“I’ve spoken to Lily about this relationship more times than I want to admit. She made her choice, and I feel like if I provoke her again, that would be crossing the line. Her boundaries are set, and I’m not the type of man to push through someone’s walls—unless it’s in battle. So I wanted to bring it to your attention in case you wanted to speak to Callum about it. It seems like you two have a decent relationship, and perhaps he would enlighten you.”
“Yes, perhaps.”
He straightened in his chair. “Alright, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way…what gift did you want to bestow upon me?”
“Well, I’ve spoken with the dragons and asked if anyone would be interested in joining you in your kingdom. If you fuse with one of them, it will allow you to communicate with the other dragons here and, therefore, me, so if you did ever need aid, I would be able to answer that call. Not to mentionhaving a pair of dragons to safeguard your kingdom would make you a bigger adversary to your opponents.”
Viper stared at me blankly for a few moments before he could fathom a response. “You want to give me dragons?”
“Dragons that have volunteered to relocate somewhere new. See a different place. They’re free dragons in my realm that I protect, so I can’t order them to do anything, but they have chosen to do this.”
He gave a slow nod. “As kingly of a gift as this is…it isn’t dragons I want.”
I held his stare as the discomfort pooled in my stomach, understanding exactly what he wanted without having to hear it.
His stare hardened as he looked at me, as if he wanted me to exchange the gift I’d offered for something he truly wanted.
“My daughter is not a sheep, Viper.”
“I understand that. All I want is for you to notify me when and if things go awry.”
That request made me uncomfortable too, to exploit my daughter’s heartbreak.
“You prefer me to him.”
“I never said that.”
“But I can tell you do.”
I severed eye contact as I took a breath, hoping that when Hawk decided to settle down, it would be a much easier process than this. I’d dreaded the day that my daughter wouldchoose a man to spend her life with, but I hadn’t anticipated it would be as horrific as this. A tense love triangle between the god of the underworld and a vampire. “I’ll let you know.”
Viper gave a nod when he got the answer he wanted. “Thank you, Talon Rothschild. Then I’ll take my dragons and be on my way. Presenting my king with ferocious dragons may repair the rift that continues to divide us.”
A subtle reminder of what he’d done for the Southern Isles. “Just to be clear, they’re volunteering to change locations and offer their loyalty to you—within reason. If they convey any mistreatment to me, you’ll have an army of dragons raining down fire on your entire kingdom. They’re allies—not servants.”
“I understand, Your Highness. And I appreciate what you’ve offered.” He rose to his feet. “I suspect this may be the last time we see each other.”
I rose to my feet as well. “It may.”
He extended his hand to shake mine.
I took it, both of us gripping each other hard, and then he silently dismissed himself, his cape shifting behind him as he exited my office.
6
LILY
Mom and I met in the garden on the terrace that offered views of the sea over the cliffs. The garden was full of geraniums, lilies, and roses, bees flying around from flower to flower to make everything blossom. It was the end of summer, so soon, the unwavering heat would pass, and the air would have a hint of crispness to it.
We sat together at the table while the servants refilled our iced tea and brought us a lunch spread of salads and sandwiches.
“How are things with Callum?” she asked as she stabbed her fork into her greens, greens that were harvested from that very garden.
“Good. Very good.Very,verygood.”
My mom chuckled. “You didn’t want to talk about your vampire lover, but you have no problem talking about this one.”
“Well,this oneis going to be my husband, so…” The salads were covered with fresh fruit, nuts, and goat cheese, and topped with slices of chicken breast. Because I hadn’t been active at all these last few weeks, especially since Callum was the one who’d done all the work, I had to cut back on my diet so my clothes would still fit.
