Jorden worked until his hand cramped up. It was nearly finished, and he was excited to see it complete. Just last week he’d been working on it, stepped back from the family portrait, and was startled that instead of his brothers that had their mates, they were their dragons. But when he looked again, it was just the men he’d grown up with and not their other halves. Today, his plan had been to put Vance in, with Micky.

My lord. Jorden paused in his painting to wait for Warrior to speak again. The young lady that is with Lord Vance. She has not put the necklace on as yet. I cannot speak to her or see if I can help her.

“I think that they’re resting. And knowing you like we all do, we figured that they’d get no rest like they need if you were talking to them.” He said that he’d not bother them too much. “That’s the point, Warrior. They don’t want to be bothered by anyone. My brother has been on the go for a very long time. And last night when he was having dinner with us, I could see the fatigue that was all over his body. The two of them have worked very hard this past week in getting the country back to something safe for us all. Just let them rest, okay?”

I should have been better prepared for them. Jorden told him that they’d not known about Micky either until they arrived. She is well then? The young lady?

“She’s not young. Beautiful, yes, but she’s as old as Raven and Caelin, I think. Might even be older.” Warrior said nothing, but Jorden knew that he was far from finished talking. “You know her?”

Nay, I do not. But then, I only knew some of the people in the castle. I was hidden away, much like young Caelin was. Jorden had figured that. I will wait, but I should tell you that Butler is making plans to come here soon. And will be arriving even sooner now that all the women are here. He will think that he has only to come and call to the dragon.

“We’ve been talking about that as well. I think we’ll be just fine.” Warrior said of that he had no doubt. “Once they are rested and well enough to get up and around, then we’ll all sit down and figure out the completed plan for getting rid of Butler. Did you ever find out how much longer he has on his magic? I know that you mentioned once that his is depleting. Is it still?”

It was something that had been brought up a few days ago—that the magic Butler had was wearing off. He might be able to sustain himself with magic that he could take from anger, something that most people with black magic could do, but it wouldn’t stay with him for very long. Raven was working on keeping others like her, witches with both kinds of magic, out of his view so that no one else could get hurt.

He is no longer using it to keep himself well, but I believe he is banking it, I believe it is called, for when he comes to you. When I last felt him on the earth, I could feel his weakness, as well as that he is very sick. Black magic must be maintained, and he is doing nothing to do that. I would say that once he is here, he’ll show himself to be well, but you’ll be able to see his faults too. Jorden thanked him for that. Nay, you all have that ability now. And more magic than you did before. With Micky being here, you have received a great deal of faerie magic. She is very powerful. I just didn’t know where it was coming from until now.

“I’ll have to thank her for the things she’s sharing with us. It might be helpful to practice a little before Butler gets here.” He felt Warrior’s hesitation and wondered if it was just him or the dragon was worried. “What is it, Warrior? Something that I can help you with?”

If he gets to any of the women, especially Micky, if she is indeed the source of the extra magic, he’ll drain her to have more magic to hurt you with. She will be able to replenish it, but it will take her some time. I would like to suggest that you put in supplies for her. She’ll need fresh fruit, and juices from those and fresh vegetables. And greens. Like lettuce and other things that come from the garden. He asked about red meats. She can eat them, but the others will be more helpful. She should be able to store extra magic in it as well, if she is as old as you think.

He made a mental note to make sure that all the houses had what she’d need. When Warrior said that he’d come back to him later, Jorden told him he was there for him. Putting his painting away and pulling out a new canvas, he thought of the dragon, the one that he’d seen in his dreams.

He wasn’t as large as he’d thought he’d be. Nothing like the size of the one that was now living at Lewis’s home. But he was beyond beautiful. His scales were blue, of course, but not a single color. He could see so many different shades of blue that it boggled his mind to try and come up with ways to paint them. Jorden was sketching the likeness on the canvas when he saw him again, this time nearly on the cloth he was working with.

“You will allow them to hang this in the castle.”

