Alton chuckled. “It can all be yours, as the start of your own pile of treasure.”
“You mean I don’t get to share in yours?” she asked, teasing him.
“All of mine is all of yours.”
“Okay, but really, I only want the gold. You can have all the rest.”
He groaned, and she knew he wasn’t feeling well still as warm as he was. She meant to take him right back to his bed as he stood and pulled her close, kissing her forehead. “I didn’t think I’d ever say this to anyone, but I’m happy to give up all my gold to you, if it makes you happy.”
“I knew you were the one for me when I told you I planned to steal all your gold, and you challenged me to do so.”
“Tomorrow, is your big day, Kayla,” her mother said.
Kayla nodded. “I want to go home tomorrow, but I’ll stay with Alton tonight.”
Flushed from the fever, Alton said, “I’m going with you tomorrow.”
“If you’re feeling better.”
“I will be.”
She didn’t think he really believed that but wanted to come no matter what. Her family, Tanya, Sigrid, and Alton returned to his castle. Though he requested a feast in honor of Kayla’s father and also for Kayla for their success at the games, Alton didn’t eat much. She suspected he just wasn’t feeling well enough. She made him go to bed early. Instead of visiting with her family, she stayed with him, talking until he fell asleep.
The next day, the whole lot of them went to Kayla and her mom’s cottage. Sigrid had given all of the dragons golden fae auras so they would blend in if anyone showed up and found all the dragon fae there.
Kayla considered her lavender gardens, still dormant, and her mother’s lilac gardens also. She sighed, feeling bad to leave them behind.
“I’m taking my gardens with me,” her mother said. “Arne’s staff is moving them today before the queen learns of it.”
That gave Kayla an idea. She glanced in Alton’s direction and smiled. He laughed and bowed. “Whatever your heart desires.”
“You have always taken care of your gardens. What if the magic only makes it easier, or better, but even without it, you would be able to produce a fair amount?” her mother asked.
“So what do we do?” Kayla was excited about the prospect. She would do anything, work even harder if she could keep her gardens, and yet still be a dragon shifter.
“I’m making beef ribs, baked potatoes, and a salad, and lavender tea,” her mother said.
“And I made a lavender cake for the party.” Sigrid smiled.
“Yeah, and I made lavender bread,” Tanya said.
“Do you really want me to have my staff move your fields of flowers?” Alton asked.
“Yes. I do, more than anything else in the world.”
“Okay. I have plenty of room for them. I will be right back.”
“Thank you, Alton.”
“Thank you, for making the choice to stay with me.”
They kissed, and then he finally released her, noting her father and Uncle Sid were watching them, looking like protective family. Kayla’s mom had already gone inside with Tanya and Sigrid to make the meal. “I’ll be right back.”
Alton couldn’t have been gladder she had chosen him, and he would do everything he could to make her happy. He transported home, still feeling under the weather, his fever coming and going and right now it was in full force. But he wouldn’t have given up the chance to help celebrate Kayla’s coming out.
Not only did he solicit his soldiers to help move her plants, Alton found Willow there, getting ready to return to her own home, but she wanted to say goodbye to Kayla first. He invited her also to attend Kayla’s coming-out celebration.
“Oh, wow, I so want to be her best friend. She truly was undercover! That is so cool.”
“Let’s get Ena and Brett too.”
As soon as Halloran arrived, he was going to ask Ena and Brett to come celebrate with them. Halloran was there, and Alton had to invite him too, though he wasn’t sure how receptive his friend would be about venturing into the golden fae territory. Alton had forgotten he was wearing the golden fae aura when he arrived at Ena and Brett’s castle, until Mark commented on it.
“Sigrid, the falcon fae, gave me the spell.” Alton quickly changed his aura back to dragon fae, surprised that no one else had mentioned it before this. He supposed his own staff guessed what was going on. “She can do the same for all of you while you come to the party.”
“Let’s go. We’ll bring more food, my cook, and the rest of my staff to help out and to celebrate. They love Kayla for saving Muriel’s life,” Ena said.
