suppressed. He could understand her reluctance,
he himself dreaded this trip. He hadn’t been in Legba since his mother dragged
him here at the age of seventeen. Almost three centuries ago, the memory burned
and he fought to push down on his fury.
He looked around the
sky lift station and sighed, he hated having to check in, but it was necessary.
One: he wanted the royal family to know they had arrived. He was not skulking
and sneaking onto their realm. And two: never let it be said that he was afraid
of the royal family or what they could do to him. Xavier's instructions to him
were clear. While his brother held no fear of the Queen, the inconvenience of
pissing her off was not something Xavier wanted to deal with. Seeing the way
Liliana paled at the portal officer’s instruction, he couldn’t do it. His
brother would be pissed, probably accuse him of once again doing things the hard
way. He’d take the dressing down from his brother in order to spare his mate
the fear wafting from her.
Stepping into the
sky lift, he watched as Liliana punched in the code for her parent's home. Her
mounting fear pulled him from his unsettling thoughts, the need to comfort her
a compulsion. His hand reached automatically to rub her back. The contact with
her skin tingled. She sighed and moved closer, settling her head onto his
shoulder. Leo leaned down and laid a small kiss to her hair, inhaling her scent
and allowing it to push away his anxiety at being back in this realm.
The ride was done in
tense silence. The portal station was situated in the metropolitan area of the
realm. It needed to have close access to the market square, which was central
to Legba. They sped through the realm’s business districts, and the bigger
buildings gave way to small neighborhoods. The Eshu neighborhoods, were large
floating pods, on which multiple houses were built. Each pod was usually
occupied by a family from immediate to second and sometimes third generations.
Sometimes the wealthier families had individual pods for each family’s home,
and a central pod on which they gathered and the children played. As the air
lift continued, the groupings of houses were more sporadic, the space in
between the pods where the Eshu lived wider. Leo tipped his head in curiosity,
wondering how far outside of the city they would travel.
His eyebrows winged
high on his forehead when the lift came to a stop. Leo took his first look at
the home where Liliana grew up. The large oval structure was white with large
windows from the roof to the ground. Their yard was lush, native shrubbery
lining the iridescent tiles that cut a path from their front door to the air
lift pad. Their house stood well apart from the others in the neighborhood,
floating along its own pod. It spoke of her family’s wealth, that they were not
connected to any others. It gave the family privacy and exclusivity. No one
could simply ‘walk’ or stroll onto their land, they would need permission or
would plunge thousands of feet in the attempt. Their nearest neighbor was
barely visible on the horizon.
“You’re awfully far
from your neighbors.” He kept his voice casual as he held out his hand to help
her from the lift.
She grimaced. “Yeah.
My father’s an only child, and he and my mother’s family don’t get along. The
family pod is the one we passed a moment ago.” She pointed to the neighborhood
to the east of them. If my father could be further from them, I’m sure he would
be. He wanted to live in the city, closer to his investments. My mother wanted
to live close to her family. This is their compromise.”
“A mansion…near the
edge of the realm no one can access.”
She smiled at his
dry tone. “Did I mention my father could be petty?”
"Oh Gods,
Lily. We are saved." Her mother’s cry interrupted them. She descended the front
steps, her stride unrushed.
In a simple long
sheath of gold, Liliana’s mother was elegant. Her aqua tresses were pinned atop
her head in a
he himself dreaded this trip. He hadn’t been in Legba since his mother dragged
him here at the age of seventeen. Almost three centuries ago, the memory burned
and he fought to push down on his fury.
He looked around the
sky lift station and sighed, he hated having to check in, but it was necessary.
One: he wanted the royal family to know they had arrived. He was not skulking
and sneaking onto their realm. And two: never let it be said that he was afraid
of the royal family or what they could do to him. Xavier's instructions to him
were clear. While his brother held no fear of the Queen, the inconvenience of
pissing her off was not something Xavier wanted to deal with. Seeing the way
Liliana paled at the portal officer’s instruction, he couldn’t do it. His
brother would be pissed, probably accuse him of once again doing things the hard
way. He’d take the dressing down from his brother in order to spare his mate
the fear wafting from her.
Stepping into the
sky lift, he watched as Liliana punched in the code for her parent's home. Her
mounting fear pulled him from his unsettling thoughts, the need to comfort her
a compulsion. His hand reached automatically to rub her back. The contact with
her skin tingled. She sighed and moved closer, settling her head onto his
shoulder. Leo leaned down and laid a small kiss to her hair, inhaling her scent
and allowing it to push away his anxiety at being back in this realm.
The ride was done in
tense silence. The portal station was situated in the metropolitan area of the
realm. It needed to have close access to the market square, which was central
to Legba. They sped through the realm’s business districts, and the bigger
buildings gave way to small neighborhoods. The Eshu neighborhoods, were large
floating pods, on which multiple houses were built. Each pod was usually
occupied by a family from immediate to second and sometimes third generations.
Sometimes the wealthier families had individual pods for each family’s home,
and a central pod on which they gathered and the children played. As the air
lift continued, the groupings of houses were more sporadic, the space in
between the pods where the Eshu lived wider. Leo tipped his head in curiosity,
wondering how far outside of the city they would travel.
His eyebrows winged
high on his forehead when the lift came to a stop. Leo took his first look at
the home where Liliana grew up. The large oval structure was white with large
windows from the roof to the ground. Their yard was lush, native shrubbery
lining the iridescent tiles that cut a path from their front door to the air
lift pad. Their house stood well apart from the others in the neighborhood,
floating along its own pod. It spoke of her family’s wealth, that they were not
connected to any others. It gave the family privacy and exclusivity. No one
could simply ‘walk’ or stroll onto their land, they would need permission or
would plunge thousands of feet in the attempt. Their nearest neighbor was
barely visible on the horizon.
“You’re awfully far
from your neighbors.” He kept his voice casual as he held out his hand to help
her from the lift.
She grimaced. “Yeah.
My father’s an only child, and he and my mother’s family don’t get along. The
family pod is the one we passed a moment ago.” She pointed to the neighborhood
to the east of them. If my father could be further from them, I’m sure he would
be. He wanted to live in the city, closer to his investments. My mother wanted
to live close to her family. This is their compromise.”
“A mansion…near the
edge of the realm no one can access.”
She smiled at his
dry tone. “Did I mention my father could be petty?”
"Oh Gods,
Lily. We are saved." Her mother’s cry interrupted them. She descended the front
steps, her stride unrushed.
In a simple long
sheath of gold, Liliana’s mother was elegant. Her aqua tresses were pinned atop
her head in a
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