Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
“What is it, Athair m贸r?” I knelt next to him and looked at where he was pressing his hand into the dirt.
“Can you feel this? The humming in the earth. It’s like the ground itself is thrumming or vibrating.”
I pressed my hand next to his and closed my eyes like he had. I could just barely sense it at first. It was like an imperceptible difference in the way that everything else around me felt. Then, I felt it more clearly. With my eyes closed, I could start to see the thrumming as if they were lines stretching out before me in my mind’s eye.
“What is this, Athair m贸r? What am I feeling?” I kept my voice soft and my eyes closed as I spoke.
“What does it feel like, my dear?” I could hear the mischievous air in his voice. “What do you think it is that you are feeling?”
“It feels like magic. A lot of it. But I don’t know what else it is.”
“It is magic. It looks like this area of the mountain is a central crossing for ley lines. Do you know what those are, my dear?” The excitement was there, thick and easy to hear as he spoke.
“No, I am sorry, but I don’t.”
“Ley lines, my dear Riviana, are the source of magic for the world. The place that the Fae compound lies is the epicenter of all the ley lines on this continent. It is currently the strongest and most prominent central point for any continent. The lands that we have created for ourselves will always follow the power of the lines. That is why we have said that the land of Fae only exists to those that can get in there. A human, for example, would pass right through us in the matter of a couple of steps and none of us would be affected by it at all. We wouldn’t even notice it. If a stronger and more prominent central point were to develop, that is where the Fae compound would move to. We wouldn’t need to do anything ourselves. The compound moves all on its own.”
“That is actually quite scary. To possibly just wake up one day and find out you’ve been uprooted and moved with no prior notice.” My words must have been funny because Athair m贸r started to laugh.
“No worries, Riviana, we have different Fae monitoring the lines, we would know before it actually happened.”
“Oh.” I felt relieved at his explanation. “Well, that is good.”
“Yes. And what this all means for you right now is that these ley lines will power your castle. And, since so many of you are part Fae, there is a possibility that the Fae side will get stronger the more the others live here. It could be why your magic is as strong as it is already. You have family that visit often but don’t live here permanently so they aren’t as exposed to it as you are. However, that alone might awaken, or might have already awoken, their Fae magic without them knowing it.”
I tried to wrap my head around what all of this meant. Basically, we have all been living around magic our whole lives without ever realizing it. Joaquin, the man who has always lived in this estate, has lived around it longer than anyone. Well, except for Lila. She has lived in this place since before Joaquin was born. What has that done to them? Is that why Joaquin has an affinity for magic?
After the discussion about the ley lines, it was time for us to start the process of building the castle that we had planned out. Together, with Athair m贸r’s guidance, we cleared the land of trees and leveled the side of the mountain so that the castle would have a place to stand.
Once that was done, we both pressed our hands to the ground and focused on the castle we wanted to build. Of course, everyone was out of the castle right now, we didn’t need someone getting hurt because they were moving around rooms that were being reformed. Soon though, I was able to see the changes as they happened right before my eyes.
A tall barrier fence sprung up around what was going to be considered the inner lands of the castle. There was also a gate that was forming around the rest of our lands that backed up toward Riviana Falls. It wouldn’t be something that the humans noticed, but if the city residents were looking our way, they might notice it.
Aside from the gates there was the castle itself that was forming. The large facade, the towers, and the courtyard that was behind and alongside the central towers. I couldn’t see the courtyard, but I knew it would be there. The castle was going to be everything that we needed and for my entire kingdom.
Oh, and some of those trees we removed magically reappeared in the courtyard so that it wasn’t so bare. And more of them were relocated to the front garden that was between the inner fence or gate area and the actual castle.
Building this place literally only took about ten minutes. Ten minutes worth of magical effort, at the max, and we had a castle that was way more than ten times the size of the estate that we had before. That seemed impossible, but I was looking at it, so it must be real.
Sometimes despite all the training I have had, and all that I have witnessed in the world so far, I forgot just how amazing and wonderful magic could be. I seemed to forget at times the actual size and scale of massive magical efforts and abilities. I mean, I had actually watched Cedar and Noah rebuild a massive structure with their abilities and yet, I thought this seemed unbelievable. I truly needed to stop forgetting what all of us were capable of doing.
Magic was now, and forever more, a part of my life and the lives of those around me. That would never change no matter who it was that I was talking to or visiting with.. Perhaps even one day we could reveal true magic to the humans, have them accept us, and live our lives in the open instead of the shadows.
****
Riviana
****
From the point we had stood to the front door of the castle was at least half a mile if not longer. What the hell were we thinking, making something so fucking grand. I was starting to feel nervous about what everyone was going to say about this place when they saw it. Still, it was time for the current staff as well as the actual residents of the castle to reacquaint ourselves with the place that we called home.
The main entrance of the castle went into a grand foyer. It was big enough to fit at least two hundred people comfortably, if not more. We explored the entire downstairs of the castle and showed the staff where to go. So far, everything had turned out just as we had wanted. And best of all, I didn’t have to ship in new appliances. The ones from my imagination seemed to have been installed already. That was truly very convenient.
The maids were a little overwhelmed at first at the sheer size of the new residence but they didn’t let it show all that much. I also reassured them that I would be hiring more staff to help around the castle.
“That is a relief, my lady.” Roisin spoke with audible relief in her voice. “But if I may, my lady, I would prefer to be in charge of the royal residence tower.”
Roisin had single-handedly managed the entire residence that we stayed in at the Fae compound. I knew that she was more than capable of handling a job of that magnitude. And this time, she wouldn’t need to handle the cooking, that job would be left to Abigail.
“I think that would be just fine, Roisin. And Abigail, you will still be in charge of meals for our family personally. You will technically be the castle’s head chef, which means you will be in charge of directing the kitchen staff and wait staff. Is that alright with you?” I smiled at the women as I spoke to them one after the other.
“That would be perfect, my Queen. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Abigail smiled at me as she answered me.
“Julie, I am naming you head of housekeeping, and it will be up to you to guide and manage all the maids, current and future. Peter, you will be the personal butler for the royal residence; however, you will also be the head butler. I want you to manage all of the butlers in the castle so they do their jobs properly. I am counting on the three of you; you will be the central pillars for making sure that the castle runs smoothly.”
“Yes, my Queen.” The three of them, Peter, Julie, and Abigail, answered in unison.
After that was settled,we continued to explore the new lay of the land, so to speak. When we got to the royal tower, it was only Athair m贸r, Abigail, Peter, Roisin, Lila, Joaquin, the twins, and myself that entered.
“Now, one benefit is that the only people who can enter this tower are those with your permission. Each floor can also be designated with different levels of admittance so the privacy can be higher in other places.” Athair m贸r explained as we entered the tower.
“So I will not have to worry about a certain someone interrupting us ever again?” I could see a grin on Joaquin’s face as he thought about this. He had been interrupted on more than one occasion by Noah. I know he didn’t appreciate that very much and would now like the fact that only those we allow would be permitted in our room.
In the royal tower, the first floor was a grouping of adjustable personal residences that the personal staff of the tower would live in, that was actually the fifth floor of that tower, considering the first three floors worth were taken up by just the height of the throne room and the fourth floor were the offices for me and Joaquin.