He knew the beautiful woman that had joined him. She wasn’t here, he supposed, but he had spoken to her on other occasions. Jorden told her that he’d be honored to have it there.

“You will see so many paintings when you are all there. I have hidden them away for your family.”

“You’re stronger now, aren’t you?” She nodded at him and asked to see the other painting he was working on. He pulled it out for her. “I see dragons there sometimes. I didn’t paint them, yet they look just like my family’s dragons.”

“That is the magic. And the likeness of them all, it’s very good too. You are going to give this to your mother?” Jorden told her that was his plan. “She will love it. I think her to be a strong woman, your mother. She will make a good queen.”

“I don’t think she thinks so. She’s told me, when it comes up, that she thinks that it should be Emma, not her.” Prisane nodded but didn’t say anything as she looked at his painting. “Why is she the queen and not Emma? She’s Kenton’s wife.”

“Because without her there would be no dragons to save us all.” She smiled at him. “Emma will be a queen soon enough, when your mother decides that she no longer wishes to do so. I’d not tell her that as yet. You will know the time better than most. You have a good eye for people.”

“Thank you. But she might be upset when she hears it. Are you going to make sure that I’m safe?” Prisane laughed with him. “Warrior is worried about our newest member to the family. Her name is Micky. She’s a faerie, and has not put the necklace on yet to suit him.”

“Warrior was always a worrier. When you have finished with the painting, what will you do as a background? I would like to show you the castle from my days. It will be ready soon, and I think it a nice place for you all to be while you get to know everyone. And you can all rest too.” He asked her what she meant. “It’s time that you go there, all of you. And I’ll make sure that Butler is there too, when the time is right. But he’ll come, as soon as he feels the magic there.”

“I thought we’d take care of him here.” She shook her head. “All right. I’ll make the arrangements for us to go there. And—”

“The castle has been readied for you all. Everything you need, servants as well as clothing, has been provided. Go there soon, please. There is much that I would wish that you’d do before Butler arrives. And the young miss, yes, I know Micky. Have her put my necklace on when she gets there. Nothing will make him go there but that, I think. Not even me telling him that you are all there.” He asked her if any of them would be in danger. “No, not any more. You are as safe as I could make you.”

When she left him there, he sat down and tried to think what reason they had to go to the castle to take care of Butler. From what he’d heard about the place it was nearly nothing but stone and rocks. And he didn’t understand how it had been prepared for them. Did that mean there was a hotel close to it for them? Whatever it was, he would tell his family tonight, and hope they would all agree to this without too many questions because he didn’t have any answers to give them.

Jorden worked for another three hours. He was always amazed at how quickly time went by when he was up in his area working. He noticed that while he was in his own zone, at some point Harper had joined him and was working at her wheel.

“You’ve been busy.” She said that she needed to think. “Yes, that’s what I wanted to do too. But I’ve had several conversations with people that aren’t here.”

“Warrior? He contacted me earlier this morning. But I couldn’t talk to him then. He’s worried about Micky.” He told her that he’d calmed him about it. “Who else?”

Jorden told her about the visit from the queen and how she wanted them all to go to the castle. She seemed to be excited about that almost as much as he was dreading telling his family. After telling her what he thought was going to happen, she laughed at him.

“I think you’re going to be in for a big surprise. They’ve been talking about going there for a few days now. Mostly after this thing with Butler is completed. But going there to end this, I can see why that would be important.” He told her that he couldn’t. “Sure. We end it where it started on the very ground that Caelin lived, and the queen lost her throne. It’ll be poetic, for all of us. And if the castle isn’t finished, I’m sure that she’ll fix it so we will have a lovely stay while there. Heck, I might even do some major shopping, if we have some time. I’ll need things for the new babies.”

Jorden thought of all the things he could do too. Seeing the castle would be fun, no matter what sort of shape it was in. To get away for a while, in a new place, would be nice for them all. And Gavin would dearly love it. He’d been looking up things about the area for months now. Jasmine might even find herself an antique or two to bring home as a treasure.

