My Guardian (Bewitched and Bewildered Book 6) (2 page)

The squire crossed his arm over his chest and bowed. "Gentlemen, it is an honor to meet the men Elizabeth has told us so much about."

Meryn looked at the men. "So, if I understand what Aiden told me about how rankings in other cities work correctly, then Adriel is a vampire, Declan is a shifter, Grant is a shifter, of course Etain couldn't be anything other than a fae, and Micah is a witch."

Adriel nodded his head. "That is correct; in each pillar city, the predominant race of that city leads the units, then the structure falls into place accordingly. If this were Éire Danu, the structure of the units would be fae, shifter, vampire, shifter, witch."

Meryn shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. This is my first time going to another pillar city besides Lycaonia."

Adriel nodded. "We hope you enjoy your visit to Noctem Falls."

Meryn walked over to the edge of the canyon and looked down. Aiden was at her side in a heartbeat, pulling her away. "Meryn!"

Meryn swatted at his hands. "Ryuu wouldn't let me fall. Where's the city?"

Adriel held out his hand to Meryn. Meryn looked over to Bethy who nodded encouragingly at her. With the hesitancy of a trapped animal, Meryn scooted forward and took his hand. He led her to the edge and pointed. "See that large out cropping?" Meryn nodded. "That is the Ledge. We will fly you down, and Micah will de-spell the entrance for you since this is your first visit. If it is not de-spelled, you will not be able to see the door. It is a security measure we have to keep unwanted visitors at bay."

Meryn turned to look up at him. "You can fly?" she asked with the awe and wonder of a child.

He nodded. "Yes, of course, almost every vampire can fly. So can most fae, and nearly all witches can float."

Behind them Gavriel groaned.

Meryn spun and pointed a finger at him. "You never told me you could fly!"

Gavriel held up his hands in a defensive measure. "Now Meryn, there are not many places to fly in Lycaonia, there are so many trees..."

"Don't
'now Meryn'
me." She walked up to the large vampire and put her hands on her hips. "You knew I wanted to fly!"

Gavriel paled and looked over at Aiden who shrugged as if to say, '
You're on your own
.'

When Gavriel lowered his hands, Declan and Micah took a step forward to defend the small woman. Bethy held up a hand and shook her head. They stared in shock as the petite human pulled her foot back and kicked the hulking vampire in the shins.

"Meryn!" Gavriel shouted.

Meryn crossed her arms over her chest. "Now we're even."

Adriel couldn't contain his laughter. He felt it bubble up from his gut, and he couldn't hide it. He grabbed his stomach, trying to catch his breath. He'd wanted to be the one to take the fake Ambrosios down a peg or two, but the tiny woman beat him to it.

"Adriel?" He heard Declan ask incredulously. He knew his men would be shocked; he rarely ever gave in to his emotions.

He looked up, chuckling. He kept wiping his eyes, but the tears of laughter kept coming. He tried to explain why he was laughing so hard but couldn't. He just pointed at Meryn.

Adriel's contagious laughter set off the men. One by one they also gave in to their own mirth.
 

"I thought he was going to throttle her, looks like I was worried about the wrong person," Micah managed to say between bouts of laughter.

Gavriel frowned. "I do not know how things are run here in Noctem Falls, but in Lycaonia, we do not assault our women. I have never, nor would I ever, hit a woman, especially my commander's mate, who is not only human, but also pregnant."

The word 'pregnant' seemed to shake the men out of their playfulness. There was no creature in their world that was to be more protected than a pregnant female.

Adriel looked again, and sure enough, the woman had a small but pronounced rounded belly. All at once the men's focus became her wellbeing.

"Lady Meryn, if you would allow me the honor of escorting a beautiful and delicate flower such as yourself down to the Ledge, I would be eternally grateful," Micah offered in a grandiose manner, kneeling down on one knee.

Meryn smiled shyly. She looked over to Ryuu who nodded. "I'll be right beside you."

Adriel looked at the squire. "You can also fly?"

Grinning, the squire stepped off the edge of the canyon with his rolling crate and simply hovered in mid-air. "But of course."
 

Micah swept Meryn up in his arms. "Come with me, princess. Let me show you the world." He jumped off the edge, and Meryn squealed in excitement.

