“King Jucai and I have nearly mated twice now. Both times, the magic rose only to suddenly stop.”
“Suddenly stop?”
“Yes, because you disrupted Sea Dragon Magic. You denied me my mate, Bantar.”
“You're his mate?!” Bantar lurched to his feet and shouted at the other men, “You took the King's mate! Do you know what this means?”
The Kaikeyos looked from me to Bantar and back. One of them said, “He's not mated to the King. Didn't you hear him? We stopped them from mating. It's what he deserves, if you ask me.”
“Are you a fucking moron?” Bantar shoved the man who had spoken. “King Jucai is besotted with this man. He stopped summoning his bed slaves the day Nadar arrived in Kansu. They eat in the King’s private dining room now because Nadar is uncomfortable with public sex. And now I know why. They're mates! It doesn't matter that they didn't complete the bond. In fact, it's worse. It means that the King won't even have to hunt for Nadar. The mating magic will draw him here, as it's been drawing them together from the start! We need to go. Now!” Bantar motioned at the room. “Leave it all. Flee! TheSea Dragons are coming! Everyone, go now!” He ran out of the cavern, leaving the rest of his army to gape after him.
The men seated nearby looked at me. I shrugged.
“King Jucai is probably on his way right now,” one of them said.
They bolted up and ran out of the cave. I watched them go, still sitting on the bench. Still bound to the crate. Still as weak as a human. But not for long.
I stood up and knocked the crate over. The plan was to knock the magic disruptor off the crate. Unfortunately, I didn't consider that I was bound to the crate. It fell off the platform, and I went with it. Crying out, I fell onto the sand and lay there, staring up at the lights on the ceiling.
As I lay there, I thought about what Bantar said about Jucai. How he was besotted with me from the beginning. Thinking back, I saw it too. And I had to admit that I was just as besotted. Would the mating magic guide him to me? I was still hoping the shell had worked, but if it hadn't, maybe the magic would draw him to me.
“Anytime now,” I said. Then I sighed and sat up.
The magic disruptor was a foot away. All I had to do was get up and take the crate far enough that my magic could return. I stood up and used the rope to pull the crate through the sand. It was heavy, but I managed to get it three feet away before I heard the first scream.
Jerking upright, I turned to look at the main passageway. Roars echoed through it—Dragon roars. No, Sea Dragon roars. They carried through the tunnels, down to me like a lover's call.But beneath those roars was screaming. A lot of screaming and pleas for mercy.
And then came the voice I longed to hear. “Where is he?!” Another roar. “Where is Nadar?!”
“Jucai!” I shouted.
“Nadar!”
A man rushed into the cavern. He was so covered in blood that I couldn't make out his features. Even his hair was red. But I recognized him instantly. Blindfolded, I would know my mate.
“Nadar!” Jucai ran to me, came abreast of the magic disruptor, and stumbled.
“Destroy that metal box.” I motioned toward the disruptor. “It's a magic disruptor.”
“Fucking bastards!” He picked up the box and threw it against the wall.
As it shattered into pieces, we both sighed in relief. I pulled my arms out, breaking the ropes, and ran to Jucai. I didn't care that he was covered in blood. He was Jucai, and that was the blood of our enemies. I'd never been saved before. I thought Bantar had saved me, but he'd only told one of his men to stand down. This was real. Jucai had come for me.
As Sea Dragons poured into the cavern, I realized Jucai had brought his entire dread to free me. Inside me, something stirred. Rose. I'd never felt this before. It was a bubbly sort of feeling. As if my heart were flying in my chest. It was only when Jucai stood back to look me over that I knew. I knew it with absolute certainty.
I loved him.
The Sea King's hand went to my face. “Are you unharmed?”
“Yes, I'm fine.” I took his hand. “You found me.”
“You used the shell. Of course, I found you. Nothing could have kept me away.”
“Well, you took long enough that I thought the shell hadn't worked.”
“I'm sorry. The magic kept jumping from location to location because they were moving you.”
“Your Majesty, we’ve cleared the tunnels.” Another blood-covered Sea Dragon joined us. “We found some strange machines.”