“Me too,” Mark said. Then his face reddened. “I mean, I want to go too because Muriel is a friend and so is Kayla for saving her.”
“Me too,” Bryan said, hurrying to join them, Hannah, the other fae seer in tow.
“Not me. I’ve seen enough fae to last a lifetime,” the human girl grouched, scowling.
“She doesn’t really mean it.” Mark gave her a dark look to watch her words while she was around the fae.
“Lock her up,” Ena said. “She doesn’t need to be at the party with us if she’s going to be a pill about it.”
And then in a huge mass, the dragon fae arrived at the cottage to see Kayla, half of Alton’s soldiers digging up the plants and preparing to move them, while the other half of his men remained at Alton’s castle and were digging holes for the plants’ new home.
Likewise, Arne’s men had come to remove Kayla’s mother’s plants. It was sad in a way, though the plants weren’t blossoming quite yet anyway, so it was a good time to move them. But he was certain that Kayla, and her mother even, would miss their cottage lifestyle among the flowers. Kayla would have tons of help and so would her mother, in their new gardens. They wouldn’t have to do it all themselves. He just hoped that her mother was right, and Kayla could still grow her flowers successfully.
He wanted to ask her when the plants would begin to flower, but he was letting her visit with all the ladies inside right now. He thought maybe she and her mother couldn’t watch their gardens being dug up.
But then they heard horses off in the distance, and Alton quickly went inside to tell Sigrid she needed to hide all the dragon fae’s aura.
Sigrid came outside and saw all the men. “Are you kidding me? No way. I don’t have the power to offer that much fae magic to everyone.”
“It’s too late anyway.” Alton saw the streamers of the lead solder, his braided uniform revealing he was part of the royal house. “I think we’re in for some trouble.”
The ladies all joined them, and Kayla gasped. “The queen is coming. She’ll see we’re digging up the fields. Not to mention that all these dragon fae are here.”
“Even if we had them leave before she got here, she would still see the mess the gardens are in and know we are moving them,” her mother said.
“Then we make a stand, though I don’t want Alton and Dad’s soldiers to fight them,” Kayla said.
“We make a deal,” Alton said. “A bargain that we will continue to sell the lavender and lilac to the queen and anyone else in the realm.”
“Sounds good to me,” Sigrid said.
“Why didn’t anyone tell us to bring a sword instead of shovels,” Mark grumbled.
Everyone was watching the queen’s procession. She must have had around twenty courtiers with her and another ten soldiers.
They paused about a quarter of a mile away, and a man rode forth.
“That’s Easton, her advisor,” Tasha said.
“The queen is visibly outraged that you have brought all these dragon fae here to uproot your gardens when she came to congratulate your daughter on coming of age,” Easton said to Tasha as he grew closer to them, his shoulder-length gray hair blowing in the breeze.
“My husband is a dragon shifter fae,” Tasha said, her words spoken proudly. “My daughter is both dragon shifter and golden fae. We will continue to sell our flower products if the quee
n wishes it. But I have lived long enough away from my husband, and my daughter will be marrying the dragon shifter you see here.” She motioned to Alton, who inclined his head.
“We will have to have a peace treaty between our people before that can happen,” Easton said, frowning.
“I would put in a good word with the queen,” Halloran said. “I am Dragon at Arms.”
“And I would as well,” Brett said, since the queen appreciated him for saving her life.
Easton bowed his head a little, then turned his horse and galloped back to the queen with the news.
“She is often fair-minded,” Tasha said. “Hopefully, we can come to terms.”
“If not, our queen and our people will be delighted to buy your flower goods,” Alton said.
“Well, I’ll just have to skip across the river and buy from you then.” Sigrid sounded as though the idea really appealed to her.
“Me too.” Tanya gave Kayla a hug. “I will miss being so close to you.”
“Nonsense. You can fae transport anytime to the castle and stay with us. And I can come back to visit you here also.”
