The Gable Mountains

Talon felt a burst of emotion swell in his chest, drowning out the anxiety that had plagued him for days. Beside him, Claire sucked in a breath. The emotion belonged to her, but they were so entwined, that it became his, too. In this moment, it was hard to feel anything but wonder and love for the little creatures emerging from their shells. Even if they squawked, and clawed their way across the sand blindly searching for food.

Craving was there, tossing rats to each of them. The green that emerged snatched its prize and ripped it to shreds before devouring it, making a bloodied mess. He preferred a cleaner approach to death, but it was young.

Then again, if he ever got his hands on Kane, he'd do exactly the same thing. Preferably with more blood. And some screaming too. Yes, he wanted to hear Kane scream, even beg—

"Oh, look at that little lavender one," Leah cooed beside them, pulling him from his dark thoughts. "That one is my new favorite, obviously."

"Because it's your favorite color?" Jovari quipped.

He shot his shield a glare that Jovari didn't notice; he was too busy looking between Leah and the newly emerged creature. His nostrils flared in irritation as he thought back to the conversation they'd shared. Leah and Jovari had been dancing around each other for days. He'd been furious about their shared kiss. Jovari had disobeyed a direct command. So what if Leah was the one who had initiated it. This awkwardness was exactly what he'd feared. Only, now it seemed they had put it behind them. Perhaps because he had warned Jovari that if he didn't fix things between them, there would be consequences. He didn't need Claire's best friend dying of a broken heart.

He'd never had to impose such a rule with Verath and Desaree. Verath wasn't prone to dalliances. Unlike Jovari, he trusted Verath with Desaree's heart. Not to mention, Verath was hundreds of years older and certainly more mature.

"Can I adopt it?" He blinked, coming back to himself. Leah had scooped up the lavender hatchling, oblivious to its bloodied snout and dead rat breath. It cooed as she scratched the ridges around its little baby spikes on the top of its head.

Claire laughed, the sound reminding him of dust motes dancing in light. His body flushed, turning molten. He couldn't help but stare at his mate, watching her take everything in with delight. He'd take the sight of her over baby hatchlings any day. Then again, he'd take the sight of her spread out beneath him, crying his name, over literally anything.

She shot him a look that said she knew exactly what he was thinking. Her eyebrow lifted in warning. "We talked about this."

"I'm allowed to have thoughts about my mate," he half grumbled.

"Yes, but not while we're in the middle of important, historic moments."

"Bringing you to completion on my tongue is an important, historic moment."

"Gods, Talon." Their eyes were locked, and he reveled in the sight of the heat that rose to her cheeks. He made it worse by sending her an image of exactly what she'd looked like last night, squirming beneath him. She swore and looked away, trying to distract herself with the sight of the hatchlings.

He huffed, satisfied. Getting her back, restoring her memories and magic, had taken an immense weight off his chest. Especially when he was already drowning in anxiety and guilt. So what if he used every possible opportunity between them to distract himself from the crushing fear that followed him everywhere.

He'd done the one thing no king before him had. He'd lost his kingdom. He'd failed.

Claire's head whipped around, her expression anxious. She glanced between him and the others, then blurted— "We're...uh...I need to practice, get back to my mage magic." No one appeared to have even heard her, so wrapped up in the excitement of the hatchlings.

So they didn't notice when she dragged him away. They certainly didn't have any idea of what she intended when she pulled him into their shared chamber and fell to her knees, making quick work of the ties on his pants before taking him. It was her way of distracting him from his dark thoughts. Gods, he didn't deserve her.

He deserved to feel every bit of his failure. To hurt. To suffer—

He sucked in a breath as pleasure zinged up his spine. Then, the only thing he knew was the feel of her hot mouth on him.

***

"Say it with more dominance," he corrected, watching Claire work another cantrip. They had eventually done what they'd promised the others, settled down to practice her mage magic. Only after thoroughly getting lost in each other. "Here, like this."

He commanded the staff on the other side of the cavernous chamber to fly into his waiting palm. It landed with a snick as it smacked against his flesh. His mate only glared.

"You're getting better, I promise. Much better. Summoning is one of the hardest forms of mage magic. Once you master it, everything else will come easier, I promise."

Claire blew out a breath, rustling the hair that had come loose around her face.

"Try again." He replaced the staff.

"Do you have a minute?" Koldis's voice sounded in his mind. Claire heard it and looked up.

"What is it?"

"Taylynn has news. Come and meet us." Koldis sent him a projection. They were standing in the mouth of the cavern, looking out over the forest.

"Go," Claire said. "I'll keep practicing."

He hesitated, knowing she would be fine, that she needed to work the summoning magic out on her own. Wrapping his hand around the back of her neck, he held her in place to steal a kiss, lingering over her lips, enjoying the faint traces of himself on her tongue. A low growl built in his throat.

She pulled back, smirking. "Go, or you'll never pull yourself away."

He huffed. "Careful, mate. I don't take well to commands in the bedroom."

"And what, you're going to toss me onto the bedding and—"

She squealed as he lifted her into his arms and kissed her again, effectively silencing her mouth. He could think of much better things to do with it anyway. She huffed a breath against him before he set her on her feet.

"I'll be back for you later," he promised, letting her know exactly what he would do. "In the mean time, you'd better master that summoning magic perfectly. I'll be testing you on it, so no slacking."

"Yes, sir," she taunted, her eyes flashing with hunger, even after they'd spent hours tangled up in each other earlier.