Declan turned to him. "Isn't that from
Aladdin
?"

Adriel gave him a look, refusing to acknowledge that he had also recognized the line from a children's movie. He turned to Bethy, but before he could make the offer, Gavriel inclined his head and, grinning, swept Bethy into his arms and walked past them.

Adriel fought back a growl. "Etain, you're responsible for our commander."

As he and Declan stepped off the edge together, he heard Etain ask, "So, Commander, how much do you weigh?"

*****

They reassembled at the front gate, and Micah recited the spell that would reveal the enormous carved stone door.

"This looks like the one from
Lord of the Rings
!" Meryn said excitedly.

Micah winked, and the door swung open. Before them was the Grand Hall of Noctem Falls.

Adriel leaned down. "Welcome home, Bethy."

She smiled up at him and everyone started forward.

"Thank you for welcoming
my
mate," Gavriel said, smiling tightly.

Adriel's smile was sly. "It is the least I could do for my favorite valentine."

Gavriel's mouth snapped shut before he turned to look at Bethy who was excitedly pointing out things to Meryn. He glared at him and hurried to catch up to his mate.

"Now that wasn't nice," Aiden chided, matching his stride so they walked together.

Adriel was afraid he had angered his commander, but when he looked up, he saw that Aiden was grinning.

Aiden looked down. "You look surprised."

"I would have thought you would be angry that my words perturbed your second in command," Adriel admitted.

Aiden shrugged. "He needs to be shaken up now and then. As long as it's all in good fun."

This time, when Aiden met his gaze, the warning was clear. He could tease his second in command, but any action that was meant to harm the vampire would be dealt with swiftly and painfully.

Adriel inclined his head. "It was all in good fun."

"Good. Now, when can we eat?" Aiden asked, changing subjects.

"Sir, are you hungry?"

Aiden shook his head. "Not me." He pointed to Meryn, who turned around as if on cue.
 

"I smell food. I'm hungry."

"Then, by all means, let us find you some sustenance." Adriel bowed.

Meryn threw both arms in the air. "Yes! Food!"

"
Denka
, you're going to have them thinking I don't feed you. We ate less than an hour ago," the squire said, smiling softly at his charge.

Meryn stopped walking and faced the group. She pointed to her squire. "Ryuu feeds me."

The announcement was so blunt and unexpected the men began to chuckle.

Micah wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Of course he does, how could he leave such a gorgeous flower to languish without food." Together with Bethy they steered Meryn toward the transport tunnel.

"Your witch. Do I have to kill him?" Aiden asked, growling.

Adriel pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, sir. He is like that with every woman he meets."

"Every woman?" Aiden asked.

Declan nodded. "Yes, sir. Young, old, thin, curvy, shifter, vampire, it does not matter. He treats them all like goddesses."

"He must be popular." Gavriel said, clenching his teeth.

Adriel sighed. "He is, but he is never inappropriate with anyone's mate, despite what the men here in the city may think. Micah is beloved by all the women here because in some sad cases, his words are the only ones of kindness they hear."

Adriel watched as Gavriel and Aiden's expressions changed from suspicion to respect.

Aiden shrugged. "I don't see the harm."

Adriel hid a smile. As he had suspected from previous correspondences, his commander was a softie when it came to matters of the heart.

Aiden was all smiles until he watched as Meryn dropped out of sight down the transport tunnel. "I'll kill him if she's hurt!"

Adriel pulled out his pocket watch. Half-past eleven. Wonderful. His day was just starting.

*****

"Oh! I want to try some of those!" Meryn said, pointing excitedly to the shish kebab vendor.

Adriel turned to Etain, who nodded. "Be right back." Etain jogged to the vendor.

Meryn frowned. "I could have ordered for myself."

Bethy looked at him, and Adriel nodded. She sighed and turned to Meryn. "Noctem Falls doesn't receive many human visitors; it's best to let the men order for you."

Meryn tilted her head. "How will they get used to dealing with humans, if the few times humans visit, a unit member runs interference?"

Adriel blinked. He had never thought of it like that.

Meryn sighed and walked after Etain, Ryuu right behind her. When she popped up beside Etain, the fae looked back to where they stood, a questioning look on his face. Adriel nodded. Etain stepped closer to Meryn in a protective manner.

