First Eclipse

Fauna looked in the direction she was supposed to bring the animals from. It was an area of dense growth, there could be a lot of creatures in there. She blew out a breath. If there were too many, how did she control not starting a stampede? "It will be okay." Tim was standing a few feet away, looking in every direction.

She nodded.

"Do you have your phone?"

Turning around, she gave him a blank look. What was she supposed to do with her phone out here? If this weren't the intense event it was, she'd be thrilled to be surrounded by nature. The smell of the damp earth, pine needles and that slight floral fragrance normally would be her favorite thing. She could barely settle her nerves to appreciate the splendor of the earth.

He came over and held out his hand.

Pulling it out of her pocket, she handed it to him.

He touched his ear. "I'm working on it now." Reaching into his jacket, he took out a small case and opened it. Taking something out, he held it out to her.

She looked at it. It looked like an earbud. Taking it out of his hand, she gave him a hesitant look. Did he want her to listen to music or...

"Put it in." He tapped the screen of her phone.

She put it in her ear and then jerked her head back in surprise. She could hear the royal family talking on it.

Tim held out her phone. "Press the earpiece if you want to say something; otherwise, they won't hear us."

Taking the phone, she put it back in her pocket.

"Daxx, are you and Autumn in place?" It was Prince Michael.

"Yes. We ran into a mud situation, but we're here now."

"Mud situation?" That was King Troy's voice.

"Yeah. Like, walk through it or around it." Autumn didn't sound impressed.

"You went around it?" Princess Bethany's voice was easy to distinguish.

Someone snorted. "Yes. I've been there and done the mud thing. It wasn't fun," Daxx answered.

Tim touched her shoulder. "Can you sense animals near?"

She'd have to do this to drown out the chatter in her ear. She exhaled and closed her eyes.

"Kara, I think you're high enough." Prince Rafael's sounded strained.

"A little more." Kara sounded out of breath. "I want to have a view of the entire area."

"The trees are big. Kara won't fall," Crissy said.

"Focus on your footing, heart." Prince Victor sounded so different when he spoke to Crissy. Not even scary, not even the slightest bit.

Shaking her head, Fauna sent out a gentle inquiry. There were so many warm-blooded creatures in this area, it was a bit startling. The talking in her ear faded to a whisper as she reached out and then focused on the area where she was going to have to send signals to the animals. She opened her eyes. "A lot nearby." She nodded. "Several large ones, I think, maybe deer."

"Perfect. Those will disrupt the barrier nicely." He shrugged. "Maybe even run over a few people along the way." He touched his ear. "Fauna says there are some bigger animals in the area. She believes deer." "Those will work nicely." Prince Leone replied.

"If anyone tries to hurt the deer, I'm going to lay them out," Kara said quickly.

Fauna looked at Tim.

He grinned. "She uses a bow. Her arrows have a nice charge on impact that incapacitates the target."

Fauna opened her mouth and then closed it. She had no idea what the princesses did. She'd heard things but never witnessed it herself.

"Time is ticking, people." Daxx sounded bored.

"Five minutes, Daxx, we're getting the Solrelm gentlemen in place." Arius chuckled. "Ulric found a bog of mud."

"Not fun, huh?" Daxx chortled.

"Will we be able to see them?" Fauna glanced at Tim.

He shook his head. "No. They could be standing right beside you, and you wouldn't know."

She looked beside her. "Cuz that's not creepy at all."

Tim chuckled. "It helps them do their job. Imagine if people dying could suddenly see them."

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Fauna cringed. "Okay. I get it." She looked toward the camp area, but they were so far back that she couldn't see it. "The whole soul thing freaks me out a bit."

"You're not alone there." She could feel him move to stand behind her. "I'd like to finish our discussion when we're done here."

She turned around and looked up at him. "My brain processed what you said-" she sighed. "-there's so much going on that it didn't sink in until we were walking here." The way he watched her, giving her his undivided attention, wasn't something she was used to. Then again, she didn't spend a lot of time around others. "Were you saying that we're mates or something?" Mates. Until recently, she'd always thought it was just a romanticized saying like I found my soul mate. Now, however, she knew that it was a very real thing. Jeri found hers and seemed so happy now. Is that what soul mates were meant to do? Make you happy and complete? It sounded a little far-fetched to her.

"Yes." He finally said.

"When did you realize it?" Was that why she was comfortable with him? She was never at ease around others, particularly men.

He grinned briefly. "When we were hanging forty feet in the air trying not to fall to our deaths."

"Oh. Probably not how you pictured it happening."

He smiled again. "No. I could never have pictured it happening that way."

She nodded. "What-" She looked around them, remembering they were supposed to be aware of things around them. "What does this mean?" She sighed. "I'm not good with people, Tim."

He searched her face. "You don't need to be good with people, Fauna. It's not a socializing event." He touched her hand, letting his linger close to hers. "It doesn't mean anything right now. I just wanted you to be aware of it." He rolled his eyes. "Because my eyes turning seems to freak you out." He watched her for a moment. "And seeing me feed almost sent you running."

"Well-" She blew out a breath. "-it's not something I've encountered before."

"I understand." He straightened up and looked around. "We'll talk more later, okay? Just focus on why we're here."

"I'll give the go in a minute, Fauna."

She blinked, remembering the people in her ear.

He grasped her hand lightly and leaned down. "If anything happens, if we're separated for any reason, you use that porter." He held her look until she nodded.

Blowing out a breath, she pushed the earpiece. "I'll reach out to the animals now and get a feel for the ones we need."

"No idea what that means, but okay." It was Prince Quinton.

"The Solrelm men are in place. I'm heading back to my point." Arius announced.

"All right people. We do not go inside the encampment." It was King Troy.

Just a heads up: FindNovel.net is the only place to read the complete version of this book for free. Don't miss out on the next chapter-visit us now and continue your journey! "What if someone runs out of it?" That was Daxx.

"Then they are yours to deal with." Victor's scary tone was back.

"Excellent." That was Autumn. "I need to burn off some frustration. Who knew babies were so hard to communicate with."

Someone chuckled but didn't comment.

"Arius, I can see you running through the trees," Kara informed him.

"I can't help it. I'm tall."

"Then duck, brother, or else someone might hit you from behind." King Chase informed him.

"You run hunched over and see how easy it is," Arius mumbled.

"Are you ready, Bastian, Trendan?" Prince Rafael asked.

"Yes," Trendan replied.

"And waiting," Bastian said.

"Be careful." That was Jeri. Fauna wasn't sure if she was there or still at home listening in.

"Relax, sister-in-law, we could walk through there naked, and no one would know." Bastian chuckled.

"And get poison ivy on our asses." Someone stated she thought maybe Tor but wasn't sure.

"All clear, Vic. No one coming toward the camp."

"Thank you, heart. Let's begin, shall we."

"Come to momma," Daxx whispered over the call. "Send them, Fauna," Rafael said.