Squall's End

Koldis found a place to land as soon as he was able. The air was drenched with the metallic stench of iron. Draconic bodies littered the ground. They hadn't yet discussed what to do with them; they hadn't gotten that far.

"I must see to the city," King Talon had announced several minutes prior. "But I will return shortly."

Anyone who knew him, knew his words translated to one thing. He was checking on Claire. But Talon was a king, first and foremost, so it was his diplomatic way of saying it. In the meantime, they were to ensure their efforts were thorough.

Byron had already sent several coveys out north, south, east, and west, to ensure there were no survivors. He already knew there weren't, but it did not hurt to be certain.

He shifted into human form, landing on two feet, coming to a standstill. From his vantage point, he observed the carnage on the shores of Plymlet Lake. He studied the landscape, stance wide, his hands braced on his hips. Bedelth, Dallin, and Verath came to stand beside him. Reyr and Jovari had gone with their king.

Moments later, he lifted his gaze towards the sky, searching. He caught a flash of white. His shoulders tightened. She was on the back of a dragon that wasn't him. It felt like a betrayal. He ground his teeth together, forcing his mind to calm. This was Taylynn—ancient Sprite princess, caught like a fly in a web of the Tree's bidding—there wasn't anything personal about who she flew with.

Still, he made a mental note to insist they fly together as soon as possible—

"So..." said Verath, pulling him from his thoughts. Koldis braced himself. "I wasn't expecting to see your mate."

"If you're asking whether I knew she'd be here or not, the answer is no, Verath. I never know when I'll see her. Her coming and going is her business." The King Tree's business, really.

"Shouldn't that be your business, as her mate?" Dallin piped up, curious.

Verath put a hand on Dallin's shoulder and squeezed. "The Sprite princess is a fickle creature, lad."

Bedelth snorted. "I think you mean all women, when you make that statement."

"No—not really. Your mate, perhaps," Verath added, shrugging.

Bedelth went stock still, expression turning stricken. "Don't you dare," he warned. "We may be brothers, but don't you dare go there..."

Verath hesitated, his gaze darting over Bedelth's expression. He must have seen the warning, the pain. He lifted a shoulder and said, "As you wish."

The truth was, none of them had any idea what the hell was going on between Bedelth and his new mate. Whatever it was, it was not good. Bedelth should have been brimming with happiness, overflowing with it, but instead, he was brooding.

Most paths between mates were straightforward. But for a select few, like himself, like King Talon, there was a lot more to it. It wasn't going to be an easy road, even if Talon had agreed—much to his shock—to amend the laws.

Still, if Bedelth thought they were simply going to ignore the fact that Saffra was clearly his mate, he was wildly mistaken. They all knew—even Talon. Though, their king was being respectful of Bedelth's privacy, and ignoring the matter. They were attempting to give him his space, tiptoeing around the glaringly obvious.

The air whipped around them as several wings shot overhead, finding places to land. The Drengr maintained form so their Riders could dismount. He glanced up again, just in time to see the white dragon—Fright—circle once, twice, then dive towards them.

Had he been human, he'd have run screaming. As it was, he stood motionless, watching as the dragon landed a hairsbreadth from him. As if it taunted him by how close it could get. "Is there a reason there's still a living, breathing dragon on this battlefield?" he said aloud, to no one in particular, knowing both Taylynn and Fright would hear him.

A soft snort confirmed that, followed by a louder, draconic grumble.

His heart buckled at the sight of her. Nearly two weeks had passed since their parting. To say he ached, was an understatement. Every single day was a struggle.

Did she feel the same pain at his absence?

He eyed her up and down, from the tiara resting on her brow, hair littered with forest debris, to the tips of her booted toes. He drank her in like he was stranded in the desert and she was the water he needed to survive. She was stunning, in a gauzy, light pink gown that didn't cover much. Her body was littered in markings, so much so, there was more luminescence than actual skin. A small growl rose in his throat, making his irrational jealousy obvious. He wanted her to himself, wanted every inch of those beautiful markings for his eyes. Instead, she was there, proudly seated atop a dragon for all to see. Not atop his back, either, but the back of a godsdamned wild dragon.

Her gaze locked on his. A pink flush rose on her cheeks. Was she remembering how deeply he'd kissed her? How he'd claimed her mouth when they'd last parted? Was she thinking about what was in store the next time they were alone?

He had yet to tell her of his king's verdict.

Her throat bobbed. A span of silence stretched between them, and for a moment, he forgot there were others in the vicinity. At last, Fright snorted and furrowed the ground with his talons.

She blinked, then swung a leg around and dismounted. His body forgot how to move. He stood stock still as she walked over to him, stopped before him. She was here—right here, at last.

