I am Sam
Chapter Thirty-Six

ASLAN

I will replace her and bring her back to me; Ronan will die at the hands of my sword if he thinks he stands a chance of taking my happiness from me.

The moment we enter Sansa, I’m striding toward my mother’s quarters with determination. I sent the Aeonians upstairs to shower and freshen up, we’re all covered in the blood of Ronan’s men, and I should probably be doing the same thing, except right at this very moment, I cannot think of anything else besides getting to my precious Sasha before something happens to her.

“Mother?” The moment I enter her quarters, I replace her standing before a round table filled with precious little seedlings, the Seelie loves nature; it is our religion, and mother loves to take care of the little ones who need help.

The moment I come to stand behind her, however, she slowly turns around to face me, but when I notice our precious white stone in the palm of her hand, my brows furrow in response before giving her a questioning look,

“Mother, why are you holding our power stone in your hand?” Looking up at me, I can see concern sketched across her beautiful features, and I know that look; she had the same look when our father became ill, just before he lost his mind and nearly killed her.

“I had a vision, Aslan. I saw things, terrible things...” She looks down, and now I am incredibly concerned; tilting her head up to look at me, I suddenly see a tear rolling down her cheek; wiping it away, I immediately drop to one knee before her; she is my mother, but foremost my Queen, I respect her the most out of any other living being and would do absolutely anything she asks.

“Tell me what you need me to do, mother,” My voice is stoic as I stare up at her. Gently coming to cup my cheek, she sighs,

“I need you to take our stone with you when you return to the Unseelie realm,” Furrowing my brows, I’m blinking back in confusion,

“No, mother. Surely you would not want the stone to land in the hands of Ronan or Malvessa?” Gently rubbing at my cheek, she suddenly has a robust determination burning behind her eyes,

“Aslan, you would never allow our precious stone to fall into the hands of those who see fit to use it for evil.” Clenching my jaw, I nod stiffly,

“Never, my Queen.” The words come out strong and confident because it’s true; I would never allow our power to fall into the hands of the wicked.

“Take the stone; if my guess is correct, then Ronan will bring his stones along with him, either to take the one's from Malvessa or combining his powers with hers; if that is the case, you will have to kill them both in order to take all four stones from them.” Nodding once, I lower my eyes,

“As you wish, my Queen.”

“You’re father did us a great injustice the day he broke the stones, giving them each their unique powers and handing them over to each house.” Clenching my jaw, the mention of my father instantly has a pang of pain and regret slicing through my chest, I suppose because in the end; I was the one who had to end his life.

“He was ill, mother. Not within his right mind, but look at the good it brought the other houses, the power they have because of us.” Narrowing her eyes, she tilts her head up to me,

“And look at all the wrong it has done in the hands of those wicked and cruel; the only ones who truly deserved the stones no longer exist.” Furrowing my brows, I swallow hard,

“There is still Asher, and I believe that Atlas could be a valuable asset to our realm; he is nothing like Ronan.” Thinking it over for just a moment, mother has a wary look in her eyes when she sighs,

“Only time will tell, I suppose.” Nodding, I slowly rise to stand; it’s then that she places the stone in my hand before looking back up at me.

“You are my son and the next rightful ruler of our Kingdom. You, my son, will not carry the sins of your father into your reign, promise me, Aslan,” And my jaw goes slack,

“Mother...” But she merely raises her hand to silence me,

“What your father did was foolish, and not within his right mind, influences that could only have come from somewhere beyond our walls.” My jaw clenches tightly as I tilt my head questioningly,

“Are you suggesting that father was unfaithful?”

“Suggestive words carry no true value unless governed by something substantial Aslan, my words are not those I choose to use lightly. I have seen it, a child born outside these walls that carry your blood and Lana’s blood in her veins, that is not of my womb.” Swallowing hard, I’m blinking back as I try to make sense of such betrayal,

“Which child, mother, tell me?” Shaking her head, she lowers her eyes,

“It is not time, and the child is not yet of age,” My mouth snaps shut as I think it over, a child born, related to Lana and me. How could my father do such a thing, to be unfaithful to our Queen in such a way as to bring shame to our entire family? Such a child would be better off dead.

“Does Lana know?” My eyes search hers for answers; she knows who this child is but refuses to tell me; she’s seen it and chooses to hide her identity; why?

