Protector of the Flight

Alexa smiled. “We have examples of the Bonding ceremony—” she waved at Marian “—and the Choosing and Bonding ceremony, an older Marshall Pair, coming later.”

“This is the marriage thing?” Calli asked, attention diverted from her dad and the ranch.

“Yeah.”

“I’d like coffee,” Calli said, going to the sideboard. She made the drink dark and sweet.

Alexa cleared her throat and sat, but didn’t relax. “You know that the Chevaliers want you to stay. It’s easier for a person to stay if you’re paired or bonded—”

“Involved with someone,” Marian said, “but to be precise, they don’t have just a Pairing ceremony in mind.” She tilted her head. “I think a Pairing would correspond to an affair and engagement.”

“Yeah,” Alexa said. “They want you to agree to a coeurdechain, which is like soul melding or something.”

Marian chuckled and her eyes went dreamy. “It’s more.”

“But they want a quick marriage, and to do that, they’re willing to use, uh—” She threw a look at Marian.

“Another magical ritual,” Marian said. “I blood-bonded with my tutor, and also with Alexa. Then Jaquar and I decided we wanted the whole deal, minds, souls, bodies.”

“Huh!” Calli said.

“The upside is that we’re very close. Neither of us are lonely. We’re partners in the truest sense of the word.”

“The downside?” Calli asked.

“We’ll die at the same time,” Marian said.

Alexa stood and paced the room, hand on her baton. Finally she turned and skewered Calli with a gaze. “You want to be a horse-volaran trainer. That’s doable. You want land. That’s easy, too. But there must be something more, some bigger reason that the Song resonated with you and called you and made you a perfect person for Summoning. An emotional reason. What do you really want, Calli?”

The demand had words slipping from her mouth, “To be loved.” She had to look away from the two very beloved women while heat painted her cheeks, her neck, even her ears hidden under her hair. Hell, she hadn’t blushed in a long, long time, and now she had twice in one day. She decided to continue with brutal honesty. “And to have a family of my own. Children of my own.” Pretending not to see the glance exchanged between the other two, she upended her mug, drank and set the mug aside. “And even Lladrana and all its medicas can’t give me children. The infection from one of the surgeries took my ovaries.”

“It isn’t common that Lladranan and Exotique couples produce children,” Alexa said. “I don’t think Bastien and I will ever have any.”

Calli whipped her gaze to Alexa, then to Marian. “Your guy, Jaquar, he has blue eyes—”

“Yes,” Marian said. “He has some Exotique blood in his lineage. Whose or when, we don’t know.” Her aura spiked green.

“Bastien and I will just have to adopt,” Alexa gave Calli a direct look. “Wouldn’t that be good enough for you? Or being a cowgirl you gotta have the right equipment and bloodlines and breeding and all that jazz?”

No. It was as if a note had echoed throughout her being. She didn’t have to give birth to children of her own. Children who loved her would be enough. Feeling uncomfortably vulnerable, Calli said, “Drop it.”

“If you want pedigree—” Alexa swept a hand around them “—you’re out of luck. You’ve landed in with a motley crew. I don’t know my ancestors, grew up in foster care. Bastien’s a black-and-white, which can mean mentally handicapped, and his father was an asshole.”

“My mother’s a bitch,” said Marian. “My brother’s a jewel, though.” She looked thoughtful. “He came with me…sort of…If you don’t reject the Choosing and Bonding ceremony, he might be right for you. The Song might have led him here for you.”

“She should stick with Faucon Creusse. Noble, rich, sexy and handsome.” Alexa wiggled her brows. “What’s not to like?”

“Tell me about the Claiming and Bonding ceremony,” demanded Calli. She’d backed up against the bar.

“That’s what we were getting at. Magic…Power…the Song, choosing the right guy for you.” Alexa waved her hands.

“You want love?” Marian joined Alexa to face Calli. “What if I told you there’s a surefire way to find the right man for you? Your soul mate?”

Calli’s heart thumped hard. A man who would love her. A man she would love. Was she really ready for that, despite what she yearned for most?

Marian spread her arms wide, and the gesture emphasized the rich robe she wore, the Circlet around her forehead, the expensive surroundings. “What do you want, Calli? True love? There are plenty of Chevaliers ready to bond with you—men and women of like mind with you. Land of your own? You’ll get it.” She laughed a little. “Children? Unfortunately Lladrana is like Earth…there are abandoned children you can make into a family. Volarans? I think you can have as many volarans as you want.”

“They are their own,” Calli protested, but vividly recalled the horse bodies pressing against her.

She’d never be lonely again.

She remembered the Map Room, the unclaimed land.

She thought of Faucon Creusse, all too willing to be her lover at any moment. Already. That was a little scary. He had to want her just because of what she was and not who she was. He didn’t know her.

But this notion was a little tempting, too. A magical ceremony could bring her a guy? Some sort of matchmaking deal? Intriguing. Especially since after her disastrous illusions about her father, she didn’t trust her own judgment worth spit.

She thought of children. With a big ranch, she could have many.

Finally, an image of a flying volaran herd circled in her mind’s eye. Wings of all colors, equine faces looking to her. She could almost hear the wind rush through thousands of feathers.

When she glanced at Marian and Alexa, they were glowing with the golden aura of love. Love given and received with their men. Friendship love between them. They liked her already; could they become good friends? With these women there would be no competition between them, no moving around that meant brief and broken ties, like in the rodeo.

The room wavered before her as if behind a rich haze. She’d be rich and valued and respected and would own land. And love would come into her life.

Grabbing her mug, she filled it again and went to a wing chair. “What about this magical ceremony?”

8

The sound of strumming strings came once. “That’s the doorharp,” Marian said.

Calli remembered seeing something like half an egg slicer mounted on the door.

When the door opened a huge man and much smaller woman entered. Just the sight of their strong, intertwined aura had Calli sitting down on a little sofa, blinking. They brought music with them. It was the strongest tune she’d heard from people, truly a Song with a capital S.

Alexa introduced the two Marshalls as Mace, the arms master, and his wife, Clua, who was a battle strategist.

“You know, Calli, it would be much easier if you took just a drop of the potion,” Marian said, pulling the little bottle from her robe pocket.

Calli wondered if it was the same bottle or if she and Jaquar had concocted a large batch. She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

Silvery laughter came from Clua. Mace stroked his wife’s hair. They were still holding hands. With a kiss on their linked fingers, the woman walked toward Calli, face welcoming, hands outstretched.

Their aura didn’t break apart, but stretched, and in stretching, remained the same deep gold color and thickness. It was as if wherever they went singly, they would still keep the same strong and intimate connection with each other. Awesome.

Automatically, Calli took Clua’s hands.

An image of a calendar flipped pages going back. Years. Calli was swept into the past, experiencing the Choosing ceremony of Clua and Mace.