Adriel turned to Bethy. "Is she always like this?"

Bethy smiled. "If you mean does she somehow manage to look into the heart of matters and deal with things in an efficient and fair manner, the answer is yes. She may not do well with strangers, but she definitely marches to the beat of her own drum."

"How remarkable," he murmured.

At the food vendor, the vampire who was handing over the kebabs was smiling down at Meryn and laughing. Meryn stuck her tongue out at the man making him cackle harder. A second kebab joined the first and Meryn's face lit up. She took a bite off the first stick and began bopping around in an impromptu little dance.

The next vendor down, who had watched the entire interaction with curiosity, leaned over his counter and shouted to Meryn. "If you like those, you have to try some of my meat pies. On the house and welcome!"

Beside him, Declan exclaimed, "What?"

Aiden turned to him. "What is the matter? Is she safe?"

Adriel shook his head and just stared. "Old man Richter does not give anything away. He usually charges people he does not like double, just because he can. If he could get away with charging for napkins, he would; he is that tight with a dollar. He must be taken with your mate."

Meryn made a beeline to the pie vendor. She handed her squire two empty sticks and hopped from foot to foot in anticipation of her next treat.

With a gentle smile, the older vampire handed Meryn a napkin-wrapped pie. She smiled up at him and took a bite. She swallowed quickly and began to blow on the hot snack.

"I'll be damned. How did she charm that old bastard?" Micah whispered.

"She's Meryn," Bethy said, an amused look on her face.

Adriel turned to Aiden. "You never stood a chance, did you?"

Aiden shook his head. "Nope. She beat me into submission. I'm glad though; I've never been happier."

Startled, Declan turned to their commander. "She beat you? Sir?"

Aiden smiled wide and rubbed his chin. He looked at Declan and winked. "And set my car on fire. But I'll tell you all about that later, when were in a less public place."

Declan nodded then turned and stared at Meryn who was waving her meat pie around, exclaiming it to be the best meat pie in the whole world.

"Look at their faces," Micah said, pointing to the crowd. "They're enchanted by her."

"They do not see many pregnant women nowadays. It has been quite some time since our last birth here in the city." Adriel sighed.
 

"As soon as we show Aiden and Meryn the city, we need to meet with my uncle," Bethy said before she looped her arm around his.

Adriel patted her hand. "Of course, dearest."

"She's going to eat herself sick," Aiden said as Meryn was invited to another food cart.

"Today is a hungry day, Aiden. Let her get as much nutrition as possible. Tomorrow could be a sick day," Beth admonished.

Aiden nodded quickly. "I know; I just don't know where she puts it. She's only so big."

"She is eating for two, sir," Micah added.

Aiden turned to Adriel. "Later, I want to talk to you about something that happened up at the portal."

Adriel inclined his head. "Of course, sir."

After another twenty minutes of bouncing from vendor to vendor, Meryn patted her belly. She waved goodbye to everyone and walked back over to where they waited. "The food here is amazing!" She looked up at her squire. "Can you learn how to make those little meat pies?"

Ryuu nodded. "Of course,
denka
."

"I am glad that were able to find something you liked." Adriel nodded his head to the open square where dozens of merchants were set up.

"Me too! So, what is this, like, the shopping place?" Meryn waved around them.

Micah stepped forward. "Sir, may I?"

"Of course, Micah." Adriel nodded.

Micah bowed low and stood up, a charming smile in place. "My lady, after entering the city from the Ledge, you entered the Grand Hall. From there we used what we call the transport tunnel to drop down to where the Levels begin. When the city was first designed, there was a bit of prejudice left over from the old days, so the levels closest to the surface, or where the humans were, denoted a drop in class in the social structure. This is Level Six, the Market Place. Here vendors and merchants of all kinds set up daily to sell their wares." Micah pointed to the rows and rows of carts.

Meryn smiled. "It feels like a Middle Eastern bazaar."
 

Micah grinned broadly. "It does, doesn't it? Now, here's where it gets a bit tricky. As you descend lower into the city, the higher the social standing. On each level, the closer you are to the transport tunnel, the better your standing. Vampires are extremely class conscious."