Hawking a Future (7 page)

When Hayley was standing on her part of the balance podium, she felt truly beautiful for the first time in her life. It had nothing to do with the wonderfully wrapped straps of silk that made up her gown; it had everything to do with Tovin sacrificing half of his future for her.

The silk fluttered in the breeze of the Crossroads as the mage began her work.

Hayley felt the magic leave her, and she saw it cross to the centre of the balance stage. Tovin’s magic did the same, and soon, the power was swirling together, and with a whispered command, the energy returned to them.

When Hayley was a teen, she had used a rope swing to drop herself in the centre of an icy mountain river. This moment reminded her of that one.

The magic poured into her, hot and cold, bright and dark. She gained the knowledge of flight, of simple domestic charms and repairing her own clothing. There was a hint of warding and binding magic, but that was buried deeper.

Her beasts rushed upward, they had enough power to carry themselves upward now, and she gasped when her hawk fought its way out of her skin. She looked over her shoulder, and the wings were definitely large and in charge.

She tentatively extended them while she checked her ears.
Yup. Pointy.

Hayley walked to the centre where Tovin met her. They kissed, and when she pulled her lips from his, she buried her face against his chest. “Well, I did get taller, but what am I going to do about those?”

He stroked his hands around her waist and ran his fingers over her wings. “You will control them. It is a lovely reminder of what you are and how much power you have.”

Dira came forward and raised her brows. “Lovely wings. Now that you are linked, it is time for you two to contain what rises inside Hayley. Have a lovely time, and I will notify your parents that you have found a mate.”

Tovin raised his hand. “How will you know when we are ready to leave?”

Dira grinned. “I will know.”

A ball of light swallowed them, and Hayley clung to Tovin as they flew through the air.

They were set down on a deck, set in a mountainside, near a polished wood home that had the air of a health spa.

Hayley walked to the edge of the deck and looked up, down and around. “I have to try this.”

She beat her wings, and her body slowly lifted off. With a twist, she turned and let herself glide down into the valley before her wings moved her upward.

Grinning, she landed on the deck next to Tovin, and as she hugged him, the wings receded.

He chuckled and stroked the naked skin of her back. “Pardon me, but I have to try that.”

He removed the wrap tunic that he had been wearing, and he focused inward. His wings burst out in a rush, and they were not the same golden brown she had worn. They had huge chunks of red.

She snickered. “Your beast is making himself known.”

“It used to be a shape, but now, there are all these instincts going along with it.”

“Your beast got a soul. That is what makes shifters and fey so different. Our beasts inhabit us. That is why it hurts so much when they don’t talk to us.”

His wings were huge, and as he flexed them, her heart pounded a little harder. She had to admit, it was sexy to have her own personal angel at her beck and call.

She folded her hands in front of her and stepped back so he could launch off the edge of the deck. He winked, kissed her quickly and dove into the valley beneath them, his wings sending out strong beats that her hawk wanted to mimic.

She felt her dress puddle on the floor as her beast took over, and with a lunge upward, she was over the edge of the deck and flying after him.

He was on a leisurely flight, so she overtook him, spiralling in front of him before she climbed upward and then dove down again.

When she was tired, she made her way back to the deck and shifted to human, gathering her clothing and his as she entered the building. Nudity was part of shifter life. Clothing tangled smaller limbs, so it was best to strip before changing. She knew that from the tales of the patients at the recovery centre.

Her clothing and his were in the bedroom, hung in the closet and folded in the drawers.

She slipped on a loose robe and tied the sash while she waited for her angel to return.

He came into the bedroom, and his wings were still high and wide. “I think I am going to like this bonding thing.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he kissed her, holding her tight and wrapping his arms around her before covering them both in his wings.

She was warm, cocooned in the scent of man and the dusty-sweet scent of feathers.

When he raised his head, he murmured, “We should get portraits done with the wings.”

The idea of being photographed when shifted was appalling.

He seemed to take in her expression. “Too soon? I will bring it up after our first child.”

She blinked in surprise. “When do you think that will be?”

“Well, it will be sooner rather than later. I suppose we should have had this discussion before now, but it was one of the things that the shifters had to give up to get their enhanced lifespans.”

“No one mentioned it to me.” She had never thought about kids. Kids were not part of her modest plans for her life.

“I am mentioning it now.” He kept her wrapped in his wings and arms.

She sighed. “Isn’t this a barn-door moment?”

He grinned. “Perhaps, but we are bonded now, so it is possible. It takes a lot of magic to get a shifter and fey to breed.”

“Drorik and his mate?”

“Are probably going to have a tremendous brood that will stretch into the ages. I will be content with one or two daughters that will grow up to have daughters of their own.”

“I thought every man wanted a son.”

“Whatever child comes of our union will be welcome, but in the fey society, there are no girls being born for the men born a century ago. Our population has decreased to the point where this was the last and final effort to get a foothold on the future.”

“I am a foothold?” She raised her eyebrows at that.

He chuckled. “This moment is the foothold. Where we go from here is up to us.”

She ran her hands between them and stroked the individual muscles of his abdomen. “I have a few ideas on that matter, but you might want to lose the wings.”

He smiled slowly as her hands loosened the closure of his belt. “What do you have in mind?”

“Well, as I am going to be on top, the wings might be in the way.”

She almost heard the snap as the wings disappeared. He was naked, on his back and watching her with a smile in a moment.

Hayley lifted the edge of her robe and crawled up his body to straddle him, their thighs concealed by the folds of her robe. She was slick and wet from watching him fly, so he slid in easily.

He pulled her robe down over her arms as she rode him slowly. His hands gripped her hips, cupped her breasts, and she could see his enjoyment of her body. It was heartening; they were both stuck with it.

