Falling in Love with the King of Beasts

(August 2021) READER SHOUT OUT: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for the very, very generous gifts you gave in July. I am always a little embarrassed when readers give extra on top of paying for my content. I am truly humbled. I want to say a special thank you to these readers whose generosity made my jaw drop:  PBMamaRae, MoonGoddess21, DaoistPrvZp, Jak_BeQuick, S_courge, April_Jo_Perez, Stacey Moncrief3242

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GAHRYE

Gahrye sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "Kalle is a Guardian," he said quietly. "They have a vow… a curse. They aren't allowed to cross the traverse. If they do, the voices can take them—at least, that's how I understand it. I'll admit, when Shaw told me I wasn't at my best. But in speaking to Kalle… she can't ever go to Anima. And the day will come when I have to. The day might come tomorrow. I don't want you to worry about it. We knew this going in. It's just… it's just hard."

Elia stared at him, her eyes wide. "It can't be that cut and dried—"

"It is," he said firmly. "You think anything else would have kept Shaw out of Anima for all these years? The man is obsessed with us. It's creepy."

Elia snorted. "I had noticed a certain amount of… I don't know. He just seems a little imbalanced on it all. It's like he gets excited when bad things happen."

"Kalle says he's just fascinated and doesn't have a good sense of self-preservation," he told her, "but I'm not so sure. There's something up with that male. I don't trust him."

"And I won't either. So, why are you trusting his word that Kalle can't go through?"

"Because Kalle told me that herself. She said she's going to look into it. See if there's any loopholes. But there won't be. I'm certain Shaw must have looked into that at some point."

"Then that means…" Elia bit her lip. She scratched the arm of the couch with a fingernail, her brows furrowed. "That means you need to stay here when it's time for me to go back. I will miss you, Gahrye, but I would never stand between you and your mate."

Gahrye shook his head. "I knew you'd say that. And I love you for it. But it's not up to you. I made a vow—a blood vow—to Reth. Not to you. You can't release me from it. And we both know Reth won't. Not until you're safe with him, at least."

Elia shrugged, uncomfortable. She didn't want to admit that her mate was stubborn as a rock and would prioritize her over everyone—anyone—else. "Well, then, you return with me to get me to him, then we explain the situation, and he can release you, and you can come back here. I mean, that's assuming that you want to."

Gahrye gave her a flat look. "I only want to be where Kalle is," he muttered. "But my first vow was to you. I'm still your Cohort and Chief Advisor. That's a lifetime role, Elia. Reth vowed rewards for me if I brought you back. To snub those would be an offense to him, but I'd have to be in Anima to receive them it's just… there's just a lot."

"I'll grant you that the blood vow thing is sticky," she said. "And the idea of being home without you breaks my heart. But I'm living the kind of separation you're talking about right now, Gahrye. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy… well, maybe Lucine—but my point is, I'm not selfish enough to put you through this. When the time comes for me to go back, you'll come with me, and then as soon as possible, we'll send you back. Even if Reth doesn't like the idea, he knows what it's like to be separated now, too. Leave him to me. We'll figure it out."

He stared at her. "But… who would advise you?"

"I don't know," she said simply. "But I'm willing to bet I can find someone. Especially after the war. Everyone will be a lot more invested in peace then, I hope. Plus, Reth and I will be together, and… I'm just certain with planning and a little time, we can work it out. Maybe you can stay long enough to help me find someone you know I can trust, and then you come back here?"

Gahrye swallowed hard, afraid to hope. The picture she painted… it was too simple, he knew. She was unaware of the Anima traditions around Cohorts and their loyalty to the Crown—not just the Queen, but the throne itself. He would not be free to leave Anima permanently without Reth's approval.

But if Reth did approve…

Gahrye closed his eyes and let his head drop back to the seat back. If only it could be that simple. He would pray to the Creator who had cursed him… maybe He would finally cut Gahrye a break.

Gahrye wasn't going to hold his breath. And he wasn't going to let himself get his hopes up. They would cross that bridge when they came to it. "We don't need to talk about this right now," he said. "We have more important problems to look at first," he said. "Like… Elia, your stomach is already round."

She tensed. "I know. And… I think I can feel Elreth moving."

"What?!" Gahrye sat up and gaped at her. "Already?"

She looked frightened, then she blinked and her face cleared. "I don't know what that makes me in terms of length of the pregnancy, but… it's too fast, Gahrye. I should have months, even in a human pregnancy, and Anima are supposed to be longer. I don't understand how it's happening, but this is going too fast."

Gahrye blew out a breath. "We'll… we'll figure it out, Elia. Somehow."

She looked at him, her eyes shining with tears. "Even if we don't, it's not your fault, okay? And now that I can talk to Reth, I'm going to make sure he knows that, too. If anything happens to me, it won't be on you."

He raked a hand through his hair and snorted. "Right. You be sure and tell the Lion King that, Elia. He's going to be really philosophical about it if he loses you."

She grimaced. "Maybe… maybe if anything does happen to me, you just don't go back? Take Kalle and run. Go find your own place. Make your own life together."

Gahrye shrugged. "He would find us. I know he's gentle with you, Elia, but you saw him when he got angry at Lucan, and Lucine. You know what he's like when he sees someone as an enemy."

"You will never be my enemy, Gahrye."

"No, I won't. But I might be Reth's."