Southern Sky

Claire pressed her cheek against Talon's scales and sighed. Below them, the mountainous region gave way to wide open grasslands ideal for hunting grazers. "I missed this," she sighed.

"I missed it more." Talon's words made her smile. "It wasn't easy watching you fly with Jovari."

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, my king."

"I have nothing to be jealous of," he growled, but his tone revealed the lie for what it was.

She was his, and he was hers, but that didn't eliminate his possessiveness. He was a dragon at heart, and she was his most precious jewel. Dragons hoarded treasure as greedily as goblins.

She pressed her lips to his glassy scales. The muscles in his neck rippled. She did it again and he twitched with pleasure. She'd never kissed him in his dragon form. She'd nuzzled and cuddled against him but...

A wicked thought came to mind and she ran her tongue over him possessively.

"Stop that," he growled, growing immediately eager. "I can't focus with your mouth on me."

"As if you need to focus on anything but flapping your wings, beast that you are," she teased.

This time his growl was louder, catching the attention of the others.

"All is well, Your Majesty?" Bedelth asked.

"Fine," he said, curtly.

She suppressed a giggle and rested herself against him. It was so easy, riling him up.

"As if you're any different," he huffed.

That made her grin. He was right. All it took was a single touch from him to set her on fire. Gods, she wished they could have stayed at the hatching cave longer. The next four days would be trying. Whatever came after would be even harder. There would be few, if any, stolen moments with Talon from here on out. Not until they reclaimed their kingdom.

The others were in the sky, flying in formation around them. She glanced over and caught sight of Leah. She gave her a wave and Leah returned it with a gloved hand.

"I still can't believe it," she mused. "Mates. Of all the people in the world, and they're mates. What if she hadn't come with us? What if Kane hadn't sent me back?"

"Then we'd still have the kingdom and would not be in this mess."

"Oh, come on. Aren't you just a little glad things worked out like they did?"

"Stop." His temper flared, shutting down her playful mood.

"I'm sorry," she said, needled with guilt. "I didn't mean to make light of it. You know how important our kingdom is to me. I just..."

"You are happy for your friend. I understand this. A part of me is happy too, but our kingdom takes precedence. It is more important than anything."

"More important than chasing your queen into another world?"

Her attempt to lighten the mood failed.

"You are my queen," he said with the utmost seriousness. "You belong to me, but you also belong to this kingdom. You are this kingdom, in a way. Therefore, you are as important—more important."

"I love you."

"And I you, mih cralla."

"Show me again," she said, wanting to witness what had happened a little while ago between him and Jovari. He sighed. She could have pressed herself into his memory and done it herself, but it was always easier when he fed them to her.

She watched through his mind as he landed beside Jovari and transformed.

"Jovari, wait," Talon commanded, putting a hand on his shield's shoulder before he could stalk into the woods. "Talk to me."

Jovari's jaw flexed. "You told me to stay away from her. That I would break her heart. All this time and she's been my mate."

"How was I to know?" Talon demanded. "How were any of us to know?"

Jovari blew out a breath. "Does this change things? Or am I still to keep my hands off her."

"Belligerence doesn't suit you." Were it anyone, he wouldn't tolerate such a tone.

He and Jovari had grown closer these past few weeks. It was hard to believe that he could get closer than he already was, to any of his shields. But Jovari was the youngest—or, had been until Dallin. Traveling to Claire's world had been good for them.

Jovari's shoulders slumped and he found a place to sit, his back against a tree. Talon joined him. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Bedelth and Koldis. Times change. I don't want to keep you from your mate. I would like to keep you as my shield. You already know of my plans to amend the charter. Is this what you want?"

Jovari picked up a twig and began breaking it into pieces. He tossed them away. "I don't know."

"Well, that's a first. Too worried about settling down with one female?"

"No," he scoffed.

"Then what?"

Jovari hesitated. "I'm not interested in getting my heart broken again."

"Ah."

"The last human I loved was rather good at it," he added. "Breaking my heart, I mean."

Talon hummed. "You think she will reject you? Wasn't she the one who kissed you first?"

"I suppose, yes."

"You do realize that fighting a mate bond is nearly impossible. It can be done, but with her living in the capital, you'd have to put distance between you. You'd have to leave and wait it out. Even then..."

"I know." He tossed another broken piece of twig away. "I should be rejoicing. I want her. I want her more than I've ever wanted anyone or anything. More than Ora, even."

Ora must have been the human that broke his heart.

"Then what is the problem?" he wondered.

