Chapter 5

I woke on my side to a gentle glow. I was laying on a blanket with another over me. I could feel several wiggling bodies next to my bare chest and lifted the blanket to see my children snuggling up against me for warmth. When I looked up Talia was sitting there smiling at me.

She had the short sword across her lap and whispered quietly, “Welcome back.”

I smiled, “That is what I was going to say to you. How long have I been out?”

She looked at the door into the barn, “The rest of yesterday and all night.”

I glanced past her to two sleeping Kittling females. Talia looked at them and grinned, “The children’s wet nurses. It seems that when you ... healed me it dried up any milk in my breasts.”

I looked back at Talia, “It worked then, you are okay?”

Talia nodded and looked down at the sword in her lap. “We need to talk about this sword.”

I sighed and looked away from her, “You recognized the crest.”

Talia nodded, “It is the family crest of the High King.”

I put my head down, “That Empire is long gone and with it the High King.”

There was silence for a moment before Talia spoke again, “That was not what I wanted to talk about.”

I looked at her as she sat absently fingering the sword. She sighed and shook her head, “Edward, when you gave this to me it was for your own reasons. Unfortunately, Kittling custom is clear. By giving me your sword you have said that on my next season I must find another to ... father my litter.”

I almost jerked up at that, the only thing that kept me, was our children. “No! That is not why I gave that to you.”

Talia looked at me, “I know that Edward but you gave it to me.”

I looked into her eyes, “Talia do not do this.”

Talia looked away as one of the Kittlings next to us woke. I stirred and gently slid out from under the blanket. I gathered my clothes and weapons before leaving. I found one of Talia’s Kittling liegemen below and told him to pass the word we would leave at dawn.

Talia and I were not speaking. I had brought our children down from the loft and let Biscuit see them. Clan Jessip was in a very good mood, the fight the day before had resulted in no loss of life or even any damage. Two of Talia’s liegemen had been injured but would recover within a short time. Clan Jessip had given Talia a small carriage as well as several horses.

I had stood quietly before the Battle mares and asked if they would carry the four younglings I would train. Damina, Lizzie, Sofia and Little Witch had all stepped forward. As we rode away the two Kittling wet nurses and my trainee’s father went with us. It seemed that our kits were constantly being fed as we rode.

Clan Huntis was three days away so that night we stopped away from any dwelling and made camp. That night for the first time since we had been together, I did not sleep with Talia. It was a long uncomfortable night, filled with dark thoughts and little sleep.

In the morning Biscuit gently push against my shoulder as I was settling Lady’s armor. I looked at him and shook my head, “I do not know if I can accept what she is thinking about doing.”

He snorted and quietly moved away, waiting for Talia to come put his armor on. The day was a repeat of the day before, all the Kittlings knew something was wrong between Talia and myself and left us alone. I was thinking hard the whole time we rode, about Talia and myself and what I should do. We entered a forest in the early afternoon. That evening we stopped beside a small stream.

As we set up camp, I only dropped my sleeping roll at the edge of camp before walking to the packs. I went through them until I found what I had been looking for; two necklaces with thin solid gold chains. I walked across the camp to Talia, “Walk with me.”

The camp went silent as she followed me out of camp and past a small clump of brush. I stopped and turned to face her. When she stopped, I knelt at her feet and removed her boots. I broke one of the soft links and quietly reached out to her ankle and wrapped it around her. I broke the longer piece off and squeezed the links of the shorter piece together around her ankle.

I repeated it for the other ankle and then stood and reached for her hand. I wrapped the piece of chain around her wrist and then did the same thing for her other one. With the second necklace, I broke the link at the lock and put it around her neck. With this chain I took the black stone that had been its center piece and placed it in the hollow of her throat before breaking the links again and squeezing the soft gold links together forming a collar.

I took a breath and finally looked into Talia’s eyes, “Ever since we met and bonded I have done as you asked. I have given up my life to follow you and be with you. I have let you guide me and direct what we did with your Kittling customs. Talia, you will be empress and I will not stand in the way. I will have nothing to do with ruling your Empire. The one thing I want is you. I can not accept what you think you have to do. These chains are soft, easily broken. They are a symbol only, that you belong to me, my life mate. If you can not accept this ... break the chains.”

I did not wait for Talia to speak. I turned away and walked back to camp. I picked up my dropped sleeping roll and walked into the gathering darkness, following the stream. After a couple of hundred yards I stopped and unrolled my sleeping pad setting the blanket to the side. As I lay down, I looked at the sky over me and hoped.

Talia came out of the darkness a few minutes later to stand at my feet. Finally after a moment she lay beside me and put her head on my chest. “Edward, you have made things very difficult.”

I held her and waited. When she lifted her head, it was to look into my eyes, “You will leave if I break the chains.”

I only nodded and she sighed, “Edward, our bond would kill you if you left.”

I did not say anything and she put her head back on my chest, “You knew that.”

Finally she moved until she was sitting beside me, “Edward, you put me in chains.”

