The Lion Soul by Amy Sumida

Chapter Thirty-Three

We reached the Wolf Camp that night and strode into the Wolf Lord's tent to find a party underway. Warlords and their valorians sat at the long, heavy table in the center of the tent, conversing loudly and a bit raucously as they ate and drank. Muscular arms were slung around shoulders—some broad and some delicate, lips nuzzled against cheeks and necks, and hands wandered, though this was all done without coarseness. Love shown casually, as if it couldn't be contained.

The head of the table was taken by two men, one with hair in an unnatural crimson color and the other a blond. To their right sat Aidan and Taryn. The rest of the people were unknown to me, but they were all fae and all beautiful. Strikingly beautiful. There was even a man with skin the color of midnight. Not a deep brown but a pure black. It made him look as if he were carved of polished stone. I'd never seen anyone with skin like that, and I had to stop myself from gaping at him. The men outnumbered the women, only three ladies were in attendance, but they had an aura about them that made them seem just as imposing as the men.

The redhead at the head of the table stood up, and everyone went silent. “Kaelen,” he said in a deep, gravelly voice—a voice that belonged in the shadows. A voice that you hoped stayed in the shadows.

“Hello, Vath,” Kaelen said warmly. “How are you?”

“I'm damn good.” Vath grinned wolfishly and set his hand on the blond's shoulder. “This is Devyn, my mate. Dev, this is Kaelen, the Lion Lord.”

Kaelen's eyes tightened at the word mate.

“I'm also his husband,” the blond added with a grin. “Hi there.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Devyn. This is Rieyu, my valorian.” Kaelen drew me forward. “Rieyu, this is the Wolf Lord, Vathmar Lethurin, and his husband, Devyn.”

Devyn nodded to Kaelen appreciatively.

“You already know Taryn and Aidan,” Kae waved at the Eagle Lord and Valorian. “Around the table from them, we have—”

“Oh, come on, that's going to take forever,” a dark-haired man drawled as he stood up and came over to us. “Get up, you fuckers, and come introduce yourselves. This is big, we've nearly got all of us now.” He extended his hand to me as he said, “I'm Ravyn, the Hawk Valorian. That guy over there with the white hair, who is taking his sweet ass time getting over here, is my husband, the Hawk Lord.”

I bowed over Ravyn's hand as I shook it.

“Oh, that's fucking cool as shit,” Ravyn declared. To the white-haired man, he said, “I'm going to start bowing to people like that.”

“Do not,” the Hawk Lord said crisply. Then he shook my hand. “I'm Dalsharan. Please, call me Dal.”

“Rie,” I said.

We nodded to each other.

The rest of them introduced themselves and shook my hand, then we were drawn over to the table and offered food and wine. Within a few minutes, we were part of the festivities, Kaelen at home instantly, while I remained quiet and watchful, settling in more slowly.

“We received your message about the Lion Valorian,” Dalsharan said to Kaelen with a nod my way.

Everyone went suddenly silent.

I shared a grim look with Kaelen. We'd forgotten that he had sent word of my unusual circumstances to the other warlords before we left for Varalorre.

“And?” Kaelen asked.

“We've discussed it at length, one of us had a talk with the Death Dragon himself,” Dalsharan looked pointedly at Tristan, the Leopard Valorian.

“He doesn't like being called that,” Tristan said. Then he looked at me. “I don't fully trust Ry, but I do believe that he wants to get back in the Goddess's good graces, and he'll do anything to accomplish that.”

“What did he say to you?” Kaelen asked.

“Oh, some cryptic bullshit mostly. Stuff about ending the war peacefully. I don't know about that, but I do think he did it to help us, or himself, or both.”

“He's trying to say that we think you're going to be a great asset to our cause,” Aidan took over, then sent me a supportive smile.

“Our Queen believes so as well,” Kaelen said.

“How much Farungal are you?” Navaren, the Fox Lord, another redhead, asked.

“Half, I think,” I said. “Ry'zaran wasn't clear.”

“It's not half,” Tristan corrected. “Ry told me that he was only able to place a little of himself inside you without the Goddess noticing. And, just to be clear, it's Ry'zaran's essence, not the Farungals. Although you were transformed by the Goddess and Ry together, you were not created as they created the Farungals. I believe this makes you a separate race entirely. Maybe even a demigod.”

“A demigod?” Kae asked, startled.

Tristan shrugged. “Unlike the rest of us, who the Goddess transformed using a piece of fae soul, Rieyu was transformed with Kaelen's soul and Ry'zaran's divine essence. I think that makes him part god.”

My jaw fell—along with everyone else's.

“I think you'll be able to do things that the rest of us can't,” Tristan went on. “And I'm damn curious to see what you're capable of.”

“Demigod or not, the Goddess must have noticed that Ry'zaran touched Rieyu,” Kardri, the Leopard Lord, who was also the man with that incredible onyx skin, said. “There's no way that fucker touched a valorian at the same time as our Goddess without her being aware of it. I don't care how small an amount of himself Ry'zaran added. The Great Mother allowed this, and that,”—he leaned forward to level a stare on Kae and me—“more than anything else, tells me that you're necessary, Rieyu. Our Goddess doesn't make mistakes; she corrects them.”