Easton rode back to them. “The queen is agreeable. As long as there are no tariffs imposed on the products, she will wait to see the peace agreement that you can get your queen to agree to. Good day.”
When he rode off, Kayla said, “She’s not going to like that we’re not paying taxes to her.” Then she turned to her mother and father. “Dad has a castle nearby?”
Tasha laughed and gave her a hug. “Yes, and it was going to be a surprise for when you came of age.”
They watched the queen and her entourage ride back to her castle, no congratulations to Kayla. “She probably wouldn’t have liked hearing I came in first place on the dragon trials in my category either.”
They all laughed.
Alton hoped they could have peace between their people, trade for many things, not just Kayla and her mother’s flowers. It would be good even for the dragon shifters to take on quests that the queen or her people needed them to. As long as no golden fae tried to steal from the dragon shifters, present company excluded, and no dragon shifters tried to steal from the golden fae, again present company excluded, he thought it could work.
All that aside, he knew being with Kayla was the best thing ever as he wrapped his arms around her, and they watched her fields being moved to the castle grounds, the start of a new and wondrous beginning.
“I love you,” Kayla said, looking up at Alton. “Now that I can’t wear my locket, I feel naked. I will have to find another.”
“The gold locket you received for first place?”
“No,” she kept his arms locked around her and watched them digging up her plants. “I will have to see what else you have in all that beautiful treasure of yours.”
Alton laughed. “I knew it. So when are you going to start bringing in more gold too?”
“I’m ready.”
He really wasn’t ready to take her with him on any missions where she could be the one injured by fae seers shooting bolts. “Tonight…,” Alton said.
“She is staying with us,” Arne said, sounding like a strict father. “And you may call on her anytime you wish.”
“I have to take care of my gardens,” she said.
“And you can, all day long. But at night?” her father said.
“Then that means we go for a fast courtship.” Alton winked at her, but he meant what he said. He truly wanted to be with her, always.
Kayla smiled at Alton. “First, I pick up all the gold I want to wear.”
“As a dragon shifter, we don’t display our gold.”
“As a golden fae, we do. Then, I have to pick out a ring for you. So everyone knows you are mine.”
“Out of my own treasure?” He lifted a brow.
She shrugged. “It worked for my mom with my dad. And then…”
“We get married.”
Epilogue
Kayla really planned to enjoy a courtship with Alton for a few weeks at least. That lasted two days. They were hopelessly in love, and she had come of age, after all.
Adorned in all her gold and proud to be a golden fae with her dragon fae aura, she and Alton had married in grand style, a peace treaty between their peoples negotiated, and the only issue that remained? If she could see any flowers growing in her lavender fields.
She was looking again, Alton feeling great now, and he came out to find her. “We have a mission. I thought I would take you on any that I was notified of so you could learn how it’s done. Though, all are so different from each other, whoever knows?” He paused and crouched before a plant. “Kayla!”
She was already headed back toward him, ready to go on the mission when he began eyeing a plant. Hope renewed, she ran toward him and when she reached the plant, she saw the beginnings of life.
“You have done it!” Alton said.
“We have done it!” Because without Alton being there, having his people move the plants and plant them again, she could never have done it. The locket her mother had given her was tucked away in a gold box on the chest in their bedchamber.
He grabbed her up in his arms and twirled her around, then stopped and kissed her. “I believe I have a real gold mine in you.”
She laughed. “But I have all your mountains of treasure.” Though the real treasure was the love they had for each other. “What is the mission?”
“A golden fae has stolen some of my…our treasure,” Alton said.
“A golden fae?” She couldn’t believe it! “The flowers will be here when we get back. Let’s be dragons.”
Acknowledgments
Thanks to the following fae who gave me all kinds of fabulous ideas for the Golden Fae story: Erin Wolf, Lisa Moody, Melodie Luckett, Elizabeth Patti, Ashley Smith, Michelle Graham, April Kirkland, Mary Bannian, Aprille Shadowspeak, Tamara Henson, and Terri White!
