“I cannot leave you,majesta,” Brokk says. Diala quakes again.
“Yes, you can.” I point to Hunter and the biggest Slythin, who are headed towards us. “My king is about to pick me up.”
“Very well. Quickly.” Brokk reaches down.
“Go with him.” I push Diala forward. “He’s nice, I promise.” Brokk and I get Diala settled on the snake’s neck in front of Brokk. She looks tiny compared to his excessively muscled, Alpha bulk. Or maybe it’s just her bowed head that makes her appear so small.
Brokk looks down at her, his fascination obvious.
“I’ll see you back at the castle,” I say.
Diala lifts her head. Her expression is stricken but her posture is perfect. She looks like a queen.
Sheisa queen. The Queen of the Forest Kingdom. “Damn,” I whisper. I might have just thrown a wrench into the intricate workings of the Arborii government.
I rub my forehead. If Diala wants to rule, she can take over my position. I’m not cut out to be queen.
Hunter rides the red Slythin up to me. This snake is so monstrous, it makes the one that attacked us on our picnic look like a baby. Not only is it missing the white scum on its scales, but no poison is dripping from its fang. Its single fang—this is the same creature who took me here.
I stroll up the hill to greet him and my boots sink into thick moss. The rolling green turf covers the hill, and is advancing towards the castle.
“How is this possible?” I whisper. The answer is a pleasant weight in my chest, a joyful swell in the bond. Hunter is the Forest King. He is truly one with the land.
What does that make me?
I wobble, but a newly grown sapling is there to steady me. I lean on it as Hunter comes closer.
Hunter is in breeches as usual. The muscles of his torso gleam bronze and green in the suns’ light.
I lift my arms up to him and he snatches me up, swinging me in front of him and clutching me to his tattooed chest. He steadies me as I sit on the smooth, shiny red scales. His huge thighs squeeze around mine. His musk surrounds me and saliva bursts in my mouth like I’ve bitten into a juicy fruit. I lean back against his solid frame, dizzy.
The Slythin swerves its sinuous body around and flows towards the hills as the ground rumbles one more time. Behind us, moss now covers the piles of rubble all the way up to the castle. The one remaining tower sinks into the ground. A wind blows over the green plain, and the grasses swish with a hushing sound. Ahead is a grove of trees. The forest has reclaimed this land. The healing has begun.
Hunter digs his fingers into my dusty hair, tugging my face back. His chest rumbles on a growl. “Mine.”
I twist around as far as I can, cup his face, and kiss him.
NINETEEN
Haley
By the timewe reach the palace, it is dark. Bonfires burn in every firepit on the lawn. The scent of spiced wine and roast meat hits me and I clutch Hunter as my stomach roars. I need a bath and a meal. Maybe two or three rounds of both.
The bell rings out, and crowds gather on the palace steps. More people throng the fires. The dark shapes of Arborii move out of the way as the Slythin glide right up to the palace.
Brokk rides beside us on his snake beast. Diala sits rigid in front of him, her hands folded tightly in front of her.
“No sign of Mikkan and the others,” he calls to Hunter. “I’ve sent guards to arrest them. We’ll announce it to the people, tell them to look out for the traitors.”
Hunter grunts.
One of the Stone Kingdom refugees races into our path. Hunter tenses around me, holding me tight as the Slythin rears back, stopping short. It’s the same Ulfarri who begged for the Hunter King to help his people. He falls to his knees. “Hunter King, you have saved us.”
The crowd breaks out into a cheer. A few of them have gotten their hands on those bellowing horn thingies, and I have to cover my ears. The sound blasts over us. I press back against Hunter.
The people are screaming and crying, raising their hands and bowing. “Hunter King! Hunter King!” they chant.
Hunter squeezes his knees and the Slythin gently curves around the kneeling refugee, heading for the palace steps. More people run onto the lawn once the two Slythin have passed. “Hunter King! The Wild One!”
