He knows I’m desperate for him. I can’t escape him. That familiar and welcome fire starts to blossom in my chest, making me bite back.
“Get over yourself, Fury. If I need my needs met, I have Rivern and Gideon.”
The darkness in his eyes starts to push past the silver. I sense possession and mirth down the bond, which comes out in a full laugh, throaty and raw. “Fates, I knew it would be good, but never like this.”
“What?” I snap back.
“You.”
I find it hard to breathe when he talks like that. I want to savour it. Savour him. Underneath it all, I remember there are reasons I should hate him. Right now, when the fire in my chest backs off and Argus opens an eye, curious to see who’s setting me on fire, all I can do is shake my head and walk away.
We are a contradiction.
We shouldn’t be.
Here we are, bonded to each other. His string tugs as tight as Rivern’s in my heart.
Stepping back out of the electrifying bubble we’ve created, I break eye contact, staring down the wolf and fae watching us.
“Come on, we have a kingdom to save.”
Calypso and Moyrie weren’t in any hurry to follow Gideon and Rivern into the tower after us, so they stayed outside, waiting and marvelling at the dragons. An understanding has seemingly fallen over Moyrie, now that she has seen Saff with her youngling. I don’t think the Silver Sands princess understood what she was holding the red dragon back from all this time.
“Can you tell Saff she still has a safe home in the Sands, if she wishes it?” Moyrie stares forlornly at the purple baby dragon attempting to set fire to the air.
My face turns to the glistening scales of the small female with slitted eyes. “Okay.”
Staring at the mother and her baby, Moyrie adds, “My people promised to help her find her young, but we never did. We used that egg as leverage.” Her gaze turns to mine. “She was just a mother, looking for her baby. For centuries, we promised our aid, yet in mere turns,you were able to accomplish a goal we barely scratched the surface of. We owe her.”
She may have been betrothed to Rivern, but this female is becoming more than that now. I admire her ability to take responsibility for her people’s wrongs and move forward without grievance.
Calypso walks over from the sea, her newly formed bubble bobbing along the ocean edge, yet never moving from the spot.
“I am ready,” the queen of the mers states, interrupting us.
With my eyes still on Moyrie, I don’t miss the quiver that moves through her body at the queen’s words.
“Tell the princess that once we arrive back within my home, we will rest for an evening before heading back to her lands to spread news of our breeding.” The matter-of-factness to Calypso is so jarring I can’t help but turn back to Moyrie and open my mouth like a dead fish, before closing it again.
Moyrie exhales loudly. “What did she say?”
I reiterate word for word the queen’s message, adding “good luck” at the end before sending them off, letting them both know I will send word of our progress in Haven—they have both become invested after I told them the story of the king who mistreats his people. The queen and princess believe leaders should create kingdoms of safety and community. I agree.
I’d seen how both the silvers and mers live. None of their people want for anything. They are not separated from their leaders. Their kingdoms are fundamentally different to everything I have grown up with in Haven.
The more I think about it, the angrier I become. King Horus and his son, Castor, have created a divide between the people. The farmers areforgotten about, the priestesses cloistered away. The villagers are fed lies, and the leader sits behind his manor gates, hoarding the last of the reserves for himself.
Kingdoms should not be run on fear and separatism. They should be about creating community.
My rage is a constant simmer. The more I remember how my so-called king treats his people, starving them and blaming them for the poor decisions his ancestors have made, the more I want to spew fire. He had a choice, just like the rest of us. The king could have made a different decision. Instead, he chose greed, and his kingdom has suffered because of it.
We are going to storm his precious manor and blow it up. Saff has no qualms using her fire on them. In fact, she has been relishing the moment she can take down the men who were causing the injustice within my home.
Returning to myself, I watch Calypso part the bubble for Moyrie to enter.She never did that for us.The princess gives the queen a small smile before entering the circular space, the mer entering after her.She also never rode inside the bubble with us?
My mind wants to start ticking over this new interaction. Since Moyrie had her private meal with the queen, she has become quite enamoured with her. Not in a bewitched way. I don’t believe the magic works on females. However, I can see the admiration in her eyes. I hope that means their kingdoms will now come together.
After giving them both a final wave, I head back towards my waiting trio, who are unwilling to let me out of their eyesight. Rivern and Gideon, the latter now back in his human form, stand together onone side of the path leading up to the tower, while Fury stands on the other.
