Memories rose. The ache in my chest when I left him. The sorrow. The longing. That feeling that I'd never be happy without him. I stopped walking and stared at Vax.
Vax stopped and turned toward me. “What's wrong?”
“Nothing,” I whispered. Then, in a strong voice, I repeated, “Nothing at all. Everything is finally very right.”
Chapter Thirty-One
There was no subtlety when it came to the Sea King. Wherever he went, he was recognized. He was hard not to notice with all that shimmering hair, shifting through the colors of an opal. Darkness? Please. His hair was black, but that's all the darkness to him. King Vaxarion was a glorious, shimmering creature. His smiles set men and women to swooning and he took great delight in teasing people into smiling in return. He was as lighthearted as he'd said, which I hadn't believed until I witnessed it. Now that he had me, he could return to his old self. Just without the multitude of lovers. And I'd never have to worry about that changing. A mated Dragon didn't stray. I assumed it was the same for mated Sea Dragons.
“And this is the theater I designed.” Vax waved his hand out the carriage window.
Yes, we had left the palace. Vax was eager to show me everything. All his accomplishments. The things he'd built and inspired to be built. It felt as if he were wooing me, trying to impress me, but I was already his. He didn't have to go through all of this. And that made it even sweeter. Most of the ride I spent staring at him instead of the things he pointed out.
“Zix, are you listening?” Vax asked.
“Yes, you designed the theater,” I said and finally looked at it. “It's stunning, Vax.”
“Thank you.” He beamed, drawing my attention back to him. “I'll take you there tomorrow night. Tonight we have our mating feast.”
“Yes.” I grinned. “I remember.”
Vax took my hand. “I should have asked earlier, but do your people have a mating ceremony?”
“We don't call it mating, but I think there's a ceremony for committing your life to another's.”
“You think?”
I cleared my throat and looked away. “I was ten when I was taken, and Teng didn't talk about that kind of stuff. It's not really what pirates do. We commit ourselves to the ship.”
“I'm sorry.” He slid his arm around me and pulled me in against his side. “I would hunt those Gashi down if they lived. As it is, I will have to appease myself with the Hulfrin.”
“Vax, don't,” I said. “Leave it be. Leave them be.”
“You think they're hunting your friends. Killing them would eliminate their threat. Your family would be safe.”
That sank in. “I hadn't thought of that.”
“Then it's decided,” Vax said gleefully. “I will hunt down those Hulfrin bastards and punish them for daring to hurt my mate.”
“It feels wrong,” I whispered. “We were in the wrong. I would have done the same as Captain Aras.”
“That's the dead man's name? Aras?”
“Vax, I'm serious. He was in his rights.”
“To take you? Maybe. But not to hurt you.”
“Vax, you need to understand how pirates see the world. We're thieves and we know it. We don't hold grudges against people who try to defend themselves or retrieve what we've taken. We see it as part of the adventure. We know the risks. I know the risks, and I don't blame Aras for doing everything he could to get his property back. What we took is very valuable, so I—”
“You never did tell me what it was that you stole from them.”
“Didn't I?” I frowned, trying to remember.
“No, you started to, but never finished.”
“Oh.” A shiver ran through me as I remembered the old man's face. The stark terror in it. “Uh, have you ever heard of Ensarena's Eye?”
Vax went still. Not in a frightened way. More like a predator who had scented his next meal. “Yes, I am familiar with the gem. Why do you ask?”
