Who Is My Husband
Scene 22

Reggie looked at Kailee with confused eyes as she got closer to him. She leaned forward and seemed to be smelling at him. He watched as she frowned and stepped away from him.

“Is there something wrong?” Reggie asked with a nervous chuckle. He lifted his eyes up to Trey.

Trey’s eyes had darkened slightly behind his mask. He was still waiting to hear what Kailee was thinking but she seemed to move on to something else already. But her interest in Reggie right there had his insides stirring. He squeezed his hands into a fist as he controlled his temper. Lucky for Reggie she had moved away from him quickly. Still, something small like that was all it took for his possessive side to creep out.

“You smell like something musty and moldy.” Kailee reached her hand up and rubbed her nose. She was trying to rid herself of the stench that had burned her nose.

“s**t. That damn orc got his scent on me… wait…” Reggie locked eyes with Trey. “She can smell the orc?” Both men looked at Kailee whose shoulders slumped with a frown.

“So, I shouldn’t be able to smell the orcs scent? I need a blanket to crawl under.” Kailee frowned as she took another step back to lean on the wall.

“Sure, everyone can smell the orc. But you were able to smell his scent rubbed off on Reggie. And that is not something everyone can do.” Trey tilted his head to the side as he looked at her.

“Great so what does that mean?” She asked as she glanced between the two men.

“Maybe she is a nymph? Or a type of dryad?” Reggie scrunched his eyebrows up in deep thought. “Or maybe her mother was a succubus and tricked her father?”

“Wait. So, are you saying I could be like part bad guy?” Kailee pouted and folded her arms over her chest.

Trey chuckled and walked up to her. His fingers traced over her skin on her arms and then trailed around to her side. “Bad guy… that is the cutest thing I have ever heard.” His lips curled up into a smile behind his mask. “It doesn’t matter to me what you are. You are mine no matter what. Whether you are part demon, part fairy, part snail it really doesn’t matter. Besides, what you are doesn’t make you bad. You decide who you are. Just like humans are all born human but that doesn’t mean they are all good people.”

She felt her skin tingling under his touch as she looked up into his green eyes. The unnatural tugging that she could feel inside of her seemed to be getting stronger. His sweet honey and cedar scent shot inside of her nose. Something was making her feel safe and calm with him. She cleared her thoughts and then smiled up at him. “So, you know good orcs then?”

Reggie laughed heartily. “She got you there.”

Trey’s eyes glinted with humor. “Doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”

Kailee’s face drew serious though a small smile still played on her lips. She wanted to tell him what she was thinking in regards to her uncle. “I know you have some sort of plan for everything. That is fine. And whatever needs to happen with my uncle I am fine with. I guess what I am saying is don’t worry about me. Just be careful with whatever it is you are doing.”

Trey smiled continued hidden behind his mask. “I am being careful. Which is the reason for the mask. My identity is unknown so I can move around easily this way. Don’t worry. I promise I will always make it back to you.” His hand traveled up to trace along her soft cheek. “You don’t have to worry about losing me. I’m your family now and for always. And it is okay to get used to that idea.”

“Yep, you are my family now too little rabbit.” Reggie grinned.

Kailee breathed in through her teeth and made a fake scared face. “I thought I would at least get to pick my next family. Instead, I got stuck with some weird ones.”

“Hey!” Reggie protested with furrowed brows. “But hot, weird ones, right? Well as far as I go. I told you that one there is hideous without that mask of his.”

Trey turned his head to Reggie. “You told her what?!”

Reggie laughed and shrugged. “I was trying to hit on your girl, but it didn’t work. She shot me down. I tried telling her that I was the obvious better choice since she could actually see what I look like. But alas she said that if I was her husband then she would just be disappointed for the rest of her life. Well, I’m the better looking one out of the two of us so…”

Trey scoffed. “What part of you is better looking?”

“My face obviously. I guess I am the more intelligent one too.” Reggie grinned as he saw the irises of Trey darken.

Kailee stepped away from Trey and then giggled. “I don’t know. I sort of wish Lance was my family. I like him better than the both of you.”

Both men turned and looked at her. She could see the laughter in Reggie’s eyes, but Trey’s looked darker. His eyes seemed to be studying her to see if she meant it or not. She couldn’t help the fits of giggles that escaped her mouth. She reached her hand up and covered her snickers. It was very easy to mess with his emotions and she liked it. She liked that she was able to provoke him so easily.

“Maybe I should make sure Grum stays by your side more than Lance.” Trey said thoughtfully. “Actually, the two of them will be with you for a while. Same with Reggie. There are too many surprises happening around you and I won’t be able to concentrate if I don’t know you are safe.”

