A great bellow sounded overhead, and every person flinched to their knees. Dorian sprang up, Corbin and Reverie at his side, and he joined Nyssa and Bala.
"What are they doing—“
Nyssa didn't hear what her brother said. Because the noise of a song filled her ears, and her nose began to burn. Insides swelling with the words she recognized. She grabbed Dorian's hand.
"It's the song," she said, meeting his eyes.
"What?" he managed.
"The song they sang together at the end," she said, still listening for it as it echoed over the trees. “Drae and Draven.It’s their song.”
Wind swept voraciously over the sand, billowing out a few of the fires, and Dorian’s voice dwindled. He pulled her in with the last of the words and sank his arm around her shoulder just as the Rhamocour landed at the end of the jetty.
Everyone straightened, widened eyes staring at the great beast as its long neck drew up, green eyes pouring over the people.
A swarm of Wyverdraki flew over them, a few choosing to stay in the air while some landed on the rocks and the sand. Fluttering voices filled Nyssa's ears to the point that it nearly weighed her down. Questions and basic conversation. Arguments and mocking.
A shudder drew down her spine. The barrier she'd once held there now vacant since her time in the void, leaving her completely open and vulnerable to their voices and emotions. Her knees started to buckle, hands pressing over her ears as panic filled her.
SHUT UP, she nearly shouted at them.
Silence.
Dorian and Nadir's hands were on her arms, and Nyssa pulled herself straight. She ignored the flee of her heart and looked around, finally meeting the Rhamocour's gaze.
Why are you here?she asked.
We came to see our King.
The vibration of the great beast's voice chilled her.
"What are they doing here?" Dorian asked.
"They never come this far south," Bala said. "Normally, they stay east of my kingdom. Never this far--"
"They came to see their King," Nyssa said as she reached for Bala's hand.
Bala stared at her. "What?"
"That's what she just said," Nyssa shrugged. "They came to see you."
Nadir grabbed her arm as they went to leave. "Are you sure about this?" he asked softly.
Anxiety and nausea swelled inside her at the thought of allowing such a creature back into her mind. "No," she admitted. "But I have to do this." She glanced back up at the stars, and her heart knotted. "For her. I can't keep pushing them away."
Bala and Dorian were waiting on her when she turned, the purple glowing fire of the Rhamocour on the jetty, illuminating the great beast. She joined them, and together the three Kings walked to meet the great Noctuan beast.
As they walked, Nyssa's arms began to tingle. Something else had joined them. She glanced back over her shoulder, only to find the Ulfram alpha and the rest of the pack's eyes reflecting back to her from the bonfire lights, but they didn't emerge from the trees. Almost as though they were simply there to watch and keep an eye on things.
But as more and more Noctuans emerged from the woods, including the skeleton glow of the Noirdiem, Nyssa realized this was more than the Rhamocour coming to see Bala.
They'd come to see if she was worthy of the loyalty they offered.
To crown their King.
As they neared, Nyssa and Dorian let Bala approach on her own. The beast would size her up and determine her worth simply by detecting how pure her love for them was.
Bala approached the beast and held out her hand, palm up. The dragon sniffed her all over, an act that would have had Nyssa frightened, but Bala stayed still.