“No,” Her voice coming out in no more than a whisper. “And we will not burden her with such news right now; the unity between her and Liam is to be guarded and protected in this time; their love is still far too fragile and susceptible to damage if overloaded with news such as this.” Swallowing hard, I clench my jaw as I stare at her,

“And what of my unity with Sasha? Am I there for not to be treated in the same way as Lana and Liam, to be guarded and protected against such damages?” Cupping both my cheeks, mother gently pulls me toward her so my face will lower to her stature, placing an affectionate kiss on each cheek,

“Aslan, my dearest Aslan,” Your strength cannot be compared to the power of Lana, just as Liam cannot be compared to Sasha.” Pulling back, I suddenly take a slow step backwards, her words stinging the very fabric of my heart.

“You do not think me and Sasha to be the same?”

“Aslan,” She says my name so sympathetically as if it has already been decided somehow, and I can’t help but shake my head at her,

“No, I will not hear it. Sasha is a goddess, my muse. She does not deserve to be pulled apart and treated with the kind of indignity, such as the likes of witches and wolves have bestowed on her,”

“But Aslan, she is both of those very things you speak of; her mate is of Ultima wolf nature; she has already been spoken for,” I suddenly take another step back as I shake my head,

“I do not agree; if she was given a chance to choose, not out of obligation, not out of genetics, but to truly choose a mate for herself; she would choose me; I believe it with all that I am, she merely needs some time, and in time she would see that her love for me would be more real than the animalistic nature of her make-up.” Shaking her head, mother looks down,

“You are my son, and I wish you only all the happiness in all the worlds combined.” Looking up at me, I can see shimmers of tears dancing behind her eyes, “If someone were ever to come and try to take Liam from Lana based on the words you have just spoken, would you stand by and allow it?” Looking down, I slowly shake my head as I swallow a sudden lump in my throat; hearing the truth spoken in such a way hurts more than the lie of hoping for a miracle. My eyes slowly lift to my mother’s when I say,

“I will never stop loving Sasha, I have had many women, but none has made me feel the way she does. I will fight for her, for her honour,” My eyes lower as I swallow hard, “If she chooses then to leave and go back to the one she is supposedly fated to, I will not stop her, and nor should you; but I will never stop hoping for a miracle, and I will never stop loving her.” Nodding, mother climbs into my arms and allows me to fold my arms around her tightly,

“And I will never stop hoping for you, my Aslan; if Sasha is the one your heart has chosen, then I pray that she will realize just how lucky she would be to have you.” And I want to correct my mother, but I don’t; because Sasha would not be the lucky one, I would.

LIAM

When I heard that Aslan was back, I made my way downstairs, Lana was still fast asleep, and I didn’t have the heart to wake her. After the intense passion we shared just before she finally fell asleep, she needs all the rest she can get. My dragon, it seems, is quite the starved beast when it comes to our precious Lana. Every inch of her needs to be worshipped for the breathtakingly beautiful woman that she is; it’s because of Lana that I’ve been able to sleep; from the moment my dragon came to be, it’s been constant insomnia, my dragon not allowing me an ounce of rest; but it seems the moment I was able to give in to my fated mate, and she so willingly and openly accepted my beast without question, he calmed and became peaceful.

Taking the bottom step, I see him coming around the corner, and I freeze in my stride, looking up at him; I’ve suddenly forgotten what I was about to say, but Aslan doesn’t let the silence linger. Instead, he closes the gap between us and pulls me in for the biggest bear hug I’ve ever had; finally pulling away, he smiles when he looks down at me, true happiness and joy in his eyes at that moment.

“Liam, brother. I haven’t even had the chance for us to sit down together and discuss how incredibly honoured and happy I am for you to be a part of our family,” I blink back with a smile that seems to grow as I keep looking up at him, but then I remember the reason I came looking for him in the first place,

“Aslan, I would like to help if I can be of assistance to you,” Furrowing his brows, he gives me a questioning look,

“But surely I cannot ask you to leave Lana’s side during this time; your union is still far too fragile, as I’m sure there are still many more moments of an intimate union to be shared in the coming weeks, if not months.” I’m suddenly feeling stuck in a moment of wanting to say thank you, but also not wanting to discuss my intimate relations with his sister, call me old-fashioned in that way, but that feels weird.

“We are elemental witches; I cannot turn my back on my friends; if they fight, then I fight with them,”

“I respect that little brother, but will my sister feel the same way?” He asks, giving me an amused and questioning look. Swallowing hard, my eyes lower to the ground, and I know without a doubt that she would. Looking back up at him, I level my shoulders with a stiff nod,

“Without a doubt, she would.” At that moment, my voice has never sounded more confident; Lana did that to me; she gave me a confidence I have never had before. Nodding once, a small acknowledging smile creeps up at the corners of his mouth.