I smiled, “I also gave you my conditions.”

She smiled, “and when my people start looking at you to answer their problems?”

I took her hand, “My family’s time for ruling is over. I will bed you and take you to a salle to put bruises on your cute butt. I will raise our children and train those you ask me to train. The one thing I will not do is rule your Empire.”

She looked at me for a long time, biting her lip as she thought, finally she nodded. “Very well life mate.”

I hesitated and squeezed her hand, “Could you stop walking behind me and just walk beside me?”

She grinned, “Actually that would be a good thing.”

She laid back down beside me and put her head on my chest. A few minutes later she looked up with a twinkle in her eye, “Are we going to sleep here?”

It was a couple of hours later when we quietly walked into camp and went to her bed. One of the wet nurses was still up and smiled when she saw us together. After we had lain down, she gently moved our kits and placed them between us.

We woke several times in the night for the kits to be fed. I slipped out of bed before dawn and made a slow walk around the outside of the camp. As I came closer to the horses, Kregis stepped out of the shadows. “You and Talia have made up?”

I nodded and he shifted, looking back at the nearby battle horses. He looked at me, “She still carries the sword?”

I nodded and smiled softly, “She is my life mate; her body mine to share. Her kits mine to father. I have little interest in ruling an Empire. The sword was given so she could be healed.”

He looked at me for a minute and then smiled, “I think I believe you.”

He turned to walk away, but stopped for only a moment, “You pose many questions brother.”

I grinned, “I have named myself Shadow Walker for a reason.”

He nodded and walked off while I finished checking the area around camp. The camp woke and noticed right away that Talia and I had settled our disagreement. I even fashioned two carriers for our kits. Talia protested that it was not fair because I did not wear armor.

I smiled at her and turned to point at Armsmaster Kregis, “Armsmasters do not wear armor for a reason.”

I walked to our children and quietly picked my human daughter up and turned to Talia, “I have waited three days and you have not named my daughter. So ... her name is Elisabeth.”

Talia looked at me and down at our daughter, “Edward we do not name our young until they open their eyes.”

I smiled as we watched my daughter wiggle and open sleeping eyes, “Talia, human babies open their eyes shortly after being born. They may not be able to focus them properly, but they are open.”

I gently put her into one of the carriers and turned to Talia and held her out. Talia looked down into her face and quietly removed her armor and rolled it up. She put my sword back over her shoulder and took the carrier and put the straps over her shoulders so that Elisabeth rested against her breasts. Talia finally looked up to see everyone watching her. She smiled, “Her eyes are a beautiful blue.”

I smiled as she turned to walk to Biscuit. I turned and bent to pick up one of my other daughters and put her struggling form into the carrier before putting it on. We exchange the babies as we rode that day. Everyone’s mood seemed to lighten with ours. It was late afternoon when we came to the Huntis clan arch. We silently gave the kits back to their wet nurses and Talia put her scale armor on.

It was fifteen minutes later that we turned a corner and the trees that had blocked our view fell away. Clan Huntis was forming to greet us as we watched. The manor was the largest I had seen so far. Talia pulled Biscuit to a stop and looked at me, “Would you like to walk with me?”

I grinned and slid out of the saddle, “Anytime love.”

I took Talia’s hand as everyone fell back behind us. I glanced back to see Kregis remove the two bundles of armor. As we walked up to the gathered clan, a middle aged female Kittling stepped forward. Talia whispered that Clan Huntis was different from other clans. The clan leader retired early and only advised after that.

I turned to Kregis and accepted the two bundles. When I turned back another female about the same age was beside the clan leader with a naked sword. I knelt with Talia standing beside me. I unwrapped both bundles; placing the weapons to the side I held one set of armor up to the clan leader, “Mistress, I am Edward Shadow Walker, and I return Jilues Darkbrow.”

She accepted the armor and turned the edge back. I watched as she sighed and nodded before turning to another older woman that stepped forward. “It is one of the lost.”

She handed the armor to her and turned back to me. I lifted the other set of armor, “Mistress, Adodia Night Stalker.”

She quietly accepted the armor and glanced at the crest before handing it back. I picked up both sets of weapons and held them out to the Kittling holding the sword, “Their weapons, sister.”

She looked at me for only a brief moment and then her sword spun around her hand and up over her shoulder. She reached down and took the weapons from me, “Thank you brother.”

I looked back to the clan leader, “Mistress, my life mate wishes to tell your clan sib’s tale.”

She looked at Talia, “Your name kittling?”

Talia smiled; she knew this was a formality for the clan. “I am Talia Time Walker, Clan Osia, Princess of the Empire.”

The clan shifted and there was a quiet murmur. The clan leader bowed, “We would be honored to hear our clan sibs tale.”

I stood and took a small step back and listened to Talia telling them about their clan sibs. When Talia was finished, the clan leader looked at me, “Will you stay the night Armsmaster?”

I smiled at her, but looked at Talia and raised an eyebrow. Talia grinned, “We would be honored Mistress Huntis.”