one
Moyrie
Sheis back—my dragon.
Saff’s wings open wide over our receiving area—a wide, circular open-air theatre, the perfect size for her to land. A place she knows well.
Now, she brings creatures on her back. Unheard of, for the dragon has only ever allowed myself, my father and his father to ride her. And that is only because we proved ourselves worthy, dedicating our lives to her care and helping to find her young, though we have never come close to discovering the egg she seeks—the words etched in my grandfather’s mind upon meeting her. The dragon had made a deal with him, conversing in his head for the first and last time, never speaking to any of my people again. But we carried the tradition of riding her through our family line, keeping us in power.
Only the strongest fighters are crowned kings and queens of the Silver Sands. Thanks to Saff, no one has dared challenge our seat in power, my family having been the sole custodians of nobility since the beginning.
Seeing two people ride Saff is an anomaly I’ve never witnessed before. The male is of no consequence to me, but the female—
She is an enigma.
She holds power. I can see it in the way the large, scruffy person holds her, in how Saff handles her small touches on her scaled neck.
“Seraph.”The word is a growing murmur in the crowd.
“Daughter.” My father clutches my hand in his grasp. “She has come.” His voice is strained. Looking over to my mother, I see her hand raised to her mouth, shocked at the sight she is witnessing.
A sight we could only ever dream of. One that is now our reality.
Saff lands, a plume of light sand falling over us like the waves that crash against the walls of our lands.
All eyes are on the female. Long hair the colour of tree trunks drapes around a soft, feminine face. Wide, wild eyes stare back at our dais, focusing on one person in particular. Rivern.
Their gazes spell more than a simple connection. My heart kicks up a beat at this new revelation. At this new meaning.Did my betrothed bring us the Seraph? Maybe this was Osear’s plan all along.
If my betrothed has brought us the Seraph—the being prophesied to bring about a new world, one who can control the beasts and see ussafe—our debt is paid in full with the fae, and we require nothing else from them.
No bloodlines mingling, no deals made out of necessity.
My body sags, relaxing for the first time since meeting the fae.I can choose my partner again.
With this newfound knowledge, my ire at my betrothed pulling away is a thing of the past. If the female is who we have been waiting for, she is everything to my people.
I can have autonomy over my future again.
two
Dove
Seraph—thewordwhirlsinmy mind.
Luminescent bodies are bowed before me, tales swishing from side to side. The way their scaled skin glows in the light of the two suns is utterly spellbinding. I never knew such people could exist. There are a lot of creatures and places I have come across in the last several turns. I never could have imagined all this living in the one Goddess’s templeback in Haven.
Here I am in a kingdom, truly not that far from my own, with glimmering sand covering the expanse as far as the eye can see and strange-looking but nonetheless enchanting people.
White-knuckling my cloak, I instinctively whisper in my mind to the one person I know is listening,“What does Seraph mean?”
A slow chuckle vibrates through my head, and I know he’s smirking, which only makes my anger towards him burn bright.“You’d like my help now, would you?”
Gritting my teeth, I scowl. I seriously don’t understand what it is about this male that sets me off. If someone gave me a knife, I’d be tempted—no, I would definitely slit his throat. However, the annoying tug in my heart reminds me that we are bonded, and I can’t harm a hair on his devilishly arrogant head even if I want to.
“Now, now, Pet. I can feel all of that unrequited fire for me, and I must say, it is doing things to me I’m not sure you’re ready for.”
I unintentionally huff loudly at the bastard in my head. Slitted eyes of varying shades look right at me. A sliver of fear works its way up my throat. I gulp it back, pushing into the wolf shifter behind me. Gideon’s hand holds firm around my waist. I lean on him for a smidge of his comfort as we are assessed by the creatures before us.
