Kings and Sirens (The Blood Falls Book 2)

Leena

I didn’t need to go North. I wanted to. I’d never been up to the great mountains and wilderness where the bear shifters lived in their quiet isolation. Well, except for the one time I called for their help. But that wasn’t a true visit. I barely saw a thing.

“We’re approaching,” Klah said. He was one of the three males from the House of Heida I’d been traveling with. Watching him transform into the massive animal in the midst of battle had been awe inspiring to say the least.

But not half as inspiring as his brother, Atsila. The man glaring at all of us as we quietly marched through the forest. “I know where the fucking door is,” he growled.

The House of Heida was protected by an enchantment. We couldn’t simply shift into their home. Instead we used the Plane to arrive at an intersection a mile from the entrance to the Heida land. We then took a leisurely romp through towering trees, brush, and uneven ground toward what looked like even more trees.

“Ah yes, great future king. I should know better than to speak generalized information aloud so our guest knows what’s going on, as, of course, you are all knowing,” Klah mocked him with an easy smile.

I barely knew these men but I fell for them quickly. Atsila all grumpy and stoic, Klah and Kuruk funny and kind. Growing up, everyone told hushed stories about the Heida. How big and scary they were. How much they preferred to be alone. But I found them to be wonderful. Big, yes. Scary, sometimes. But also interesting and gentle.

“And this door will let us in, I take it?”

Atsila shot an icy stare over his shoulder. “Yes.”

I grinned. He was the reason I was here. It was so much fun poking at his cold exterior, waiting to see if I could get him to crack, that I jumped at the chance to travel home with them. It was as if it called to me, something deep inside me insisted I irritate the hell out of this man.

All three men came to a stop and I slid into my slot between Atsila and Klah. It was the natural formation we took these last few days. No one said it out loud or why it was always this way, but it’s what happened. “Do we do anything?” I whispered.

“No,” Klah whispered back. “Just chill while her majesty decides whether we are friend or foe.” His dimples flashed as he made light of the situation.

“Not even a future King gets a special key?”

“He’s a male,” Kuruk grinned, shaking his head. “Can’t trust men with keys.”

What appeared to my eyes to be nothing but forest in front of me began to change. The metaphysical Plane that connects us all, rippled. The trees suddenly looked like a reflection in a pool where someone had dropped a rock, sending a circle of wake in motion. Then a burst of light and two enormous male Heida, glaring at the four of us. They wore their hair long, their clothing simple. A blend of cotton, fur, and leather. The kind that can easily fall away when they transform.

“You brought the female back?” the one on the left said, staring me down with nearly black eyes. It was meant to intimidate. I—fortunately or unfortunately—was rarely scared of anything.

“We have important matters to discuss with the Queen. Matters important to us all,” Atsila said.

The two giants sneered, then stepped apart as a tall, gorgeous woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a fluttering green gown stepped between them. All three Heida beside me bowed at the waist.

“Your majesty.”

We didn’t have a royal order in the House of Wren, so I didn’t know quite what to do except also bow at the waist and lower my eyes out of respect.

“Lady Leena of the House of Wren, how good of you to grace us with your presence. The House of Heida welcomes you.”

I rose back up and looked her straight in her nearly blindingly beautiful eyes. “Thank you, Queen Lyla. It is my honor.”

The big men beside her remained tense, on alert. Their shoulders rolled and fists clenched at their sides. She put a hand on each shoulder. “At ease. We’re all friends here.” It seemed to take great effort, but the men finally relaxed.

I remained fascinated by the Heida. Matrilineal in nature, but with an odd gender-based power structure. The women essentially “controlled” the men in the daily environment. They led the households, their government, and set the agenda. It was said this is because the men are so overcome when their protective or sexual instincts are triggered, that they can’t be stopped by anyone other than their woman. It makes them ferocious in battle…and, if rumors are correct, the bedroom, where they take control.

“You are of course welcome,” Lyla said, “but before you enter I must warn you. We are days away from Midnight Dreams.”

It was an odd thing to say. “Yes, I’m well aware of the upcoming lunar eclipse.” And the Samhain festival that surrounds it.

Her smile told me I was missing a vital piece of information. “I ask because my experience with the other Houses leads me to believe,” she cleared her throat, “leads me to believe you should be warned that the Heida are not as conservative as the rest of the samhain.”

I didn’t hide my surprise. Samhain were, in general, far more promiscuous than our human cousins. Especially when drinking blood from a lover. It was true the different Houses were accustomed to different levels of sexual display, but it was a first for me to be warned I was too conservative.

“Consider me intrigued.” There was now a smile on my face I couldn’t quite keep away.

“Am I wrong?” She glanced at Atsila, Klah, and Kuruk.

The men shook their heads. Atsila answering, “No. I don’t believe the other Houses celebrate Midnight Dreams the way the Heida do.”

Lyla got right to it. “You are welcome inside. We have much to discuss. But please come back later if you can’t respect our mating rituals. Midnight Dreams is one of our most sacred. I’m sure your business can wait a week.”

It really couldn’t, not that it was an issue. Midnight Dreams sounded far more fun than the costume ball being prepared back home. Especially if it let me get under the skin of one grumpy Heida by the name of Atsila.