Far From Home Two: The Monster's Heir-- a M/M/M fantasy romance

33-- Home

***** #IstandwithQueenHestiel*****

SAGE—

When Queen Hestiel rode into Starwind Tribe the next day, it was to the charred remains of the dozen men Ember and his men had tracked down and killed, with Butcger underneath them all. We had burned them all in a haphazard pile, uncaring of identifying their bodies, of honoring their lives. They had lived as cowards, died as cowards, so they had been interred as cowards. Nameless and without even a grave for their memory.

I stayed behind with Llyric while Ember hunted the men down, frequently having to reassure Llyric that we loved him not even in spite of his power.

"Sweet boy, we knew what your voice could do. We guessed after you shared the memory of your father trying to rape you. Your voice not only stopped him, it made it so that each time he tried to touch you, he felt your fear, and the anguish of every child he victimized. So strongly it made it a physical pain he couldn't bear to feel. We knew then, sweetheart, and we didn't care. We don't care. We love you."

Ember and I were by Llyric's side when Queen Hestiel told him about his father's keep, and what was left of his inheritance. He began to shake, but our hands on his arms calmed him somewhat. He glanced up at me, and I nodded in reassurance.

"We're behind you, sweet boy. Whatever you decide."

"I have a home now, your majesty," he said, meeting the queen's eyes with a steady, if nervous, gaze. "I need no other."

The queen raised her brows at both Ember and I comforting the boy, before turning to me with a questioning gaze.

"He wants nothing of Lord Butcger's, your majesty. Do with it what you see fit."

LLYRIC—

Meeting Queen Hestiel was exhausting. The woman was beautiful— probably my age, with long black hair tied up in ribbons of curls, taller than me by at least a few inches. She was a... presence, to say the least. Commanding, regal, terrifying. Her icy blue eyes assessed me for so long I feared I would begin to babble in fear.

She rode into the courtyard of our home with a contingent of 20 men at her horse's heels the day after my power killed Father. The charred remains of the men were only just dying down just outside the line of the home, and the smell lingered. It had kept me awake all night, held tightly in both Ember and Sage's arms.

Queen Hestiel took one look around, jumped from her horse, and landed in front of Ember with a glare. She wore men's riding trousers, black riding boots dirtied with mud and grit, and a thin brown cotton shirt. The only feminine thing about her clothing was the embroidered tunic wrapped around her shirt, emerald green and clashing harshly with her eyes, and the cloak tied with a broach at her neck. The cloak was warm wool and worn, but it was sewn with beautiful pictures of horses and stars. The sewing was done with care, with a loving hand. And from the way she wore it, the way it was used and faded but still worn by a queen, it was obvious it was made by someone to whom she returned the love and devotion.

"This the boy?" she asked, her voice deeper than her soft-looking face had warned me it would be.

"Queen Hestiel," Sage said, coming up behind me to grab my hand and bowing to the woman. I looked up at him, terrified. Would she make him leave? Could she do that? Would she demand I return? Sage had told me about the letter from her, and I was technically El'kahrian. I was her subject too. How far did her power reach?

"Welcome to Starwind Tribe," Sage finished when he pulled himself up from his bow.

Queen Hestiel took another look around, her sharp eyes noticing the bonfire of men's bodies, and her pristine brows rose.