It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him I can make out with Rivern again. We have done it before in this room in front of everyone. We could easily do it again. I don’t need to—Gideon has his broad hands around my back, sweeping me off my feet so my legs wrap around his torso, my lips perfectly lined up with his.
“If it’s a kiss she wants, I’ll give her a Godsdamned kiss.”
Gideon’s mouth descends on mine. Every time he kisses me, it is better than the last. My lips are zinging with electricity. Argus doesn’t make a sound, my coals lighting for a whole new reason—one where I’m melting from sizzling touches and scorching amber. Neither of usis willing to close our eyes, afraid to miss a moment of seeing the other this close up, noticing each freckle and scar that flecks our bodies. The scars above his eye only make me melt further into him.
I rub my skirted core along his naked body. We both groan loudly.
Clasped around his front, our hands tug at each other’s hair, exploring the unknown depths of the other’s mouth and the unifying taste within. Until I hear an audible noise in the background…Laughter?
Unwillingly ripping my mouth off of Gideon’s, I face Calypso, whose eyes are wide with glee as she claps her hands loudly and laughs.
“Oh, my,” she exclaims. “I didn’t think you would do it. But here you are, ready to sacrifice your bodies to each other, and with so much passion. I’m dripping just at the sight of both of you.”
I release my hands from Gideon’s hair. “We don’t have to…?” I question the queen.
She shakes her head. “No.” She laughs. “I don’t need you to fuck. It would be fun to watch. I wanted to make sure you were serious about your deal. You do seem very convincing.”
“Yes, we are very serious about this deal with you.” I try my best to act like I have the authority to assuage her fears.
“Well, that’s that, then. Let’s go.”
I balk.That’s it? We are going right now?I almost feel like we are missing something…
And it comes to me.The pearls.I promised Moyrie I would find out why they disappeared from the Silver Sands.
“Before we leave, can I ask you one more question?”
Queen Calypso flicks her hand, her large eyes narrowing on me. “I suppooose.” She draws the word out.
“Do you know what happened to the pearls in the Silver Sands?”
thirty-eight
Dove
“Yes,thepearls,”shewhispers softly with reverence. “They have been slowly dwindling each decade, showing up less and less after each new cycle. We suspect it has something to do with our decreasing numbers.”
“So you don’t know anything about the pearls disappearing from the Silver Sands?”
Her eyes squint, her fingers drumming on the rock of one perfectly sculptured tentacle armrest. “What are you trying to say, girl?” She’s not pleased with myinsinuation.
“I’m not saying anything. I’m just asking if you know if their disappearance is related to your pearls disappearing.”
She stands, her hackles somewhat raised. “Those pearls never belonged to the silvers to begin with. They were a gift from my ancestors to the silvers, in exchange for their seed.”
Okay, but the Silver Sands people never knew their men were being taken?By the way Calypso is looking at me, I know I’ve hit a sore spot.So they didn’t just take without giving anything in return.Did they see their pearls as compensation for what they did?
The longer I spend in each new territory of the Forgotten Lands, the more I see the pendulum of mortality swing greatly from side to side. I can’t speak to whether what they did was truly right or wrong because they did what they needed to survive, to keep their people alive.Isn’t that what I’m doing for Haven?I’m planning on killing a greater evil to save people who don’t know how to help themselves.
She steps closer to me, her pink, tightly braided hair swishing around her face. My males edge slightly in front of me, blocking my body from hers, my forever protectors. She chuckles at the sight.
“I see it in your face, colourless one. You think it wasn’t a fair trade, but those pearls contain magic—a magic that suspends life itself. We gave them a gift. As our numbers have been falling, so has our magic. So have our pearls. We are all connected. Our magic is connected to the sea—the great mother Oriel saw to it. We are the water. We are the fish. We are the pearls. Do you not see?”
In the Kingdom of Haven, back in the one Goddess’s temple, they said we were separate. Our choices were our own. I see choice has played a big part in getting me here—the choice to follow my heart and my inner knowing, my truth. But my intention and connection tothose around me have made all the difference. It has brought me love, friendship and strength.
For so long, I thought the world was out to get me, that staying within the temple was the only way. Now I see that it is what kept me small. It was barring me from growing into the woman I was meant to be. It stunted me in a lot of ways. Trauma can do that to a person.
I won’t let it define me.
