NIKOLAI

To my surprise, all four of the princes are at the door when they open it to greet Delphine. "We've been expecting you." The blond hair prince, who appears to be the oldest, states, welcoming Delphine and me into their home. There are already six cups of steaming tea waiting for us on the coffee table.

"I wouldn't expect any less from Tobias," Delphine states nodding her head toward the brown-haired brother as she sits on one of the six pillows sitting around the coffee table.

"Please sit." The black-haired brother indicates to me, "It isn't every day we have visiting royals here in the Sprite kingdom, King Nikolai." He smiles, although it doesn't quite reach his eye.

"Enough pleasantries," Spits the red-headed brother, his fire showing in his eyes, "Anya isn't going with you."

"Jed," Delphine chides, "Please hear Nikolai out. Also, Tobias, I hadn't realized your ability to see the future had grown so strong. Your mother would be proud of you." Delphine states, praising the brown-haired brother, confirming my earlier observation that he was indeed Tobias.

I'll be damned if I listen to a cheater," I growl at Jed, sitting down beside Delphine and taking a sip of what I thought was tea, but it tasted like a slice of heaven in my mouth.

The black-haired brother snickers, a genuine smile on his face now as he turns to speak to me, taking the cushion beside me, leaving Jed, Tobias, and the other brother to sit opposite of us, "Jed being the eldest by a whopping five minutes, isn't used to having someone not back down to him." The black-haired brother then points to my cup, noticing I'd emptied it in one gulp, "May I?" He asks, his hand already hovering above the handle. I give him a quick nod, not wanting to offend the only brother who might be on my side.

A tea kettle suddenly appears on the table, and the brother begins to pour the liquid heaven into my cup, my lips already wet in anticipation of tasting the tea once more.

"It's my creation. When Tobias mentioned you were coming over, I gathered some herbs grown here and used some of the spare blood gifted to us by our close cousins, the elves, and created this tea that I've named bloodroot." He states, passing the cup over to me.

I take a small sip from the cup, humming in appreciation, before pushing it off to the side. I'll have to limit the amount I drink, I can't afford any distractions, and elven blood almost gives vampires the same high as Sprite blood.

"You've mastered your potions since we last met, Jonah." Delphine smiles at the brother sitting beside me, making the last brother, the blond, Thomas.

A small smile appeared on my lips as I realized what Delphine was doing; she provided me with the brothers' names without introducing them.

"As much as I agree with Jonah's statement about Jed." Thomas speaks up, directing my attention to him, "I have to agree with my eldest brother; there is absolutely no way I'll allow Kismet to return to your kingdom. The world is dangerous out there. She was already left for dead once; I can't possibly allow her to be put in harm's way again."

"I promise you no harm will come of Anya; she'll be under my protection," I state, rubbing my hand over my heart, indicating that I swear it on my life.

"Your protection means nothing to us." Tobias states, his voice rough, his eyes avoiding mine like he doesn't want to say whatever he's planning on saying next, "You were supposed to protect your Queen, your fated mate, yet the Alpha wolf was still able to capture her right from under your nose."

The table is quiet, the other three brothers staring at Tobias in shock as I swallow down my anger. He's right, I failed to protect my mate, but he doesn't know the entire situation. He has no right to judge me on what happened with Mary.

My voice is hoarse when I speak up again, full of emotions that I am trying to keep at bay, "I am trying to save my mate from what my bond has let me feel, "She's been through hell and back. When I save her, she'll be broken; the sight of her sister, the knowledge and proof that she's alive, might be the only thing that brings my mate back to me."

"I'll go." A soft female voice speaks up, and I turn to see a younger version of my mate, the only difference being the color of her eyes; Anya's eyes were a honey brown.

"You can't!" Jed hisses, sprouting up from the table as he rushes to his mate.

"Don't touch me, Jed." She hisses, hurt from his betrayal still in her eyes. "I will go with him. I need to see my sister with my own eyes. I am not your prisoner, and you have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do."

The brothers are hesitant as the remainder of them stand up from the coffee table, Delphine and I following suit.

"Kismet," Tobias states, his eyes betraying his hurt, "I can't bear the thought of you going into their realm by yourself."

"Then come with me," Anya replies, going to Tobias and holding his face in her palms.

"I wish I could, but the brothers and I are needed here."

"And for now, I'm needed there," Anya replies, gently letting go of his face and stepping toward me.

"I promise that she'll return to you safely," I state, staring into Tobias's eyes, letting him see the window into my soul to know I speak only the truth.

"It's true." Delphine pitches in, "He's made a blood vow, the ancient Sprite way."

"I am still not an object. The decision of my return is mine and mine alone." Anya states, sounding every bit as stubborn as her sister, making my heart accelerate at the thought of my mate.

No, my heart wasn't accelerating at the thought of my mate; it was beating rapidly against my chest. If it continued to beat this hard and this aggressive, it would surely explode from my chest. I can feel a tingling of sweat cover my body as I sway back and forth, my heart overworked and pumping blood through my body too vigorously. I feel out of breath even though I'm not moving. I try to inhale deeply, but my lungs aren't working; it feels like they've collapsed on me. My vision starts to darken, and just before I collapse, I hear a worried kade asking Delphine what's happening.

"It's Mary," She replied solemnly, "She's dying. And Nikolai is experiencing what she is going through"

No. Not Mary. Not my mate. I collapse just as the familiar churning in my stomach, a sensation caused by teleporting, takes over my body.

"I'm coming, Mary. Please hold on just a little longer."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

***Let me start off this note by promising that this story hasn't been abandoned nor will it be abandoned, I will finish all my novels that I've started. As as writer these stories that I've created, this world that I've crafted deserves to be finished, and my readers on this platform, while I might not agree with what's happening currenlty with the platform itself, have spent money on my books and they deserve an ending so I pinky swear this book along with my other works will always be finished. Next, I wanted to remind y'all that I am a mother of two littles (ages 2 and 4) as well as a full time worker; I work 40 hours a week and when I'm not at working I'm spending quality time with my children until it's their bedtime. Its when I finally put my children to sleep that I work on my writing and most nights, such as tonight, I am up well past midnight giving life to my novels, just to wake up and start my day again bright and early at 5AM. Also, as A reminder I last updated this novel on 5/28, which was less than 2 weeks ago, and I've just added a total of 5 new chapters equaling out to 7,000 words total.***

***And lastly, I'll admit that there was more to Nikolai and Mary's story than I origianlly thought, and while I'm wrapping up their story and getting ready to say goodbye to these characters, I'm struggling with the ugliness of writer's block. I want their ending to be perfect. One that leaves everyone happy and not needing more. So please continue to be patient with me while I work to finish up this book and as always thank you for your continued support, without you my dearest readers, I wouldn't be were I am today with my writing.***

**Marriah**