As Shade was studying what his shadows were bringing to him for information, he paused at one tidbit that was sent to him. This could put a damper in our plans. Turning and flexing his wings with a touch of frustration, he frowned in thought. It's been bound to happen. I just didn't expect it to happen like this.
"Another Keeper. I'll need to report this to Horny. Now," he muttered to himself. This could be problematic. There were other Keepers out there, but they all tried to kill off any opposition. He would have to send in his shadows to scour as much as he was able, and it was done the moment he thought about it.
When he appeared next to Saithe's heart bed, Horny looked at him with annoyance. Then he saw the look on Shade's face. "Okay. Something wrong?"
"Another Keeper," Shade said.
"Let me talk to my mate alone," he said with a nod.
"I'm already trying to spy around. I'll report what I find," the Shadow Demon nodded and vanished. Saithe was mildly napping, but she was awake after hearing this.
"Another Keeper?" she asked.
"Yes. This is not the only Keeper, you know. There are others out there. They just…don't get along well with others. They try to stay spread out. But, if they encroach on desirable territory, there will be a fight. And there may be one soon. They may even have another of my kind working for them. So, as a precaution, you should stay in this room. I would have you fight at my side, but I want you to have my offspring. I don't want to delay it any further."
"Then abort this fetus and get me pregnant again!" she snapped. "If you think that I am going to stand aside and watch, then you are dead wrong!"
"I can't do that," Horny said bluntly. "If we caught it early, we could abort it. There is too much development now. You're already starting to show. That and Shadowsbane's eggs are starting to harden, too. I want my offspring to grow with his. I promised him that much."
"So, you go off and get all of the glory?" she frowned.
"Saithe, you forget what you can do. You can heal the Heart of the Keeper. If the enemy knows what you can do, you may become a spoil of war," Horny said with a hard glare. "I am keeping you here for your own good, too!"
"My own good?"
"You attract danger."
"And you kill it."
"Better if it's attracted here, right? On my own grounds?" he grinned.
"Until you chase it and meet it head on," she pouted. He rolled his eyes. She was moody now. And she was pouting. Then again, I would be upset, too, if I had to miss a good fight. But, on the other hand, the fight tends to come to her…
"No, I won't be running out there," he said. "I'll be here protecting you."
"Will you?" she asked.
"I have to," he snorted. "I'll have Shadowsbane's eggs in here, too. I'm also going to be protecting you, because, if the enemy gets you, they have our whole undead army. Including that dragon. I refuse to let that happen!"
"Father said he was getting more information. Should I help?"
"No. If the enemy is cunning, they will try to trace your shadows. Just rest. Let our offspring grow. Hmm?" he looked over at a platter of cow hearts that was delivered by the shadows. Several chunks of incredibly bloody meat were also mixed into the pile. Grinning, he pulled up the plate and held it out to her. She hissed and snatched up a bloody chunk to sink her teeth into. Horny rose a brow at this. She was craving solid meat after all. More would need to be brought.
"What meat is this?" she asked, as she chewed. He tried a piece and thought.
"Human," he smirked. "Same with the hearts."
"As long as it fills my belly and feeds our offspring, then I don't care where it came from," she smirked and let him lick off a droplet of blood from her chin. After she ate her fill, he let her recline against him. He kept a rather protective arm around her now. When there was a knock on the chamber door, he sat up and glared hard.
"What?!" he snarled out loud enough to be heard. When it opened, he narrowed his eyes with hatred at the prince that stood there. He did note the elaborate collar around the human's neck. That was a nice little claim from the Mistress's part.
"I brought map plans of the surrounding area," he said.
"Good. Set them aside. A battle will be here soon. Tell your wife to prepare. There may be a siege. She will understand what that means," Horny snorted.
"Right," Daren nodded. Saithe studied him now. She never noticed what he looked like before. It was the same with the queen. There was no need for her to go into such details. What she thought was funny was that Sorsha had golden blonde hair with rather pretty blue eyes to go with it. Daren must have come from his father with his darker blonde hair and green eyes. He didn't have the stubble on his chin before, though. The Mistress must have had him grow it.
