Page 78 of Mastering their Maiden

Kaiden shushed me before I could finish the sentence, leaning his forehead against mine while the four of them moved closer, caging me in while they murmured soft words in their foreign tongue. I wasn’t even holding myself up anymore. Umber had me lifted in his arms, cradled against his body. Zander had kissed his way up my arm and was nuzzling my ear while Kaiden pressed his lips to my forehead over and over. And Dex…

Dex’s hand was warm against my shoulder, his fingers gently kneading the muscles he found there. When I looked over at him, a small smile curled his lips.

“Run all you want, Princess. We’ll follow,” Dex said softly. “There are four of us. We can keep up.”

The ache in my chest was so intense I felt as though I might be sick, but I welcomed it. I welcomed their embrace, the comfort of their arms. Dex moved closer when I wrapped my arm around his neck, as did Zander when I tugged his hand. There wasn’t quite enough of me for all of them to get in a good squeeze, but it would work. We would make it work. I was theirs.

And they… they were really mine.

The door behind Kaiden opened, and a second later he released me and moved aside, revealing my sister and a tear-streaked face. Her arms were empty, no child in them, and when Kaiden stepped back she threw herself onto me, squeezing so tight it forced the breath out of me.

“Please don’t hate me,” she whispered softly.

I swallowed against the tightness in my throat and wrapped my arms around her. “I could never.”

“Lavan would have taken you with us that night, but they don’t let women under twenty into the city. And I didn’t want you there. If Ryne would have found you—”

“You don’t need to explain,” I said, because she didn’t.

I understood.

Despite the conflicted feelings I’d held onto for so long, seeing her now I understood. She was always looking out for me, but had she stayed, had they taken me with them, I would never have tried to look out for myself. I wouldn’t have the strength I did now, both the strength in my body, and the strength of the men standing around me.

Men I would protect just as fiercely as my sister and my nephew.

Esme continued to hug me, and Umber, sensing we needed time, kissed me on the cheek and motioned to the others. They quietly left, and I squeezed Esme tightly before pulling back to look at her face.

“Tell me what all happened up there.”

“I can’t believe you killed Skepna, Aria.”

We’d spoken at the same time, and I laughed while she beamed at me. We’d have a lot to talk about, I expected.

And we finally had time.

CHAPTER 32

Umber

Kavari soldiers from three squadrons lined the square, all of them silent.

We had to be. We’d come to these villages as protectors years ago. The threat we came to battle against was gone now, but it wouldn’t stay that way forever. Skepna were born from earth, blood, and bone. Remnants of a horrible curse that turned an area of this continent into a wasteland. That same curse was likely responsible for the cataclysm that almost ended my tribe.

The monsters would be back eventually. It may be decades, or centuries, but their evil essence always returned.

In their absence, however, we had other monsters to deal with. Different monsters, but still, monsters.

“Lucan wasn’t even a week old when you started cutting my rations, demanding that I come into all of your beds if I wanted more.”

Summer sneered at the remaining Elders. Just three of them, and a collection of their wives. It had been almost a week since that night, and things were just getting settled so we could deal with them.

“Who will lead if not us?” Micah demanded. “Our village has been ruled by Elders since before I was born! We know how things work. The lot of you wouldn’t last more than a few months. You don’t know how to how to manage supplies and keep each other—”

Angry roars from several villagers cut him off.

“You kept almost all the supplies the Kavari gave us to yourselves. You hoarded the crops we grew and the goods we made!”

“How many women did you force into your bed for scraps of food?”

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