She had always had an appreciation for her own body and enjoyed being inside it, but to find someone who revelled in it as much as she did was a delight.

When she was curled in his arms, she whispered, “What am I going to do for a living?”

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “If you want to continue your work at the recovery centre, it is now an option. If you wish to work with me as a hunter, I can train you. I think you would have some excellent possibilities in recognisance.”

“I don’t think that life as a hunter is for me. The recovery centre is much more my speed, though my transformation might not be well received.”

He nodded. “Right. Those held by fey might be a little aggressive toward you.”

“I just realised that.” She sighed.

He chuckled. “You would be good at eliciting confessions. You can tell when they are lying and could use magic to extract the truth.”

Hayley sat up and stared down at him. “Could you teach me that?”

“Sure. Truth spells are handy to use on children as well. Just a heads’ up.” He winked.

She dropped onto his chest, making him grunt; she pinned his arms above his head with hers. “So, what do you want for the instruction?”

“I will think of a proper tutoring fee. How long can we stay here?” He wagged his eyebrows at her.

“Until we are both comfortable with our transformations. We have until then.” She nuzzled his neck and squirmed on his chest until he broke her grip and held her hips.

“I love your waist, your hips, your breasts and those lush thighs that welcome me. Whatever you want me to teach you, the honour of you with me is payment enough.”

She grinned. “Good answer.”

He laughed and rolled her to her back, whispering the instructions for the truth spell while he kissed his way down her body.

When she managed to work the spell, he let her come, and the honesty she inflicted on him had him groaning as he lost control in the sheets.

He looked at her. “Let’s not cast that spell in bed again. Honesty means I can’t lie to myself about how much I want to come, and since I am bound with magic, I lose all control.”

She grinned. “Fair enough. Can we get something to eat before you defile any more linens?”

“Of course. I need to keep your strength up. This joining will be more of a strain on you than on me.”

Hayley got up, put on her robe and headed for the kitchen she had noted on the way in. Her honeymoon was off to a good start, and she wasn’t even married yet.

Tovin was still reeling with the greeting of his three nieces. Hayley had not stopped laughing at him.

“You are not going to do that, are you?” There was a nervous horror in his tone.

Hayley grinned. “Have three at once? No. This is one baby, one set of feet, elbows and fists, not to mention one little head. I am very glad I have five months to go. There should be time between cousins’ birthdays.”

Yval was in good hands. Their mother-in-law was enthralled with the new arrivals, and for the first time, Hayley appreciated living closely to her new family. Her job with the shifter council, interrogating suspects and getting confessions from fey was satisfying, and she didn’t think she would want to give that up after the baby. She had two babysitters who had already volunteered. Yval and Isgara had already offered to watch whatever came out of her for as often as she needed them to.

Since she had begun showing, she wore clothing that exposed her bump when she had to deal with the fey. They automatically deferred to a pregnant female. It was nice and a little weird.

When they got the call about the babies, she had been wearing an outfit designed by her mother-in-law. The silk flowed around her and gave her a graceful look that nothing else could. Her figure was even more ample now that she was building the next generation, but Tovin had never been more interested. Her growing curves fascinated him and exhausted her.

“What do you think they will name them?” Tovin wrapped his arms around her and put his hands on her belly, covering her completely.

“I don’t know, but I know that they will be loved and protected, and most of all, wanted.” She patted his hands. “Just like this one.”

She leaned back and whispered, “I have to take a deposition with the chancellor in attendance or I would be interested on your thoughts on what we should name this little one.”

“You already have my list.”

“I want you to shave it down to twenty for a girl and twenty for a boy. The current five hundred is a little overwhelming.”

“Nothing overwhelms you.”

She turned in his arms and kissed his jaw. “That is why we have safe words. Now, I have to get to the council headquarters. See you for dinner.”

She disappeared out of his arms and reappeared in the council hall, patting her hair back into the elaborate twist that Isgara taught her.

The shifters were a little nervous around her, and the fey watched her with fascination.

She headed up to the council chambers and nodded to the guard. He opened the door and announced her.

“Truth Seeker Hayley Hyland Arrowheart, attending the offices of Chancellor Brightscar.”

The position had been created just for her, and she enjoyed being the only Truth Seeker.

As a pregnant woman, she didn’t need to bow to the chancellor. She nodded her head. “Good afternoon, Chancellor Brightscar.”

“What news?”

She smiled. The man who was seven centuries if he was a day, leaned forward to hear her news.

“Three daughters, all healthy. Each a solid crossbreed with visible fey and shifter traits.”

He sat back with a sigh. “Excellent. We are looking into finding a match for the seers, but they need to mate as pairs, so it becomes awkward. They do swear that if anyone comes up, they will let us know.”

She nodded. “In the meantime, this makes thirty successful pair bonds with five exceptionally powerful couples having offspring. The program is definitely productive.”

The chancellor nodded to her belly. “With one more exceptional child on the way.”

He waved to the chair next to his. “Please, be seated.”

The scar that bisected one eye glowed brightly as he watched her. “Your mate is a lucky man.”

“And a patient one. My spell casting is not proficient yet. I continue to turn all my clothing purple.”

“It is a good colour on you. The portrait that your husband commissioned is lovely as well.”

She blinked. “Where is it? I haven’t seen it.”

“The high king was so enamoured with the image that he demanded it hang in the court for the first five years. It is proof of the success of the bonding program.”

Hayley blushed. “That would explain it.”

Tovin was a soldier by nature, and he was in service to the court. When he had wanted the portrait, he had to petition the high king to borrow his artist. The painter was efficient, and the sketches of both Tovin and herself wearing their wings in a close embrace, looking into each other’s eyes, was a powerful image.

She sighed. “I don’t suppose that you can take a picture with your phone and email it to me?”