“Okay, I’m sold, but you have to go with me to tell the rest of them. That way, if they have questions about the trip, you can tell them how much fun it’ll be as a distraction.” She told him she’d do it. “Great. I’m going to see if we can meet at Dragon’s Lair and make plans. She said the sooner the better with this. And Micky isn’t to wear the necklace until we’re there.”

“Yes, from what I’ve read about it, once all the pieces are on us, then the magic will be great. And I’m betting Butler will want to know what the fuck is going on with that.” Jorden said he could not wait to no longer worry about the man. “You and me both. I just want to have a few days where we don’t have to be looking over our shoulders all the time.”

That would be nice. As he started cleaning up his brushes he thought of things he’d like to do once there was no more threat of Butler. He was going to take his growing family on a long trip. Perhaps rent one of those big campers and see the country. Then they could do the same in other countries as well. Just be a family with nothing but time on their hands.

The table was set for them when he got to the Lair. Lewis was talking to one of his employees about an upcoming wedding, so he wandered around the kitchen looking for something to munch on. He’d missed lunch again and was starving. As soon as he spotted the desserts he made a bee line toward them, but was thwarted when Lewis caught him.

“Don’t touch them.” Jorden pouted. “That won’t work on me. You have no idea how much time we have in those suckers. They’re for a wedding party tomorrow. And if they have nibble marks in them, I might not get the job. And I want this one.” Jorden asked who it was for. “Mark Pranks. You’ve heard of him, haven’t you?”

“The software designer?” Lewis said that was him. “I had no idea he was getting married. When did he contact you?”

“He didn’t. He got in touch with Gabe, who he knows well. She set his arm or something when he’d fallen while drunk. I guess he didn’t want the papers to find out he had a slip and she fixed him right up. But she recommended us to him, and I really would like to do it.” Jorden backed from the desserts and went to the dining room with the promise of food. “You really should try and eat a meal when you’re working.”

“I forget. Besides, you do the same thing.”