They stood face to face, eyes locked. A heavy flutter dropped into his belly. He inhaled, and her scent washed over him. It felt like...home. There was no other way to describe it. Something in his brain snapped. He didn't think, he acted, his arms shooting out. He grabbed her and pulled her to him, burying his face in her hair, inhaling deeply.

Immediate calm settled over his muscles.

Her arms came around him, tentative at first. "Koldis..." she said, voice low, comforting. His chest began to rise and fall, rapid gasps. She stroked the hair at the back of his neck. "Koldis," she said again, her voice calm, soothing. She was comforting him, he realized. Comforting him like a beloved thing. And he didn't care. Didn't care what his brothers thought of it, that he, Koldis, required comforting.

When she pulled back slightly, he lifted his hands to her face, cupping it, their noses nearly touching. He didn't know what to say, how to voice the myriad of emotions coursing through him. All he knew was that he wished they could share minds, so that he wouldn't have to explain anything, so that she might already know everything.

"Will you stay with me?" were the words that he ended up blurting out.

A tentative smile pulled the corner of her delicate lips. "Well, it was a tedious flight. I am not eager to turn right around and leave."

He felt as if he were floating. Without thinking, he pulled her lips to his and kissed her. The warmth of her mouth was instant comfort—

A throat cleared.

"Godsdamn it," he muttered.

Her laugh made his insides drip with liquid fire. "Are you going to introduce me to your...brothers?" The last was a question. Her eyes darted over his companions. "Lord Bedelth, good to see you again."

"Indeed, Princess," came Bedelth's rumbling reply.

"This is Verath," Koldis added, "and Dallin."

Taylynn's face lit up. "Ah. The young Drengr who wishes to become a Shield."

Dallin's swallow was audible. He hid the grin pulling at his lips. In her company, he felt a thousand times lighter, happier. He hoped she'd stay a few days, or at least until it was time to return to the capital.

"Pleasure, Your Highness," Dallin said.

Verath merely nodded and said, "Put him out of his misery, will you? I'm tired of his pining."

He scoffed. "I don't pine." To Taylynn he added, "I don't."

"Of course not," she cooed, placating, teasing. Damn her.

What was this? Pick on Koldis time? He wasn't having it.

"The rest of you can certainly manage things, no? I'd like some time with—"

"Actually," Taylynn said, cutting him off, "I was hoping to have a few words with my queen first."

He exhaled. "Of curse," he said, pushing down his disappointment. She saw it anyway. Damned Sprite didn't miss a thing.

"She's there," Taylynn said, motioning with her head. Indeed, Claire was approaching at a canter on the back of Tourmaline, her unicorn. Her guard followed behind. Overhead, Talon flew, keeping an eye on his mate. "I'll only be a few moments," Taylynn added, voice softening for his sake. She took his hand. At the sudden flapping of his heart, he could do little but nod in acquiescence.

Claire came to a stop. The first thing he noticed was her pale face. A moment later, Talon was on the ground, transformed. "Princess Taylynn," he drawled, eying her. Dragonwall's king had always been careful around the Spriten princess. It wasn't that he mistrusted her, he was simply wary.

"Your Majesty," Taylynn said, attempting to drop Koldis's hand. He kept a firm hold. Her eyes darted down to their joined fingers, a question in her expression. He gave nothing away.

Claire hopped down from Tourmaline's back. "Taylynn," she breathed, as if seeing a dear friend. She rushed forward and threw her arms around the princess's neck. Since he wouldn't release his mate's hand, Taylynn was forced to hug Claire one-handed. Claire stepped away, keeping hold of Taylynn's shoulders. "It's good to see you. I didn't realize you'd come for this." Claire's eyes darted around, hesitating on one of the dragon carcassas that stood nearby. He noticed, then, how pale her face was.

"I didn't want her out here," Talon said by way of explanation.

"I can handle it," she snapped, looking at Talon, arching a challenging brow. Something in the way she said it told Koldis enough. They'd likely argued about her riding out before she'd left the city. Talon was likely being overprotective, yet again, and trying to shield her from the harshest realities of the world. That ws their own business.

"I promised Fright revenge," Taylynn said, eyes darting to the white dragon who waited by patiently. "He'll have to be happy with the two deaths he caused."

A loud snort meant Fright was absolutely not satisfied.

"And anyway, he has agreed to help raise their young."

At that, Claire's gasp sounded. "So, the mothers?"

"Mostly safe," Taylynn said. "I was sent by the Tree to intercept those who chose to live. I led them to the forest's edge, where several Sprites are escorting them through, down south, to the Gable Mountains. There is a cave there, once used by the Forest Clan, with warm sands ideal for—"

"Your Majesty!" A voice called. "Your Majesty."

