KenisunsureofGideon and Rivern’s sudden appearance, so he slinks off into the water, watching us from the sidelines while I explain who he is to my protectors.
Rivern isn’t ready to share what happened to them with the mers. Since we are on a time crunch, I leave it. For whatever reason, Gideon is unwilling to turn back into his human form, and Rivern has his eyes all over me, unwilling to let me out of his sight.
I can’t let either of them out of my sight, either, so when Moyrie comes bounding up to us, desperate for me to turn around and see where Ken has brought us, I am in shock.
It is almost a replica of the pearl shells back in the Silver Sands next to the green snake pit. This large cave is ten times the size, though, with most of the shells closed, like we have caught them in slumber.
However, knowing the mers have similar-looking pearls and shells in their lair doesn’t mean they stole them from above. That is still hearsay.
“Why haven’t the mers come for you?” I question Rivern, who’s standing next to me by the sandy shoreline. Light-filled beams travel from pockets of floating pools above us in this underground mer maze.
“The beast man here was a pretty big deterrent in keeping their distance. They weren’t impressed. They said they would be waiting for us in the throne room once we cooled down. There’s no way out of this place unless you can swim. We had to find you, so they probably knew we weren’t going anywhere.”
“Right.” I gaze up at golden skin, remembering how good it feels to have it brush up against me. Reaching out a hand, I feel a rumble from the beast holding me in his arms, but I have to touch my fae.
I can’t not. He’s my lifeline in so many ways.
Paws lock around my waist harder, pulling me into Gideon’s deep warmth, never enough to cause pain. Reaching up on my tip toes, I make contact with Rivern’s smooth cheek.
Air escapes both of our lungs, his woodsy, sunshine smell barrelling through the undercurrent of wolfy sandalwood at my back. Together, they make the perfect concoction. I feel both safe and held simultaneously, both physically and metaphorically.
Rivern holds my hand, an electric sizzle passing through us. His lips meet the soft skin at my wrist, my once broken bones now healed. Ifeel the anguish flow through the bond, knowing he caused me harm. I want Rivern to know he wasn’t to blame, so I send him my need back, unparalleled and desperate.
His eyes lock onto mine, pushing past the invisible wolf barrier, sliding his fingers along my cheeks. “Don’t do that, love, or the mers will be getting a whole different type of meeting.”
I blush, his front pushing into mine, forcing me further back into Gideon, who is set on growling softly down at the fae in front of us.
“Mate?”he questions.
“I’m okay, Gideon. He’s mine, too,” I say aloud,patting his strong thigh.
“Mine, too?”I almost want to laugh at the insinuation. From a pack perspective,what is mine is also Gideon’s.
“What’s so funny,love?” Rivern nibbles at my earlobe, teasing me, his smooth, lined hands cupping my face in reverence.
“Gideon keeps calling memate. Do you know why?”
“Mmmm, might have something to do with me punching him or the mers bewitching him. He seems to have lost his mind.” Rivern shrugs his shoulders like it’s no big deal.
“Youpunchedhim?Bewitched?” A perfectly straight nose runs across my smaller one. “Stop distracting me, Rivern.”
He chuckles. “Now that I have you back, I want to hide you in these caves and never let harm come to you again. The only sounds I want to hear are your twinkling laughter or your moans of ecstasy.”
“And what about Fury, Haven, Terra and Saff? Plus, Moyrie is here.”
At the mention of Moyrie, both our gazes shift to the side. We find her trying to swim for the shells. She keeps stopping herself when itgets too deep, trying to encourage Ken to help her. It would be pretty funny if I weren’t in a wolf and fae prince sandwich, both pieces of my bread determined to keep me weak at the knees at every turn.
“Fury is none of my concern. He put us in this mess. We can leave him on the island. I’ll help you save Haven. We can enlist the Silver Sands and Terra. We can bring the people together without him.”
I feel it, written between the words.Fury cannot be trusted. Gideon has proven himself. All Fury has done is put me in harm’s way.There’s a pit yawning up slowly with Fury’s name on it in Rivern’s soul. He doesn’t want him off that island because he thinks he will hurt me.
Goddess, he could be right. He most likely is.
What Rivern hasn’t seen is all the times Fury has protected me. As more and more memories make themselves known to me, I see that now. Fury helped me when I was just a child, when I had no one else to turn to.He gave me comfort and strength. He saved me from being bur—
I can’t think about that.
Shaking my head, I grip his face in my hands. “I know you know this already, but I’m still going to tell you anyway. No one is getting left behind. I understand it’s hurting you, not knowing what our future looks like with him in it, but we will always be together. That’s one thing I can promise you. I can’t promise anything else. He’s a bastard most of the time.” I huff out a large sigh. “Without him, I would’ve died long before we met.”
