Dex was shocked to his core to see Ivy handing over her sickle to his pregnant fiancé. The ranger never let anyone touch her sickle; not her brother, not her lover, and not Max. That was when he knew Cali had just found herself with another best friend. Cali must have realised it too because her crystalline blue eyes were wide with shock and she stood staring at the long-handled lethal weapon for a few seconds before she shook herself out of her stupor.
She threw her long hair back as she tested the weight of the weapon against her palm and seemed to appraise the man on the ground in front of her. “I say we slice his dick in half too. I’ve always wanted to see a two-dicked man.”
Dex choked on air upon hearing his pregnant woman’s words. He saw Patrick and Vance take a hasty step back but Simon just eyed her with consideration – and with appreciation. Dex frowned in his direction and Simon gave him a small shrug and a half-smile. Dex knew what he would be hearing if their Order bond still existed; ‘What? Can’t blame a man for looking.’
Cali and Ivy were watching the petrified paladin with clear glee and Dex felt himself getting a little desperate. As much he hated the filth Sid had just spewed and the sting of betrayal from his old paladin, he couldn’t very well allow the women to slice him up. “Now, girls …” he began.
“Girls?!”
The quiet, synchronised reply had him shrinking back a little himself, “Warriors! I meant to say warriors. Why don’t we all just stand down, huh?” He scrambled to take his foot out of his mouth.
“Well, I see you have this all under control. I’m heading back to the zoo,” Knox slapped him on the back before turning away.
“What? You wouldn’t dare!” Dex hissed at his new friend. He left unsaid the rest of his sentence; you wouldn’t dare leave me with these crazy females. But Knox merely chuckled, giving him a jaunty wave over his shoulder before disappearing into a swirl of warm air.
“Problem?”
Dex closed his eyes in relief and stopped his internal cursing when he heard Ryker’s voice behind him. Turning around, he saw the entire occupants of the house standing there, scythes out with Max barely visible in the centre of their bodies. “We have some guests,” he explained.
“So I see,” Ryker crossed his arms over his chest, looking pissed off and formidable. “Uninvited guests.”
Patrick took a small step forward, his movement slow and non-threatening, “I apologise, sir. We were once bound to Charlemagne and when we heard he had returned, we had to come see for ourselves.”
Ryker grunted, “Ever heard of a phone?”
“Ryker! Don’t be rude,” Max’s muffled voice could be heard from behind the large Captain.
Ryker ignored her, gesturing toward Sid, “Doesn’t seem like everyone is happy about it.”
“No,” Dex said, becoming serious. “It seems Sid may have some ulterior motives.”
“He’s bound in a new Order,” Max suddenly revealed. “His loyalties now lie elsewhere. I’m sorry, Dex.”
Her turquoise eyes held compassion and Dex felt himself shrug; he was disappointed and hurt. But he was also realistic. He had left his entire Order to fend for themselves after shaming them in society. He knew he couldn’t expect to come face to face with the exact same people he had left behind.
“We were just about to turn his one dick into two,” Cali offered the information, smilingly.
Max clapped happily. “Cool! I’ve always wanted to see a two-dicked man.”
Dex groaned as Max repeated Cali’s previous words. All the women in his life were so weird. “Ryker …”
Ryker snorted, “I don’t know what you expect me to do about them. You think I can control these blood-thirsty she-demons?”
Dex was about to respond – probably with another inane comment – when his brother cleared his throat;
“How about we start with why Sid is really here?” Darius suggested.
Mother bless him for always being the voice of reason, Dex thought. Even though the appearance of the four paladins must be just as much of a shock to him as it was to Dex, Darius was still sensible and practical. But before Dex could interrogate the knight, he heard Max gasp.
“Oh, wow! Is that Joyuese?” Max suddenly asked, eyes latching onto his sword.
Dex had all but forgotten that his old blade was lying on the ground in front of him, its sharp edges glinting in the sunlight. His fingers itched to pick it up but he was afraid. Cali, sensing his distress, handed Ivy’s sickle back to her, before striding forward and picking up the famous sword. She ran an admiring hand over the pommel before holding it out.
“Take it. It’s yours,” she said.
“Maybe it’s not.” he murmured, remembering the darkness and the cold which had plagued him the last forty years. “Maybe I don’t deserve it anymore.”
Dex grinned, grabbing the sword with little ceremony. Instead he was more focused on the perfect, red lips in front of him. “Damn, you’re perfect.”
Cali smiled, hands stroking the stubble on his cheeks, “Perfect for you.”
He kissed her, uncaring of their audience, unconcerned with the douche on the ground. All that mattered in that instant was the miracle he held in his arms. Unfortunately, their moment was interrupted with a series of very loud and very fake coughs. He felt Cali chuckle against his lips, tasting her humour and affection for the idiotic family behind them. Still, he took one last sip from her lips before walking over to Sid.
“Well, Sid? I suggest you tell us what your agenda is. And I would stick to the truth if I was you. The people behind me aren’t exactly known for their patience,” Dex informed his ex-paladin. He had the satisfaction of seeing real fear in Sid’s eyes as he looked around, finally understanding the precarious predicament he had found himself in.
“Can I at least stand up?” Sid inquired through gritted teeth.
Ryker shrugged, “Sure. If you think you can stand without upsetting my team. They’re a little twitchy.”