They were laughing and teasing each other when the rest of the family showed up. Jorden kissed his mom and his wife, and they were joined by Gavin when he got out of school. As soon as everyone was seated and had a drink, Harper told them what was going on. He could have kissed her too.

~~~

“So, we’re going now instead of when all this is finished.” Vance had only been up a couple of hours when his mom had called. “I don’t know. This seems sort of risky, don’t you think? There is no pack that we can depend on. The security in any place that we stay isn’t going to be up to what I think we’ll need. I don’t have any place I can get any kind of weapons, and while I don’t think that they’ll work, I’d feel a good deal better with something on me when I face this guy.”

“You won’t need any weapons.” Caelin, who had been absent as late, joined them in the room. Vance was always amazed when he came around. He didn’t look any older than any of them, nor did he seem to be anything but a young man. “I’ve been to the castle today, just before coming here as a matter of fact. And it’s done for the most part. There are a few things that it’ll need, but I’m willing to bet that none of you will notice it when you get there. It also has all the comforts of a home built by today’s standards.”

“You mean Internet and phones.” Caelin nodded at him as he took a seat at the table with them. “You’re here. I mean, not like your mom—you’re actually in the room with us.”

“I am. And should you share some of the delights at this table, I would be most happy. My wife is with my granddaughter; she’s just birthed a baby boy for us all.” After everyone congratulated him, Caelin looked at Vance. “You are still unsure about this, aren’t you?”

“I am. We know nothing about this place, nor the people there. For all we know, this could be an ambush and you and your mother aren’t really visiting us. I don’t like this at all.” Caelin said it was fine when his mother hushed Vance. “I’ve been somewhat of a warrior all my life, and I can’t just turn it off because you say that we’re going to be safe when we get there.”

“I do understand that you’re uncomfortable. If you can think of any way that I can make this transition easier for you, I’d gladly do it. Your family is correct about going to end this where it all started. The magic, for you and your family, will be stronger there. My father’s will as well, but he is so depleted now that it will make little difference. I promise you, with all the jewelry, you have all that you need to make him suffer. And he will.”

“Suffer for what he did to you and your family. But what about ours?” Vance looked around the room, remembering everything that had happened to each of them in order to gather the jewelry up for this cause. “All of us in some way have been hurt by this. The women here, they’ve given up their lives to be here. While it might be better for them, it’s been pointed out to me that we’ve been manipulated into this. The wives of all of us were preordained to bring us the magic.”

“You would have met them anyway, Vance. They were your mates from the beginning of time. I understand you have no reason to believe me when I say that I am profoundly sorry for what you’ve all endured. But I can promise you this—when this is finished, and there is no other outcome for it now, you will have riches beyond all imagination.” Vance told him he had no use for more money, that he had all he needed. “The riches that you all are to receive aren’t just money. There is some, a great deal of it as a matter of fact, but there will be magic, more than enough to keep your family and the people that work for you happy and safe. As you’ve come to understand too, money will bring its own set of problems. Sadly, that’s how the world works. But no one will be harmed again. Not even a scratch that won’t heal immediately no matter what.”

“How can you make that happen?” Caelin stood up and put both his hands on the table. Vance was sure that he was mad, that he was going to toss the table and all the things on it to the wall, but he didn’t. But the table took on the shape and look of a map. “Where is this?”

“Where the castle is.” The castle was zoomed in on and he could see that it was indeed finished. The lakes surrounding it were wide and blue, the grass and trees as green and full of fruit as any he’d seen around here. “See the mountain there, is at the back of the castle? It has trolls living in it. There are also faeries that help with the plants and fruit. Brownies live along the waterways. Even the animals that live in the lakes and ponds, they are there only to serve you and this family.”

“Look at the wall there, Uncle Vance. I think that getting over that would be hard to do, don’t you?” He nodded at Gavin, who was looking at the map from all angles, like he was trying to memorize it for future use. “There are houses here, along the lake. Who lives in those?”

“Pack. But not of wolves like you have here. There are many there, watching for someone to come along that doesn’t belong. Reindeer and water buffalo are in those houses because of the proximity to the water. There are also llamas and horses. We have winged horses, as well as unicorns that lend to the magic. And of course, a few dragons.” Vance was beginning to see that they were prepared to take on the former king. “There on the lands is also a swordsman. He and his family have been forging swords since I was a child. The one that you have now, it was made by his family.”

“And they’ll stand with us? All these people and animals, they’ll stand with us when Butler comes?” Caelin said that they were happy to stand with the McCade dragons again. “I’m feeling better about this, but not one-hundred percent. I’m sure you can understand my nervousness.”

“I can, and I applaud you for it. Had it not been something that the sword knew about you, then it wouldn’t have gone to you when you were ready.” Vance felt it move along his back when Caelin laughed a little. “The time for you to practice with it is soon, Vance. You will know how to use it, thanks greatly to the memories from the brooch. Also, when the necklace is put upon Micky’s throat, you will have the armor of a man ready for battle. And you will be as ready as you can be, this I promise you.”

