with him. “Then you don’t have to,” he said gently, taking the letter from her shaking hands.

He folded it carefully, treating it with the same preciousness Claire would. He placed it gingerly in her mother’s journal on Claire’s lap and closed the book, setting it aside. Cupping Claire’s cheeks with his hands, he kissed her forehead before rising to his feet. “Let’s get you cleaned up and then we can all go to bed.”

Malcolm reluctantly released his iron-like hold around her waist as Desmond helped her to her feet. She instantly missed the warmth that Malcolm and Everett’s bodies provided as Desmond guided her over to the small bathing chambers behind the wooden divider. When he turned to leave however, Claire clutched his hand. “Stay. Please.” Her voice was soft but her intent was clear.

Desmond looked into her eyes for just a moment before he nodded. He gathered her close into his chest and Claire rested her forehead on his shoulder as she felt his fingers loosen the braid her curly hair was in. As his fingers combed through her hair and started massaging her scalp, she let out a soft moan as the tension seemed to release from her head. Desmond stiffened momentarily but kept his fingers moving.

Another body pressed against her back, Everett. “Is this okay, little mate?” Everett asked and Claire just nodded. She needed all of her mates tonight. When she was with them, the bone-deep ache went away and she didn’t feel the overwhelming loss. They filled her with a slow warmth that was turning into heat as Everett lifted her shirt over her head.

Someone flicked the shower on, probably Malcolm. Desmond and Everett still had their hands on her, undressing her with a carefulness that Claire could appreciate but that wasn’t what she needed. She needed them, to feel them against her, filling her up and chasing away the grief and replacing it with something else. She was desperate to feel something else.

She lifted her forehead off Desmond’s shoulder and pressed her lips against his, hoping to communicate what she needed without saying the words. Desmond only hesitated for a brief moment before gathering her closer, pressing her naked skin against his still clothed body. Claire groaned in frustration, needing the skin to skin contact. Desmond pulled away and she pouted slightly. He gave her a small bemused smile before pressing her back into a naked Everett.

Everett tugged her back into the warm spray of the shower before letting her turn to face him. Her silent protector who always knew what she needed didn’t disappoint and kissed her deeply, letting his hands run up and down her bare back to tug her closer.

A delicious heat flickered in Claire’s gut, chasing the bone-deep ache away so she pressed closer, her hands starting to explore. Everett groaned and broke the kiss. “Let us take care of you first, little mate.”

Claire frowned because she would rather getthistaken care of first but then Malcolm’s cinnamon and smoke pressed against her back and his large hands sank into her hair, massaging something sweet and floral scented into her scalp.

Her frown turned into a groan as Everett’s hands began tracing up and down her body, lathering her with the same sweet smelling soap. He kept his touches cleaning and gentle but Claire couldn’t help but groan when his hands passed over her breasts. He paused and came back to them with slow circles, her nipples catching against his palms. Claire arched and pressed her chest closer, hoping to increase the friction but he just moved his hands down over her stomach.

“Everett,” she whined softly.

“What, little mate? Did you need something?” His grin was a bit wicked and did all sorts of things to Claire’s insides.

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