A Rider appeared beside them, out of breath. "Your Majesty," she said to King Talon. "There...we found...there is a pregnant female, incapacitated. I wouldn't let our wing slaughter her. Not without your command. It didn't feel...it didn't feel right." The Rider's hand went to her belly, and Koldis realized it was rounded. She was carrying a child.

Claire's body went rigid. "What did you say," she managed, pinning the Rider with her green gaze. "A pregnant dragon?"

The Rider nodded, hand still resting on the slight swell of her abdomen.

"There were only four," Taylynn said, by way of explanation. The tone of her voice said what her words didn't—that she knew something more.

"Four females?" Claire's gaze landed on Taylynn. Her eyes narrowed. "But, in my dream, in Saffra's dream, there were five."

"They were given a choice," Taylynn explained.

"But..." Claire's brows drew together. "Well, we can't kill her."

The Rider stood there, waiting the king's orders.

Taylynn's hand tightened in his. "In life, there is nothing more defining than the choices we make. Every being is free to make their own. She made hers."

"Ni!" The authority in Claire's voice was followed by a powerful silence.

Ni meant 'no.' He'd been in the forest long enough to pick up a few simple words.

The two women stared at each other, unblinking. Behind her, Claire's Queen's Guard stood at the ready. He noticed Feowen's gaze, darting between his queen and his sister.

"Aahm ella aya saphi mik haan, Ayas Drollaya," Taylynn said, her tone respectful.

Claire's eyes closed. In her hand, her fingers turned white around the staff she clenched. Behind her lids, her eyes danced. He wondered what she was doing, what she was thinking. When her eyes opened, her expression was resolute.

"I would have you spare her," Claire said. "That is my choice. If I must bear the consequences, so be it. She cannot make this decision for her unborn hatchlings. If I must kill her myself once the eggs are laid, so be it. But I will not slaughter a pregnant female."

He heard Talon's exhale.

"Ain nuah," Taylynn said. "Fright and I will escort her to the forest when she regains her body and mind. She will be kept under careful watch. But..."

"It will be I who must kill her," Claire said, nodding. "Yes, the Tree made that clear."

Ah. So that's what she'd been doing when her eyes had closed. Speaking with the King Tree. It was rather disconcerting.

Talon shot a glance at his mate, his lips pressed into a tight line. It was obvious what he thought about the matter, but he stayed silent.

Fright trumpeted some kind of response, then shot into the air. "He will guard her," Taylynn explained.

~

It was decided they would burn the carcasses. While fire didn't harm dragons when they were alive, it was not so when they were dead. With the help of the Drengr and their Riders, it took less than an hour before the shores surrounding Plymlet Lake were dotted with small, magically controlled fires.

"Fly with me," Koldis said, taking Taylynn by the hand. "You've never flown with me. I had to see you on the back of another—" He leashed himself, trying not to scoff. "Come, fly with me."

Taylynn's eyes darted over his face before she nodded.

He sent a quick thought to King Talon, letting him know, then led her away from the others. They went far enough to find some semblance of privacy. His muscles were twitchy as he made the change from his human form to his Drengr form. She was going to touch him, here and now, for the first time. They hadn't attempted it in the forest—hadn't needed to because she'd known.

What if you discover that you were wrong? a dark voice said, bleeding into his mind. What if she was wrong?

He hated that thought, that they might not be mates. After all their assumptions, they had never done the one thing that would confirm it. Skin to scale—a practice as old as his race.

This was an irrational fear. Of course it was. He knew with absolute certainty. It was the way his heart beat faster in her presence, the way breathing became difficult when she was away, the pain at being separated, the way she smelled, the way her mere existence rearranged all the particles of his being, scrambling them, and rebuilding them into something more.

She stoically watched his transformation, waiting. When he settled, he eyed her. She looked so small compared to his hulking green form. Every fiber of his being wanted to curl around her, to drape his wings over top of her, cocoon her in safety. It was a ridiculous thought. She was more powerful than him, perhaps not in physical form, but magically.

Her throat bobbed. Perhaps she was thinking the same thing . She took him in, her eyes darting from the tip of his forked tongue as it shot out to taste the air, to the end of his tail, nervously lashing about.

"I..." She trailed off. It was a rare occasion, seeing Taylynn, Esterpine's princess, at a loss. Her eyes shone with something that made warmth spread through his body. "You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

His breath caught, holding fast in his chest.

"The fates could have chosen any color for me, but they chose green."