It was decided that they’d leave the day after tomorrow. The houses had to be closed up, and arrangements made for mail and plants. And Lewis had to find someone to run the restaurant while he was gone. Things that were every day for them, but as foreign to Vance as anything he’d ever done.

Vance went to see his mom when Micky said she wanted to see about getting herself some clothing to take. Caelin told them that the weather was nice, a warm seventy-five degrees. As soon as she left with the other women, he decided it was high time he spoke to his mom. She would have the answers that he needed.

“You going to marry her before you leave?” Vance laughed; his mother was nothing if not right on point. “You should wait and do it in the castle. I’m sure that we can have it all arranged somehow.”

“Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I don’t want to give her a wedding band. Neither of us are the type of person that wears a ring, and it could be dangerous in our line of work. But I would like to marry her by encircling her with the necklace. I think that would be just as good, don’t you?” She kissed him on the cheek and told him that was very romantic. “Yes, well, I do have my moments. Thanks to you.”

“I can make some arrangements for you before we get there. I was given an email address of the butler there. Do you suppose that Grady and Harper will stay there after we’re finished?” He hadn’t thought of that, having his family not all here. “I guess it was bound to happen someday, that you’d all move away and leave me here all alone.”

“Wow, that was pitiful. How long did you practice that before bringing out the big guns?” She laughed with him. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m not going anywhere. Unless it’s for short trips. The new president asked me to come and talk to him, all of us really. But I’m not going to work for him. I’m done.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that said before. Not from you, but I’ve heard it. You’ll do what you need to do, and I’ll love you anyway.” Vance hugged his mom and didn’t let her go for several minutes. “I’ve missed this about you. The way you hug like it’s the last one I’ll ever get. I used to be worried about it, but knowing that you can’t get killed makes me enjoy them all the more.”

“I love you, Mom. And I have to tell you something. All the times that I was gone, I never forgot what you told me when I left the first time. You told me that I’d better come home when I could, and when I was here, I was here. You also said that when I was over there, away from all of you, that I’d better be there and not thinking of anything but coming home to you. I thought of that with ever mission I was on.”

“I love you, son. And I’m so glad that you found someone like Micky. She’s like you, but not too. You’re very...well, strong. Strong willed. Strong of mind and body. While she’s soft when she needs to be. Keeps you in line and happy too. I couldn’t have asked for better daughters than the six I have.”

Having lunch with his mom was fun. She had the cook make his favorite meal and they talked about the upcoming trip. She wasn’t going to think why they were there, but that it was going to be a vacation of sorts. Vance thought that his mother was fibbing to him, that there was nothing else on her mind but dealing with Butler.

When he went home, he started throwing things in his duffle. He’d never owned a suitcase before, so thought nothing of using what he’d always used. When Micky came home with only two bags, he asked her if she was having the rest sent here.

“No. And remind me to never go shopping with them again.” He laughed. “I kid you not, Vance, they’re like mad women when there’s a sale. And they couldn’t believe that I only wanted a couple of pairs of jeans and some underwear. It was like I’d caused some sort of space warp or something. And that Jasmine, she’s fucking scary when she figures out that something has been marked up before being marked down. Christ, I thought the guy that was helping her was going to bawl his eyes out before she was finished with him.”

“What did he do to make her happy?” She glared at him and said he was missing the point. “No, I think that she was justified in wanting answers. I don’t think she needed to make him cry, but did she get the sale price?”

“No. They gave it to her, for pointing out the mistake on the store’s fault. I would have given it to her too. Just to shut her up.” She tossed her jeans onto the bed with her underwear. “Apparently those aren’t underwear that I put on, but panties. What the fuck difference does it make what you call them? They fit, hold the right things together, and I’m not catching myself in the zipper pulling on my pants.”

“Yes, that’s why I never go commando anymore. It’s painful to catch yourself in the teeth of death.” They were both laughing when he told her what his mom had said about moving away. “She nearly had me there until she pouted. While she was adorable when she did it, she isn’t the pouty type.”

“Your mom told me that she thinks I’m perfect. I didn’t know what she meant until we were shopping. Emma said that I was perfect for you. That still made no sense to me until Raven told me that even though we’re mates, she thought that—with us being so…like, you know, bad assed—we were perfect for each other. Am I all that bad assed, you think?” He nodded. “Well, I hope that someone also notices that I’m good at fishing, as well as being a good housekeeper.”

“Housekeeper, huh? And to be honest with you, honey, I don’t think that you using magic to clean up after us is considered housekeeping. More of a magical manager.” She said she liked that better anyway. “Good. You may use it anytime you wish. Now, we must pack so that I have time to make love to you before we leave. Might as well break in both houses while we’re at it.”

“I love that idea, my dear sir. You are brilliant.” When she started tossing things in a small bag, he realized that it was one that Raven used. A small bag that would hold just about anything. He wondered if he could get himself one. It was something to look into.