“I feel like I am about to be smothered.” Kailee frowned but if she was being honest, she did feel relieved too. Having so many capable men around her did help put her at ease.

“We can go to the village in a few days and get some things to prepare for the upcoming festival. Minus the leaping into fires this time though.” Reggie said with a wry grin.

“Be careful if you are taking her into the village.” Trey looked at Kailee with apprehension. Even though he was leaving his best men with her it was still worrisome.

“You know nothing will be able to touch her with me around. Plus, Grum will be there too. That beast would plow through anything that threatened her. Oh yeah… Lance will be there too.”

“Is Lance not as strong as you and Grum?” Kailee asked as she tilted her head to the side.

“He is.” Trey answered as he stared at Reggie. “Reggie here just has a problem with how devoted he is to me.”

Reggie scoffed loudly. “It is more than devotion. If you told him to cut his arm off, he would do it because you told him to. I hate it. It is disgusting. He should care about himself more than that.”

“Awww, so the real truth is that you like Lance. And are just looking out for him.” Kailee smiled at Reggie who only snorted and turned his head to look out the window. “I agree with you. Lance should prioritize himself.”

“I would never take advantage of Lance’s loyalty to me. So, there isn’t a problem there.” Trey frowned behind his mask. He would never force anything on Lance, but the problem was he didn’t have to.

Kailee looked down at her hand. The metal cuff on her wrist seemed to be gently ringing. Nothing was happening but it was letting her know that her magic was stirring again. This time though it brought with it something new. A feeling. A feeling that she needed to go somewhere. And also, sadness.

“I’m going to go and get cleaned up before dinner.” Kailee said quietly.

“Is everything okay?” Trey asked as he looked her over.

She smiled back at him warmly and nodded her head. “Yes, I just feel a bit sticky from our walk earlier, and I would like to freshen up some.” She turned and left the room. She made her way to the familiar corridor and slowly walked to the washroom. She walked into the room as the tears began to trickle from her cheeks. She didn’t understand any of this. But maybe the wolf had been right. Maybe there was somewhere she needed to be, and he was going to take her there.

If she went with the wolf, she would at least have answers. She wanted to know about herself. What was this magic inside of her? Was her mother magical or was it her father? She had a feeling it was her mother though. Sparks was always with her mother before she died. Or was killed would seem to be more accurate.

She knows that Trey said it wasn’t a big deal and it didn’t change anything but what if she was part demon? What if she was part something that was traditionally evil? And what if she had some secret evil nature that would be unleashed with her powers?

She logically thought about her parents and her mother specifically. They were warm, loving and caring people. There was nothing evil about them. The idea that she was something from an evil nature seemed to be far from the truth. Sparks was another piece of the puzzle. He was her keeper so that would probably mean he was her mothers’ keeper before. What was a keeper exactly?

She walked over and looked in the mirror. She felt like there was more to this Bane creature as well. What was he exactly? And what had defeated him before that no longer can? For some reason she felt like there was more to the reason of Bane showing himself to her. She did not think it was just because she was magical. It was like he was searching for her specifically.

She knew she should probably be afraid of Bane; he was after all terrifying. But instead, she felt this resolve deep within her. A dormant determination that was not afraid of him. It was silly but she felt like Bane was something that was her responsibility. She touched the metal on her wrists. She bit her bottom l*p as she slowly removed it from her.

The sound of metal clanging as it dropped to the stone floor echoed in the room as the pain immediately seized her. There was something else that was being controlled by the bracelet too. There must have been. Because the moment the metal cuff came off she could smell the strong cedar and honey smell. The scent wafted across her nose. He was nowhere close to her, so how was she smelling him?

With trembling hands, she grabbed the metal and pushed it back on her wrist. The moment she did the smell vanished along with the pain. She knelt on the floor panting. Something strong had come over her then. She could hear something faintly whispering to her in her mind. It went quiet now. Everything had. This metal cuff seemed to be keeping all the crazy at bay. For a moment she thought about slowly feeling her magic out but now she wasn’t sure if she could handle everything that was trying to come crashing down on her. She let out a slow breath of air as her insides returned back to normal.

She heard a gentle knock at the door. “Kailee?” She heard Trey’s gentle voice on the other end.

“I’ll be right out.” Kailee rose back to her feet and fixed herself up. She looked herself over satisfied and then turned to head for the door. She wanted to try to figure things out about herself little by little. But she was not ready for the intensity that came from removing the bracelet. Next time… next time she would be mentally prepared.