Page 45 of Tino

As soon as the broadcast was over, we left the room and in silent agreement, walked into the room in the council castle we’d deemed our private room. It was where we’d all slept on mattresses since coming here, taking over the leadership. We needed the closeness of our brothers and no matter how weird it seemed, this room was our safe haven. Ours. No one would bother us here unless something was on fire, and we needed privacy before the funeral.

“You okay?” Niam asked Xari as soon as the door closed behind us.

“I will be. Julie would’ve wanted that,” he replied, already tearing up.

“She gave her life, so let’s live ours enough for her too,” Silver said, side-hugging Xari. “Are you all dressed?”

I shook my head, knowing I wanted to wear black, and I still had on my light blue button down. I walked into the attached bathroom and found my suit hanging where I’d left it on the hanger. It wasn’t the best place to store a suit, but we lived in one big mess until our forever home could be built. We would begin searching for land tomorrow, since all of us were desperate to leave the castle, only to return when we had to work.

Dressed and ready to go, I joined the others. They’d chosen to all wear black to the meeting, but I’d felt it was too…depressingfor what we were trying to show the Realm of Mages; that a bright future was coming with us as their leaders.

“Let’s go and say our final goodbye to Julie,” Wilston said, taking Silver’s hand in his, walking out of the room, with the rest of us following behind silently.

Epilogue

Xarius

One year later.

“That just won’t do!” Mom scolded me as I showed off my outfit proudly.

“Why not?!” I demanded, turning around to get a good look in the mirror.

“Your poor bonded will lose his mind if he sees you out in pants that tight,” mother tutted.

I sighed loudly. “He’ll live.”

The door to my bedroom opened, and then Niam appeared. “Nope.”

“But baby!” I begged.

“Nope!” Then he turned around and left the room, without another word spoken.

“Which one of you texted him?!” I demanded, knowing full well they were on his side no matter what. When they’d heard how Niam’s parents had treated him, they’d decided he was their new favorite son. I wish I could be mad about it, but Niam needed motherly love more than I did, and I didn’t mind sharing their love with the best man in the world. My man.

“I did,” mother announced proudly, not giving one shit about how much I loved this outfit.

“Fine.” I knew defeat when I saw it, and seeing as this was for our bonding ceremony, I wanted to look perfect for Niam. No matter how good my ass looked in these pants.Sigh.What I wouldn’t do for my Niam.

Since we were the first to bond, we were also the first to get our ceremony, with our bonded vacation lasting a week afterwards. Then Silver and Wilston would get their ceremony and a week of vacationtime. It made us less anxious still having four of us working and not all being away simultaneously. It also worked better for the mages here, knowing we were always ready to step in if needed.

It had taken a few weeks for us to get rid of all the “bad” mages, who favored the way the old leaders of the council ruled, and with them gone it was a much better place to live, at least according to the other mages around. I hadn’t lived in the Realm of Mages for almost seven years, so I felt like my understanding of how things worked might not have been up to date. Living with my mothers gave me insight to things before I was banished, but even they refused to tell me everything. And I understood their reasoning, since it wasn’t fun telling your child how someone got killed because they voiced their true opinion on the council.

Now that Mom had retired, they both seemed happier. It had taken a toll on Mom, always being in disagreements with the old rulers, but she’d stuck it out, knowing if someone took her place, the others would do their best to influence them to share their beliefs and world view.

To think only a year had passed, but our world was already so much better. Not that I took all the glory for it. The six of us trulywere tied together from so many lives lived. We hardly ever fought, and if we did it was over quickly. Wilston was our voice of reason. Niam our emotional voice, and also the best to speak to the empathic side of others. Silver was more ruthless and blunt when he spoke, which we truly needed at meetings with those in the council. We might’ve all been the leaders, but Silver was the one who got respect just from one silent glare. I liked to think of myself as the more levelheaded leader. With my ability to sense emotions, I had an easier time controlling conversations and finding out what the end goal was to someone’s complaints or wishes. Tino and Altair had this amazing ability to connect with our people. It was hard to explain, but they fit in everywhere, which they themselves thought weird.

With only ten minutes to spare until I had to meet up with Niam, I took one last look at my final outfit, this time approved by my mothers. I wasn’t really nervous, but more excited to share our love with our friends, family, and the council.

What I was nervous about was what I had planned for our vacation. We’d decided to split it up, so I got to pick what we did for three days and then Niam decided our location for the last four days. I just hoped Niam would like what I had planned for us. What Iwanted most myself was closure, and I had a feeling he did too. Now that the harmony of our world had been restored, and we were finally in our rightful place, it was time to enjoy life.

“Fuck,” I groaned, too loudly if the snickers I got were any indication. I just couldn’t help myself. Niam wore a light bluetight-fittingsuit. And did I mention it was tight? How was he allowed to wear that tight a suit, but I wasn’t allowed tight pants? So not fair. But I could deal. I would be the one removing said suit off his body later tonight anyway. No one else. Onlyme.

Niam blushed prettily which meant he’d heard me, but I didn’t care. He should know just how sexy he was. He stood facing me with Willow and Nujik at his sides. It had been a decision between the six of us, who’d be with us as we confirmed our bonding. Since Niam and Wilston didn’t have any family to join them, we figured Willow and Nujik were our best people for the job, and luckily my mothers understood and were happy just to watch from the chairs in thefront row of the Emerald castle. This was whereimportantpeople got bonded and where their babies were blessed upon entering the world. It was a huge castle with windows in all the colors of the rainbow. When the sun hit just right, it reflected those amazing colors down upon us, blessing us with their beauty as we showed off our bond.

I didn’t have eyes for anyone else as I walked with quickening steps down the path covered in flower petals. I had Leon beside me, which we learned from the book was tradition. It seemed like something we should honor so we decided to give it a shot, glad to see Leon and Snowflake seemed to remember this part, even the old building.

Snowflake was in front of Niam’s legs, sitting regally as we approached. It was truly special, having them be a part of this, too.