“The point,” he says, slow and dry, “is to show who is the fastest, most cunning, and deadliest with a blade.”
“Sure. And the most likely to accidentally stab themselves in the foot,” I add sweetly.
Kael narrows his eyes at me. “You mock our traditions.”
“I do. With affection.”
For a moment, Kael actually grins.
It transforms him. Makes him look like less of a Prince of Tides and more like the hot older cousin at a backyard barbecue who’d teach you how to cheat at blackjack.
This is the first time I’ve seen either of them like this—less Demon Lord, more frat bro.
It’s disarming.
A few more rounds go by, each ending in cursing and increasingly creative throws.
Finally, Kael throws his hands up with a dramatic sigh and snaps his fingers.
The board and blades blink out of existence in a shimmer of orange light.
Alaric snarls at him.
“Whatever,” Kael says, brushing phantom dust from his robes.
I laugh, and it feels good. Lighter.
“Did your viyella, Phoebe, teach you how to say that?”
“Yes, actually,” he admits with zero shame. “She has taught me many things.”
His voice softens, and a wistful look flickers over his face.
“You must miss her. Both of you must miss your mates.”
Kael nods toward Alaric, who’s turned away now, his massive shoulders drawn tight.
“Especially Alaric,” he says gently. “His viyella is carrying their young.”
I suck in a breath. “She’s pregnant?”
“Indeed,” Kael replies. “A very lucky thing. We have not had a Dragon Lord’s young in an age. The realm stirs in response. Hope is a fragile ember, Lady Delia, but it burns brighter now.”
The firelight from the terrace lanterns catches in his eyes.
For all their brooding and power, these men love deeply. Fiercely. I can feel it in their magic.
I look back toward the plains.
And I miss Thorne so much it aches.
I wonder if he can feel it too—that pulse between us.
That bond neither of us expected, but one I now recognize and hold tighter than I ever thought I would.
He’s down there.
Somewhere beneath all that stone and heat and darkness, hunting something dangerous, something twisted.
