A puppy!
The instant he caught sight of her, the little dog yipped and hunkered down, its little butt in the air, tail wagging. And then, with a happy, tongue-lolling grin, the puppy leapt up towards the rim of the basket, floppy ears flying.
The basket tipped over. The plump, milk-bellied little animal spilled out and would have tumbled from the high raised bed onto the hard floor had Summer not snatched him out of the air to save him.
Hard little claws scrabbled against her bodice. Delicate fabric ripped. The solid whip of the animal’s tail thumped against her arm, and his little pink tongue slobbered all over her face in happy, excited, puppyish welcome. The warm little body wiggled and shook and wiggled some more, barking and yipping.
For one, long, yearning minute, she clutched the little body close and let her fingers run over his soft, golden fur as the puppy burrowed his nose into her throat and licked frantically at her pulse.
Oh, sweet Halla. She closed her eyes and nuzzled the puppy. So small. So warm. So loving and happy and alive. He would be her friend, if she let him. And he would be loyal, she knew. He would follow her everywhere, sleep on her bed, sit beside her, walk with her, play with her.
And she would love him.
So much.
Summer’s eyes flew open. With ruthless will, she tamped down the long-buried pain and yearning inside her and placed the puppy in its basket, covering him back up with the checkered cloth.
This time, she ignored the puppy’s yips and barks and bouncing as she stalked down the palace halls, basket in hand, to Dilys Merimydion’s chambers.
Setting the basket down on the floor by her feet, she pounded on the door to Dilys’s rooms. When no one answered immediately, she pounded harder. “Sealord Merimydion! Are you in there? Open this door!”
Doors opened up down the hall. Curious heads poked out. She ignored them.
“Open this door immediately!”Bang! Bang! Bang!
The door flew open. Dilys stood in the threshold, one hand holding a towel wrapped around his waist. Clearly he’d been bathing, and clearly he’d come running in answer to her shouts, not even bothering to magic away the water that was currently streaming down his bare flesh. It was a measure of her emotional state that she hardly noticed his near nakedness. His expression was full of concern.
“Gabriella? What is it,moa kiri? What’s wrong?”
“Here.” She reached down to snatch up the basket holding the puppy and thrust it in Dilys’s direction, forcing him to grab it with both hands to keep the basket from falling. The puppy inside yipped and jumped about, dislodging the covering. The little black nose and dark brown eyes peeked out from beneath the checkered cloth. Seeing her, the puppy let out an excited bark and leapt against the side of the basket as if he was trying to reach her. Summer’s heart twisted in painful yearning.
“I’ve had enough. You need to stop! I don’t want your gifts, and I don’t want you.” The puppy poked his head out through the cloth and licked at her hand with its little pink tongue. She snatched her hand back. Her throat was closing up, the tears gathering. “I m-mean it!” she choked out. “No more!”
Her lips started to tremble, so she clamped them tight and spun around to march down the hall, leaving Dilys standing there, gaping at her, holding the puppy’s basket, his damp towel crumpled at his feet.
Dilys stared after Summer’s rapidly departing figure in dismay. He could have sworn he’d been winning her over with his daily gifts. From all accounts, the butterflies this morning had been a hit, but something had drastically changed between breakfast and now.
He stepped back into his room, kicking his towel inside with one foot, then pulling the door closed with the other. Dilys set the basket down and pulled out the little golden puppy inside, regarding the small canine with a frown.
“What happened to upset her so, boy?” he asked.
The puppy barked and yipped and licked his hand enthusiastically. Dilys cradled the dog against his chest and scratched his small chin.
The puppy was no mere mutt. He was a very expensive, very coveted purebred goldenmalam, a breed renowned for their intelligence, deep bonding, and fearsome protective instincts. Once the bond was forged, themalamwould defend Gabriella with its life. The breed loved water, of course. Dilys would never have gifted hislianawith any pet that did not.
When he’d chosen the dog, he’d thought about walking with Gabriella in the surf near Merimydia Oa Nu, her dog bounding in and out of the waves, making her laugh with his antics. Really laugh. Not that quiet, restrained laughter that was all most people ever heard from her, but the sort of laugh that cracked one open wide and poured out like sunshine through breaking clouds. A truly joyful laugh, like the one he’d heard the day after his arrival in Konumarr.
He’d also wanted Gabriella to have another, devoted protector besides himself—one capable of tearing the throats out of anykrillowho even dared dream of causing her harm.
Goldenmalams, for all their small puppy size, would grow quite large. And unlike most large dogs, who rarely lived more than ten or fifteen years, it wasn’t unheard of for long-livedmalamsto remain in good health well past their twentieth year. By then, Dilys would ensure Summer was surrounded by a circle of beloved friends, children, and other pets to assist him in absorbing her grief and giving back the love and joy she needed to thrive.
His mother’s heart was as deep and wide as the sea, and she wasn’t even a true Siren. Compared to her, Gabriella’s heart was exponentially vaster, with an equally vast capacity to love, to grieve, to feel.
Autumn had been a good friend to him, helping to confirm his own observations about Gabriella’s likes and dislikes, but it was clear she didn’t know everything about her blue-eyed sister, or she would have advised him differently about the puppy.
It was time to seek counsel from the one person Summer confided in more than any other: her eldest sister, Spring.
He sought out Spring Coruscate in the greenhouse built half a mile beyond the edge of the palace’s vast western gardens. The heavily glassed, freestanding structure had been designed and positioned to receive the most direct sunlight throughout the course of the day. The land around it had been cleared of trees so no shadows would block the sun. Probably quite important during Wintercraig’s cold, harsh winter.