She also noticed that the prince was starting to fill out. That was amusing. Horny noticed how Saithe was looking at the human and snarled. Then she rested her hands on his shoulders and pressed her chest against his back. That calmed him back down. She didn't want any others. She was able to carefully push him back down into the bed to let her body rest on his. He wrapped his arms around her, and it was all she wanted.
She heard her door close, and Horny let out a small snort. She moved to press her face against his neck to hear his heart beating fiercely. She started to remember the long, lonely month without him. When he felt her trembling, he made a questioning sound. When she didn't answer, he sat up with her again.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I just…remembered when you…weren't here…" she whispered. He looked at her with surprise. Then he remembered something and sighed.
"That's right. This is a part of the pregnancy," he muttered. "Now I know I can't leave your side for anything. If that incident never happened, it would be fine. I guess I can simply rest with you for the next few months."
"So…you won't leave?"
"I already said that I wouldn't. There is no chance that I would be able to. I don't want you to worry and stress over it. If I have to be somewhere, you go with me. Now I want you to shut up and sleep on me."
"What?" she growled. He smirked at her look and pulled her close, as he lay back into the heart bed to get comfortable.
"Besides, do you really want to leave right now?" he muttered. She wanted to argue. She wanted to shout, scream, and tear into him. But, as she reclined in his warm embrace, she started to get drowsy. He knew that this was what she needed. Sleep was the key to keeping her calm. That and keeping her belly full. When he felt her full weight added onto him, he gave a heavy sigh. This was also why he waited for as long as he did. Her attitude was going to get rather vicious at times. It couldn't be helped.
"Horny," Shade said when he reappeared. At the glare for him to keep his voice down, the Shadow Demon nodded his apology. "We will need to strategize. What my shadows are telling me is not good."
"I'll be forced to sit this fight out," Horny said. "Saithe is already remembering the time I left her. You know what this means."
"Are you serious?!" Shade hissed. "Abort the damned thing!"
"No," Horny said flatly. "I will sit this fight out. I promised her."
"Horny, this enemy is as powerful as us!"
"What?"
"Yes! This Keeper is as old as the one we serve! Granted, I see things being done now. Our Keeper is preparing. You may be forced to fight."
"I will not. If this other Keeper is preparing a siege, someone needs to stay behind to guard the Heart," Horny grinned wickedly. "On our turf."
"Ah. I see," Shade mused. "The Trolls are already making traps to fill various corridors. New doors and trick halls are being prepared. Oh!"
"What?" he asked. He looked over at his door being suddenly removed for an Imp to deliver a magic door. The portal-like construction would instantly fire large fireballs at any enemies. All of the doors were getting upgraded. When more Imps came in to dig, Horny snarled at them all to work quietly. Their mindlessly giggling chatter didn't help. He was going to get incredibly pissed, but then he noticed that his chamber was being stocked as an emergency Treasury now. A small Library was placed in for him to help research. He wasn't much for doing that, but Shade realized that it was for Saithe. He now saw what the Keeper was doing.
"She will be helping with this battle, after all," Shade grinned. "The Keeper wants her to help research here. Where she will be safe with you."
"Oh…" Horny blinked. "If she thinks she's working with the Keeper to research new spells to help me fight…"
"You might be able to fight, should it be called for."
"Our Keeper is very smart."
"Why else do you think we are here and still alive?"
"True," Horny mused. After the Imps finally left, he yawned. Saithe didn't wake up once. That showed how swiftly the pregnancy was developing. "I need to rest. Find out how many rooms this other Keeper has. What minions he has. And, also, let's hope that other one doesn't have a Scrying room. We don't need our forces to join theirs."
"Shadow Demons never have to worry about that. But, I do see your point. I'll look into it and inform you of what I find," Shade nodded.
"And make sure," he said with a small hiss. "that I am the only Reaper."
"Definitely," Shade said with a sharp nod before leaving the room. Alone with his mate again, he closed his eyes. He was protecting his mate and future offspring. If anything got past the new door, it was as good as dead.