When he finally emerged into the cavern's opening, Koldis smirked at him. "Get lost?"

"Something like that." Two of the three had mates now, so it wasn't like they didn't know, not that they'd mated...yet. "Lots of passages and rooms. It's a big place to get lost on, you know?"

"Right." Koldis smirked.

The four of them stood at the mouth of the cave, overlooking the forest, which sloped down around them. The entrance was located at the midpoint of a hill, which allowed the forest to hide it. But the view was still impressive.

"So? What did you call me out here for?" he asked. "Where's Taylynn?"

"Off doing whatever sprite princesses do," Bedelth huffed, which earned him a mock glare from Koldis.

"One of Tasar's spies found us—"

"The operative you sent to the capital?" They hadn't gone into great detail about the male who headed the delles, a mysterious spriten unit of spies and assassins. But he'd heard enough when first learning about the fate of his precious city.

"Yes. He sent a message. They've found an entrance into the capital from outside the city walls."

He swore under his breath. While it would work in their favor, he didn't like the idea that someone could get in and out of the city without traveling past the guards manning the entry and exit points. The walls were there for a reason.

"Never thought I'd be forced to enter my own city like a miscreant," he said.

"None of us did," Bedelth murmured, his expression somber.

"There are passages below that will take us straight to the cave beneath the keep. From there, we can reunite with our operatives within the city."

He rubbed a hand over his face, trying not to let the gravity of what came next sweep him under. They'd spent plenty of time scheming and planning. At the end of the day, it didn't matter how they took the kingdom back. It wouldn't fix the damage Kane had already done. The lives lost. The people he'd hurt.

Bedelth must have sensed his thoughts because he said, "Forgive us, Your Majesty. Had we not left, perhaps this wouldn't have happened. We truly thought going after the stones was the best course of action."

"I don't blame you," he said at last, even though he was tempted. It was easier to rail at them, to explode with anger and pin this on someone other than himself. He'd done that before, plenty.

Claire's presence surged in his mind. He could feel her quickly shuffling through the conversation. A wave of calm washed over him.

He'd blamed her, once. Cyrus's death had been unbearable. It had been easier to take his anger out on her.

"You aren't the same as you were then," she reminded him.

He wanted to argue. To tell her he was no better then than he was now. Except, perhaps she was right. Her presence steadied him. He didn't lose his temper as often, especially not when she was with him, as she was now.

"You're supposed to be practicing," he teased, trying to lighten the mood.

"I am." She sent him a projection that showed a successful summoning. Her staff flew across their quarters and right into her hand.

Pride swelled in his chest. There was nothing his mate couldn't conquer, so long as she put her mind to it. Even the things that were seemingly too difficult, she'd managed to overcome.

"Only because I had you to help."

"I am confident you would shine bright even without my help."

"Gods, surely we won't be that lovesick with our mates," Koldis was saying.

He blinked, realizing he'd missed an entire chunk of conversation. "I have a feeling you'll be worse," he growled. Then, "Claire's mage magic is progressing. We ought to move forward with our plans. There's not much more training I can give her."

"You wish to leave sooner than later?" Bedelth's gaze was calculating. "If we depart tomorrow, we can be in the city in four days, perhaps five, since we will need to stop for the ladies."

"They can sleep while we fly," he said. "It isn't as if we need to arrive rested. We won't be going straight into battle."

"The sooner we fix this, the better. If our queen is ready, then we ought to depart," Koldis agreed. "There are eight of us. We can fly fast and make good time."

Jovari stiffened. "I suppose I'll be flying with Leah."

"If you can manage to keep your hands to yourself," Talon huffed. "What is going on with you two? Did you smooth things over?"

"To a point." Jovari shrugged. "Don't worry. You don't have to worry about me toying with her and breaking her heart. We agreed to be friends, nothing else. No more awkward moments and all that." He kept his voice even, but he failed to hide the bitterness lurking in his eyes. It was surprising, given that Jovari had never been interested in more than bedding and forgetting the partners in his past.

"Thank the gods for that," Koldis muttered. Jovari all but snarled, rounding on Koldis, who held up his hands. "Just saying. Things have been tense between you two and it's been bleeding into everything else."

Jovari lunged—

"Enough, both of you." He pinched the bridge of his nose. Jovari and Koldis glared at each other. They had always been prone to bickering. Yes, they were best friends. Yes, they spent an inordinate amount of time together, but that also meant they easily went for each other's throats, too. "Claire flies with me from now on." He imparted Jovari with a knowing look. He didn't hold it against him, but it had been extremely difficult to see his mate fly with another when she could have flown with him. Now that she had her mind and magic back, she had no excuse to avoid him.

A rush of warmth filled him at the thought of flying with her. She returned it, sending a mental caress that had him dying to return to her. She was just as excited.

He cleared his throat. "That leaves Leah with you, Jovari. Be honorable about it, and don't make it into something it's not. Friends is acceptable, lovers is not. Saffra will fly with Bedelth. Taylynn with Koldis. We should make good time."

The others gave their consent.

"We leave at dawn."

Without another word, he retreated into the darkness of the entrance, striding purposefully down the corridor leading to the giant cavern. His mate had conquered summoning magic in his absence, and he had every intention of rewarding her for it in the best way possible.  

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Happy Friday Bookdragons!

Can you believe this book is at the 91,000 word mark?? We're more than halfway through. I'm anticipating 45 chapters-ish. 

Next week's chapter is heading back into KD from Merrian's POV. Yay!

--Mel