About the Author
Bestselling and award-winning author Terry Spear has written over sixty paranormal romance novels and seven medieval Highland historical romances. Her first werewolf romance, Heart of the Wolf, was named a 2008 Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year, and her subsequent titles have garnered high praise and hit the USA Today bestseller list. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry lives in Spring, Texas, where she is working on her next werewolf romance, continuing her new series about shapeshifting jaguars, writing Highland medieval romance, and having fun with her young adult novels. When she’s not writing, she’s photographing everything that catches her eye, making teddy bears, and playing with her Havanese puppies. For more information, please visit www.terryspear.com, or follow her on Twitter, @TerrySpear. She is also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/terry.spear. And on Wordpress at:
Terry Spear's Shifters
http://terryspear.wordpress.com/
Also by Terry Spear:
Heart of the Cougar Series: Cougar’s Mate, Book 1
Call of the Cougar, Book 2
Taming the Wild Cougar, Book 3
Covert Cougar Christmas (Novella)
Double Cougar Trouble, Book 4
Heart of the Bear Series
Loving the White Bear, Book 1
The Highlanders Series: Winning the Highlander's Heart, The Accidental Highland Hero, Highland Rake, Taming the Wild Highlander, The Highlander, Her Highland Hero, The Viking’s Highland Lass, His Wild Highland Lass (novella)
Other historical romances: Lady Caroline & the Egotistical Earl, A Ghost of a Chance at Love
Heart of the Wolf Series: Heart of the Wolf, Destiny of the Wolf, To Tempt the Wolf, Legend of the White Wolf, Seduced by the Wolf, Wolf Fever, Heart of the Highland Wolf, Dreaming of the Wolf, A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing, A Howl for a Highlander, A Highland Werewolf Wedding, A SEAL Wolf Christmas, Silence of the Wolf, Hero of a Highland Wolf, A Highland Wolf Christmas, A SEAL Wolf Hunting; A Silver Wolf Christmas, A SEAL Wolf in Too Deep, Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply, Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing, Between a
Rock and a Hard Place (2017), White Wolf Christmas (2017), SEAL Wolf Undercover (2017)
SEAL Wolves: To Tempt the Wolf, A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing, A SEAL Wolf Christmas, A SEAL Wolf Hunting, A SEAL Wolf in Too Deep, SEAL Wolf Undercover (2017)
Silver Bros Wolves: Destiny of the Wolf, Wolf Fever, Dreaming of the Wolf, Silence of the Wolf, A Silver Wolf Christmas, Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply, Between a Rock and a Hard Place (2017)
White Wolves: Legend of the White Wolf, White Wolf Christmas (2017)
Billionaire Wolves: Billionaire in Wolf’s Clothing, Billionaire Wolf Christmas (2018)
Highland Wolves: Heart of the Highland Wolf, A Howl for a Highlander, A Highland Werewolf Wedding, Hero of a Highland Wolf, A Highland Wolf Christmas
Heart of the Jaguar Series: Savage Hunger, Jaguar Fever, Jaguar Hunt, Jaguar Pride, A Very Jaguar Christmas
Romantic Suspense: Deadly Fortunes, In the Dead of the Night, Relative Danger, Bound by Danger
Vampire romances: Killing the Bloodlust, Deadly Liaisons, Huntress for Hire, Forbidden Love
Vampire Novellas: Vampiric Calling, Siren’s Lure, Seducing the Huntress
Other Romance: Exchanging Grooms, Marriage, Las Vegas Style
Teen/Young Adult/Fantasy Books
The World of Fae:
The Dark Fae, Book 1
The Deadly Fae, Book 2
The Winged Fae, Book 3
The Ancient Fae, Book 4
Dragon Fae, Book 5
Hawk Fae, Book 6
Phantom Fae, Book 7
Golden Fae, Book 8
Phantom Fae, Book 9 (TBA)
The World of Elf:
The Shadow Elf
The Darkland Elf (TBA)
Blood Moon Series:
Kiss of the Vampire
The Vampire…In My Dreams
Demon Guardian Series:
The Trouble with Demons