Sid looked and Dex saw the moment when Sid realised he was shit out of luck. Even his companions had distanced themselves from him and were now standing a few metres away, disappointment and disgust in their eyes. Sid wisely chose to remain sitting on the ground, although he did scoot up on his butt. It was about all he could manage, given Ivy hadn’t moved an inch and her lethal sickle was still within spitting distance of the offending man’s crotch. Dex was shocked when he saw the petite ranger wink at his fiancé and Cali’s quick grin in return. Yep – friends for life now, he thought.
“My Order was recalled at the behest of the IDC,” Sid began. “There’s a whole bunch of other ones too. I’ve never seen that many Orders in the one place before,” Sid admitted.
“What place?” Axel asked.
Sid clenched his jaw but answered, “Garrett’s historic mansion.”
“The wardens and paladins who are usually stationed around the world, are staying with Garrett?” Darius asked in disbelief.
“Some of them are,” Vance volunteered. “But some of us have chosen to stay elsewhere because we didn’t much like what was being said.”
“And what was that?” Darius pressed.
“Not much, to be honest. Just that your liege is a true Custodian and is powerful and must be shown the proper respect,” Simon admitted, but he was frowning.
Dex was surprised to hear that and saw that the others were too. “But?” Dex prompted his old friend. He could tell something else was bothering him.
Simon sighed, “But it’s the way he says it. Like it’s sarcastic or something. There’s this look in his eyes, like he really means the opposite. He talks about Max and the Order of Aurora all the time – almost obsessively. But it’s …” he trailed off.
“Passive aggressive,” Patrick filled in. “He’s condescending and patronising and trust me; even though his words say one thing, his tone and demeanour imply another. Disdain.”
“That’s smart,” Max surprised him by saying. “He’s not coming right out and saying I’m the bad guy.”
“So he can still be seen as the good guy,” Lark pointed out.
Max nodded, “Yeah. Because, here we are saying something big is happening, handing out fake brands to people. We’re the aggressors and the IDC are the victims. Did Garrett send you here to spy on us or to hurt Dex?” she demanded.
“Garrett didn’t tell me to do anything. The man’s really chill. I have no idea what any of you are talking about.”
Surprisingly, Dex found himself believing the guy. “So, if you’re not here under the command of Garrett, why are you here?” he asked. Sid’s eyes flicked to Cali and Dex felt himself stiffen, feeling the wind pick up around them in response to his agitation.
“My liege asked me to check on one of his ex-paladins. Simon, Vance, and Patrick saw me at the estate and were all about some fucked up family reunion or something. My liege thought it was the perfect opportunity to get to her.”
“Stefan,” Cali turned pale when she said her ex-liege’s name but her back stayed straight and her grip on her weapon never faltered.
“He’s a great man. He’s worth a hundred of your new liege,” Sid declared loudly.
Max snorted, moving closer to the downed man and eyeing him like the piece of shit he was, “Because he lets you all fuck the women in your Order?” she snarled, lips curling in derision.
“It’s all they’re good for!” Sid yelled, “Women soldiers? Fucking ridiculous! They’re nothing but a warm hole to plant your dick!”
The tip of Ivy’s sickle suddenly hooked into Sid’s pants and the man yelped, his noxious rant coming to a swift end. By the Mother, was that the sort of thing Cali had been forced to live with in her previous Order every day? Dex wanted to wrap her up in his arms and take her some place where she never had to hear such foulness again or be reminded of the filth she had left behind. But his woman was a warrior and he reminded himself that she didn’t need him fighting her battles. She had escaped Stefan’s sick Order and was safe and happy and loved with her family. She had him and their baby and nothing like that was going to touch her ever again.
Cali surprised him by closing the two-inch gap between them, wrapping her arms around his waist. He could feel the hard mound of her belly and again marvelled at the miracle their love had created. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Am I okay?” he asked, incredulous. “I should be asking you that.”
Cali shook her head, “He’s never been my friend. He was yours. I’m sorry.”
Dex marvelled at the strength and integrity of the stunning creature before him. Stefan and Sid and all the other misogynistic, sexist pricks out there had no clue. No. Fucking. Clue.
“Nobody is going to stop me?” Ivy asked into the silence. Shrugs and multiple head shakes met her question and Dex saw a true, wide grin split her stoic features for the very first time. “Oh boy,” she said, gleefully. But just as she was bringing down her blade, Cali spoke;
“As much as I would appreciate making this sack of shit a eunuch, I think we should send him back to his liege.”
“But …” Ivy frowned.
“It’s Stefan’s balls I’m really after,” Cali pointed out, reasonably. “Send him back.”
Grumbles met her declaration but they were all willing to do whatever Cali wanted in this situation. Ivy reluctantly stepped back and Sid scrambled to his feet, backing away and wisely keeping a wary eye on all of them. Dex noticed the other three men made no move to follow and Ryker nodded at them, giving them permission to stay.
“Oh, and Sid!” Cali called out before the cowardly man disappeared from view. “Be sure to tell Stefan that Dex knocked me up on the first go. That’s how virile and manly my guy is!”
The laughter that filled the yard was cleansing, washing away the tension and the hurt of the encounter. Dex found himself smiling at his three remaining ex-paladins and was glad when it was returned three-fold. Suddenly, Ryker sighed loudly;
“That’s as sorted as it’s going to get. Now, we have other things to worry about,” he growled.
Dex turned and raised his eyebrows at Cali. She was frowning and rubbing the swirling lines on her forearm. “Beyden.”