“You want me to explain?” Niz asked Kieran as she shook her head, turning toward his parents.
“When we were leaving, we saw—” Kieran’s soft words captured everyone’s attention, but I interrupted her. I wouldn’t allow her to downplay her part in this.
“WhenKieransaw the problem—she alone was the one to act first and save the boy,” I clarified, wanting to make it crystal clear who was responsible for the boy’s life.
Queen Nora seemed to weigh the truth of my statement before turning her attention back to Kieran, whose gaze was on me with a soft smile.
The queen cleared her throat, attempting to pull Kieran’s attention, but her gaze was steady on mine as she said, “Right. Well, when I saw something in the distance—a flash of flames—I trusted my gut and approached the mountain range. Immediately, I knew something was wrong because guards were cornering what appeared to be a very young wyvern. They had hooked his wing and were trying to herd him with fire—to what end, I’m not sure. Whether to capture him or even worse, especially since Bastian found poison on the hook. It was absolutely disgusting.”
“And this isn’t the normal way of Beast Tamers—nor were any of the angels who were there Tamers to begin with,” Ronan took over, offering our girl support. “They were normal soldiers, and so were the group of six that followed after them.”
“All of whom we took care of,” Steele pointed out, not needing to specify past that—it was obvious what he meant. Obliterated—that’swhat we had done to the group of soldiers.
“We have dealt with a lot fromBeast Tamersover the years, but this is a new level of danger being thrown our way—our young can not leave the cave now, even as they grow older.” Conan’s voice was filled with more emotion—mostly anger—than I had heard from him in the short time knowing him.
“This wasn’t Beast Tamers,” Ronan repeated. “This was a new tactic, a military one. A reaction to the war between the Rebellion and Alfemir, most likely. Whether it was to use the boy for military strategy or to invoke your rage and pull your kind forth by his death, I’m not sure.”
“This is a war that we didn’t ask to be involved in,” Nora said softly, looking toward Niz as her tone hardened with accusation. “It’s convenient that the threat you attempted to gather aid from us in defeating suddenly poses such a massive?—”
“Do. Not.” Kieran’s voice was sharper and darker than I’d ever heard it—honestly, I fucking loved it. Coupled with the disgust on her face toward the queen? Total turn on. “You can accuse us of whatever else you want, but I will not stand here and let you suggest that we hurt a six-year-old child for our own gain. Only a true monster would even think of that.”
Kieran’s words filled the space around us with silence as Nora deflated, running a hand over her face. Her shoulders slumped and she sighed heavily, pulling in another deep breath and then letting it go again before she spoke. “Of course, you’re right. I may not agree with you, but I know my son. Anyone he calls a friend wouldn’t be capable of that.”
“I know you’re scared, Nora,” Kieran spoke honestly, her hands extended out to emphasize the scale of the problem facing the wyverns. “But the truth is that Alfemir has been, and willalwaysbe, a threat to you and your people. However, at this point, they’re a threat toeveryone.”
The two of them stared at one another for a long moment, seeming to silently communicate, before Nora nodded and leaned into her husband. “It is clear the ways of the world are changing, whether we want them to or not. Alfemir is a threat to us, and that can’t be denied. It doesn’t matter whether we trust you or not, does it? At the end of the day, we will need to pick a side, even if it feels like we shouldn’t.”
My brows arched with curiosity at her words.
“And what side will you pick?” I demanded.
Nora looked up at Conan before her gaze slid to Niz. “Our son’s side.”
“So you’ll help us?” Kieran asked softly with disbelief, blinking several times as her brows arched up.
“Yes.”
“Thank you,” Kieran said, her voice rough with emotion as she pressed a hand against her heart. “And I hope that you can learn to trust us in time—I promise you that our intentions aren’t to hurt your people.”
“You went out of your way to save one of our own,” Nora whispered. “I may not trust angels, but I trust you, Kieran. Don’t prove me wrong.”
Before another word could be spoken, the doors burst open and a sobbing woman ran forward—likely the mother of the boy. Walking back toward the bed, the king, queen, and Niz all greeted the woman before launching into an explanation and consoling her.
Kieran kept close to my side as I drew a hand across her back in what I hoped to be a comforting move. I could tell the exhaustion of today’s events and the let down of adrenaline was starting to hit our girl, her body loose of tension as she began to melt into my side.
“I am so glad they’ll help us,” she whispered as she sagged fully against me, “but I hate thatthishad to be what pushed them to that realization. This should have never happened.”
“But it did,” Steele pointed out. “And it’s all the more reason why Alfemir needs to be taken out, fast.”
“Especially now that they feel threatened,” Ronan murmured, causing Gabe to nod.
Yes, Alfemir was a problem. Yes, they needed to be taken out, sooner rather than later. But now we faced the problem of figuring outhowto do that.
24
KIERAN
It wasa few hours later when we finally left the medical center—my heart feeling far lighter at the prospect of the speedy recovery the boy would undergo. Of course, he would be in the center for a few days at minimum, but with the type of medical attention he was receiving, and with his mother by his side, I had no doubt that he would be on the mend soon. It was also a relief to understand how any of this had happened to begin with.