“Very well; I leave soon, make sure you and your friends are ready,” Turning around, he starts walking off in the opposite direction when he swings around, giving me a full-blown smile while walking backwards, “Oh and Liam,”

“Mmm?” My eyes fly up to him then,

“We’ll have that welcome to the family drink when we get back, that's a promise.” Giving me a nod and a wink, he spins back and heads off, and I’m left standing there, both confused and awe-inspired. I don’t know what it feels like to have a sibling who cares and doesn’t want to kill you around every corner. Aslan openly accepted me as his brother without questioning whether I was weak or strong enough, whether I was good enough to be part of his family in the first place.

I’m not used to having things be this way; in Aeonian, Ronan pushed us to our breaking points; he always picked on me, calling me weak because I was gentler than Eris; and yet here, even though Aslan towers over me almost like a giant, I don’t feel intimated by him, nor does he make me feel like I should feel that way.

I feel safe here and truly loved and wanted for the first time. I feel stronger here than I’ve ever felt before.

~

By the time Aslan and I make our way towards the castle’s front doors, I’m surprised to see my precious Lana standing and waiting for us, dressed like she’s ready for battle. Frowning, my heart begins to race uncontrollably; the plan was for her to stay here, to be safe until I got back; we spoke about this, and she agreed.

“No, my love, you belong here,” My words come out soft yet laced with deep concern as I take her soft hands in mine, but she merely cups my cheek with her hand as she looks deep into my eyes with her crystal blue ones.

And I melt.

“I will be worried; you will be worried, and we will both be vulnerable Liam; please, don’t ask me to stay here and wait for you to return. We stay together and fight together, my precious heart; we shall never be separated again.” And the shimmer of beautiful determination dancing behind her precious eyes, a clear indication that I’m not winning this one; when her bottom lip pouts, I’m like putty in her hands; she’s so adorable. I immediately take her in my arms, cupping her cheeks before gently pushing my lips to her sweet ones.

“You know I can’t resist you when you do that,” Leaning into me, a soft smile reaches her angelic eyes,

“Then don’t resist me, my love, I will fight with you, and we will return home together once we are done.” I stare long and hard into her eyes, nodding as my lips descend onto hers again.

“Together.” I breathe.

Noah, Circen and Miera all join us; they’re ready and dressed for war if it comes to it. As Noah pulls me in for a hug and Circen enters from the side, I love my friends so much. They’ve always been there for me since I was a baby, and I would follow them into any situation, anywhere, no question.

I’m surprised that Miera comes from the other side and embraces me with a warm hug, and I return it gladly as I wrap an arm around her too. All four of us stand like that for a moment longer. Having grown up together, we’re more than just friends; we’re family; if Ronan or Malvessa think they’re going to break us up, they have another thing coming. Ronan lost us the moment we stopped being afraid of him, and now, with having each other and breaking free from his evil, we can do this; we can fight back.

Lana is standing off to the side, just watching us, when to my surprise, Noah and Circen pull her in; she’s surprised at first, but then a tiny giggle escapes her lips, and I have to control the boner that that one sound sends down south. Man, I love this girl.

Pulling away, Noah looks at me, and he’s got his usual goofball smile stretching from ear to ear when he nods,

“Just like old times,” Smirking, I’m smiling as I pull Lana to my side before planting a soft kiss against her temple,

“Even better than old times, man.” Nodding, we’re all smiling in the face of impending doom; we’re all grinning like a bunch of weirdos. I guess because, in some way, we’ve always been and will continue to be the weirdos.

“Let’s go get our friends,” Circen smiles with a shrug,

“It’s going to be dangerous,” I sigh, looking down at Lana with concern in my eyes,

“Danger, I laugh in the face of danger, ha-ha-ha-ha!” Noah pipes up, and Circen suddenly gives him a raised brow,

“Lion king, really, Noah?” Shrugging, Noah smiles brightly,

“What, it...”

“Relaxes you, we know,” Circen, Miera and me all retort, chuckling as we roll our eyes at him. Smirking, Noah can’t stop smiling; his go-to thing in scary situations is humour, always has been, and I doubt it will change anytime soon.

“Alright, we’re all good to go?” Aslan’s voice comes up behind me, and he’s got his serious, I'm about to kill someone face on, nodding; we all suddenly mimic his serious expression.

I guess this is it; no turning back now, let's go stop the bad guys.