His chest rumbled with a deep, affirmative growl; the reverberations of it vibrated into the earth beneath him. Green. He'd never considered it that way. His emerald scales were perfect for her, loving the forest as she did.

His belly swooped. This was meant to be—them, together, even if many things stood in their way. Her being a Sprite, him being a Drengr, it was all inconsequential where fate was concerned.

A tremor ran through him as she approached, her steps slow. The moment she lifted her hand, time stretched into infinity. A single heartbeat became a thousand. A single breath, a million inhales. And then the warmth of her palm connected with him.

The world tilted on its axis. He was thrust into her mind as quickly as she was thrust into his. He found himself in a forest, and for the first time, he didn't balk at the towering trees, the scent of pine, the sound of rustling leaves. Instead, a deep love blossomed, hers, perhaps, for the world she found so dear.

This was the place where they were joined. The place they came together. The in-between of their minds.

He felt her all around him. She was the sunshine filtering through the foliage, the cool breeze on his skin, the soft mossy earth beneath his feat. A shiver raced over him.

"It's magnificent," he whispered, feeling her agreement.

A laugh split the silence, more beautiful than the sound from any instrument he'd heard. And then the realization hit him—every thought in her mind was a tree. He went to one and placed his hand atop it. Memories rushed in. The moment she'd first laid eyes on him, when he'd traversed the forest with Claire, Jovari, and Reyr. She'd watched him from afar. The monumental realization she'd reached, knowing even then, what he was to her. His stomach swooped, tingles s spreading through him.

"Sasyia kunyn stahka mih hukohnai," she said. They are all my memories.

"I can understand you," he realized, thrilled. "I can understand Edunar."

"Of course. Your thoughts are my thoughts. Your mind is my mind."

"What do you see?" he asked, eager.

"The same as you, only, the trees in your mind are fewer, but they carry memories none the less."

He looked out over the sea of densely packed trees. There were hundreds, thousands, more. He couldn't hope to count them, even if he'd wanted to. He took a step back, his throat squeezing tight.

"I have lived a very long time, Koldis."

There were moments when he was very aware of her long life span, and then there were moments when he completely forgot. When she was just a woman—a beautiful, vibrant, woman, but a woman nonetheless. As he beheld the forest that tied their minds together, a deep chasm of wanting filled him. Even known that he might never, in his entire lifetime, visit every single tree here, he wanted her more than he'd ever wanted anything.

"The king has given his permission," she said, having plucked the knowledge right from his mind. He didn't mind—wasn't bothered that she'd discovered the truth before he'd had the chance to tell her. "He will rewrite the charter," she added, her tone soft. She was taken aback that Talon had agreed so readily. A soft laugh sounded. It sent chills through him. He wanted to hear the sound more—much more.

"Will you be mine, then?" he asked, not wanting to betray his hopefulness. She saw it anyway—saw everything—especially how desperately he wanted her. He wanted to claim her here and now, spirit her away to the wilderness and seal the bond. They both knew he wouldn't. A king's permission was one thing, but the charter had not yet been changed. Taking her as his mate right now would still be a breach of his oath, as much as he wanted to step around the technicality.

It would be better to wait. Besides, she deserved more than a rough claiming in the middle of nowhere. He would make it special for her, take her in the forest, or somewhere that held meaning for her. She saw his thoughts on this, too, and offered a pleased, mental smile. She admired his honor.

"I am yours in so much as I can be," she answered. Because they both knew that first and foremost, she belonged to the world, to the King Tree, to her purpose.

But those words were enough for him.

The world around him faded, replaced by his surroundings once more, the field, the lake beyond, the buzz of Drengr and Riders in the distance, as they finished their work. His heart didn't slow, didn't stop hammering in his chest.

Taylynn climbed atop his back. Their minds remained connected, thoughts buzzing between them, with no need for speech. He knew what she knew, and she knew what he knew. It was...nearly indescribable. No wonder mates revered this aspect of their bond.

"Let us fly, then," he said, lightness seeping into ever part of him.

He felt every place her body aligned with his, from where she sat, nestled in the nook where his neck met his back. Rising up, he took several steps forward, getting a feel for her on his back. She felt good there. She felt right. Sinking low, only briefly, he shot up into the sky. The sound of her excited laughter wrapped around him, filling him to the brim. This. This would make every struggle, every obstacle standing in their way, completely worth it.

⭐🌟 DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!🌟⭐

Dear Readers, 

I apologize for the numerous typos in this chapter. This got accidentally posted, and thus, didn't get read before it went live. Many of you have already pointed them out. At this point, I'm not going to bother reading through and fixing them. They'll get fixed eventually when I do my deep edits on this book.

And, anyway, you got two chapters this week. yay!

-Mel