“But what does that mean?” Navaren asked.

“It means that she's more powerful than that winged idiot,” Kardri huffed.

“No, what does it mean for Rieyu to be part god?” Navaren clarified. “What can he do?”

“When I shift, I become a creature that is part lion and part dragon. In my culture, my old culture”—I glanced at a grim Kaelen—“we have a name for such a creature. It's called a Shirie. I have a lion's body with horns, some golden dragon scales on my face, sharper fangs, and a scorpion's barb hidden in the tuft of my tail.”

“And he roars more like a dragon than a lion,” Kaelen added.

“I wasn't aware that the Farungal had the ability to shapeshift,” Ashar, the Owl Lord, noted with a lifted brow at the other warlords.

“Well, it's irrelevant since Rie's not part Farungal, but since you brought it up, they did have that ability. The Farungal used to be able to shapeshift into small dragons,” Tristan announced. “And . . .”—he paused dramatically and looked around the table— “they had elemental magic.”

“We know that, Tryst,” Kardri said. “That's one of the things the Goddess took from them. It's the reason they only use death magic now.”

“No, I mean they had magic in their dragon forms,” Tristan specified.

That shut everyone up.

“At least, that's what Ry said. But I don't see why he'd lie about it.”

“Can you please stop using a nickname for the fucking Green Dragon of Death?” Kardri growled.

“Nope.” Tristan grinned brightly at his warlord.

Kardri sighed and rolled his eyes.

“What I want to know is if you can do it.” Tristan looked at me. “Can you perform magic in your other form? What did you call it?”

“A Shirie,” I said absently as I thought about it. “I don't know. I never attempted it.”

“Ravyn foretold that all the valorians would be needed to end the war,” Dal said. “And I, like Kardri, believe you are integral to our success, Rieyu. This is especially true if you can perform magic while shifted.” He looked at the others. “This may be just what we need.”

“What does that mean?” Kaelen asked warily.

“We've been learning to unite our magic,” Dalsharan explained. “We've managed it a few times and have done some incredible things, but that's because we focus our magic on one purpose at the same time. The prophecy says that all the valorians will be needed, and we've interpreted this to mean that we must unite, at least the valorians.”

“We've done that,” Ravyn interrupted. “Just as he said. But it's not a strong connection. It wavers. I think it has something to do with the love we use to fuel the magic.”

“You use love?” I asked in surprise. “To kill?”

“Love can be used for anything,” Devyn said. “It's just a source of energy as far as emotion magic is concerned. But the issue is, our love is different. We're in love with each other.” He waved a hand at Vath, who gave him a lopsided grin. “But not with each other.” He moved his hand to include everyone at the table. “Maybe like siblings, but that's all. So, we're uniting several loves as opposed to one. I know this is splitting hairs, but I think it makes a difference.”

“How would my using magic while shifted help?” I asked.

Dal grimaced. “Honestly, I don't know. Perhaps your magic is stronger since you're a demigod. Perhaps it can give us a push.”

“Or maybe we all need to be shifted when we unite,” Ravyn suggested.

“But then we won't be able to use magic,” Sarah, the Owl Valorian, said.

“Maybe with Rieyu, we will.” Ravyn winked at me.

“Either way, you are necessary to our efforts, Rieyu,” Dalsharan said again. “We're glad to have you with us.”

“And I'm relieved to hear you say that,” Kaelen said. “We've just been chased out of the Lion Kingdom by an angry mob.”

“What?!” the Wolf Lord snarled as he leaned forward.

“As I mentioned earlier, the Lion Queen has given her support, but word of Rie's Farungal connection got out, and the citizens of Caralin were not happy about it,” Kaelen said dryly.

“How rude!” Luca, the Lynx Valorian exclaimed. “You're here to protect them and that's how they repay you?”

“Yes, I am disappointed in my fellow Lion Faeries, to say the least,” Kaelen growled.

“You haven't said much, Rieyu,” Navaren noted. “What's your take on this?”

“On the possibility of me being a demigod?” I asked, and he nodded. “I think I have the strength and senses of a dragon in addition to that of a lion. Beyond that, I am no different than I was when I first stepped foot on this continent. I most assuredly do not feel divine.”

“Well said,” Vathmar growled. “I like you.”

Devyn scowled at him.

“You know what I mean.” The Wolf Lord rolled his golden eyes.

“Wait until you see him fight,” Kaelen said proudly. “Then you'll really be impressed.”

“Yes, Aidan's been regaling us with stories of the Lion Valorian's prowess on the battlefield,” Thorne, the Lynx Lord, said. “But those are all secondhand reports, originating from you, Lion Lord.”

“His skill as a warrior is helpful, but we're more concerned about magical talent now,” Taeven, the Falcon Lord, said. “How far along were you before you got chased out of Varalorre, Rieyu?”

“His teachers declared him ready,” Kaelen answered for me. “We were just about to leave when they came for us.”

“That's fortunate,” Julianna, the Coyote Valorian, noted.

I grunted.

Vathmar made a similar sound at the same time.

We looked at each other in surprise while the rest of them laughed.

“Well, welcome to the Wolf Camp, both of you,” Devyn said. “We start training in the morning.”