Her brother and father were dead. While Marla had been kind to her before, she might not be now.
At least one, if not both, of her sisters had killed Davin and her father. Marla would have every right to see Tanis banished, based on their actions. Even if Marla took mercy on her, Marla’s family might demand exile or death to protect her sons.
For that matter, Tanis’s extended relatives might do so, as well.
While Marla might be Queen Regent, she would be more at the mercy of their council than a full monarch. Because she wasn’t descended from the blood of the Dragomirs, Marla’s reign would be tightly monitored until her son, Draig, was old enough to inherit.
“Tanis?”
She couldn’t speak at Keegan’s question. The stark, bitter reality of what she was facing hit her.
She’d lost her brother. Her father.
Her sisters.
Her home.
Who am I now?
Everything she knew was gone.
Suddenly, Dash was there. He cupped her face in his hands as he stared down at her with those eerie eyes that practically glowed in the evening light. “You all right?”
“No,” she breathed. “Without my father, I have no home.”
“You have a home.”
“No, Majesty. She’s right. The council will most likely banish her. Even if she didn’t have her past, they would do so to protect the young heir. His safety will take priority over hers.”
“Then I will forbid it.”
Those words touched her, but she knew it wouldn’t matter.
“They will kill her to protect the heir, Majesty. No one will trust her after what her sister has done. Even if Reva had no part in it, she’ll be banished, too.”
Fury darkened his eyes. “Then why areyouhere?”
Keegan passed a sympathetic look to Tanis. “We were best friends once. I didn’t want to leave her alone in her grief. I didn’t realize that she had you.”
His thumbs brushed against Tanis’s cheeks. “You do have me, Dragon. Wherever I am, you’ll always have a home.”
But would she have to give up the last of her identity to stay with him?
Who would she be then?
Keegan was having to stay inside a barn like livestock because she didn’t fit in anything other than the grand hall of the palace. Licordia would be no different. It was designed around unicorns and humans, not giant dragons.
What was she going to do?
Chapter 21
Why did you save me?” Fort asked.
Bink had no real answer for that he could give the imbecile. Except one. “You’re my partner, aren’t you?”
Fort nodded as he did his best to follow Bink out from the dungeon where Bink had drugged the guards and released the idiot human after he’d been captured by Meara.
He handed a cloth to Fort. “There you go.”