"She's human. She is unfamiliar with our ways. I bet if she undertood what it means to be tied to someone forever, she'd run in the opposite direction."

"Just because someone you loved once and rejected you, doesn't mean Leah will."

"I'm being a coward, I know. You can just say it."

"Okay. You're being a coward." Jovari glared at him. "What? You asked for it." Jovari huffed and Talon fought a grin as he added, "You know, you should all be thanking Claire for dropping into my life. I don't think I'd be half as tolerant, otherwise."

At this, Claire smiled. "Not even a fourth," she told him and he chuckled.

"Going through the mate experience has softened you," Jovari agreed. "Suppose I will thank her, but maybe once this is all over."

"So what's your plan then?" Talon asked.

"I don't have one."

"Sounds like you need some time to think. Good thing we have four days of flying ahead of us."

"I don't ant her in my head while I'm thinking about this," Jovari admitted.

"Ah. Not a problem." Talon saw in that moment that the girls had procured a pair of gloves for Leah to wear. "Her skin will be covered. Now, as much as I'd like to delay, we have a kingdom to reclaim. Are you with me?"

"Always, my king."

"Good. Then let's get back." He stood and offered his shield a hand. Jovari took it, letting Talon pull him up. Most days, his shields were the ones talking him off a cliff. But occasionally, during times like these, he was the one doing the talking. It felt good to offer support to those who supported him so selflessly.

Claire extracted herself from the memory and sighed. She had confidence that Jovari would get past his fear. That Leah would, too. This was new and scary for both of them. They'd come around.

"They'll have to come around after we take care of more pressing matters," Talon said. Because they had a kingdom to reclaim.

The rest of the day passed at a snail's pace. They stopped only to stretch their legs and relieve their bladders. None of the drengr transformed—there was no need. When the girls were tired, they slept in the sky. Leah wore a face covering to keep from touching Jovari's scales.

Claire wanted to talk to her again, but there wasn't ever time.

One day blurred into two and then three. They passed a few settlements but didn't dare land. It wasn't until the evening of the fourth day that they located the small woodland outside Kastali Dun. The city was still too far to spot on the horizon.

It was here that the drengr transformed. She all but laughed with glee when she saw Talon's face for the first time in days. She pressed his cheeks between her hands and gave him a sloppy kiss. "Missed me, have you?"

"I missed kissing you," she said. "Obviously."

He nuzzled her and pulled her in for another, this time setting their pace.

"Ack. Get a room, you two," Koldis muttered, as if she hadn't spied him kissing Taylynn in much the same way, only moments ago.

"Lu'ah faah likah!" a voice called, making them freeze. It's about time.

Talon pulled away and spun around, drawing his sverak. "Sig ayasah," he commanded. Show yourself. He'd switched languages without realizing it. It was as natural for him as for her.

A shadow detached from the trees. She blinked.

"Ah, that would be Tasar," Koldis said, putting a hand on Talon's arm, lowering his weapon. She relaxed. This was the spriten spy they were supposed to meet, the head of the Eastern Ghost Unit, a force she never knew existed, which was something she intended to discuss with Feowen when she got the chance.

"Tasar," Taylynn said, striding forward unruffled. "Nua bualta." Well met.

"Sanleeh, Sarihon," he said.

"Were you waiting long?" she asked, switching languages so the others would understand.

"Ni."

"Good." Taylynn stepped aside and Tasar's eyes fell upon Claire.

She took this as her cue and strode forward, shoulders back, chin held high. "Nua bualta, Tasar."

He stared at her, his expression unreadable, then dropped into a low bow. His voice was gruff as he said, "Nua bualta, Ayas Drollaya. Mekvelli an barah nin an morviah sinahaya." Well met, Your Majesty. May the peace of the forest be upon you.

"Edah sinahaya." She gave the customary response. "Luae," she added, bidding him to rise.

They regarded one another.

"We have a kingdom to reclaim. I am told you can get us into the capital undetected."

"We can do better than that." Another shadow materialized and Feowen stepped into the moonlight.

"Feowen!" Before she realized what she was doing, she launched herself at him.

He caught her up, laughing. "Cousin," he said, spinning in a circle before setting her on her feet. "You are well? Yes, I can see that you are. Good."

"Well, Prince, this is a pleasant surprise." Talon stepped up beside them. Feowen held out his hand to clasp forearms, but Talon pulled him into a hug, clapping him on the back. "It's good to see your face."

"Welcome back, Your Majesty. I see you were successful."

"Indeed."

The others stepped forward to greet Feowen similarly.

"This is all very touching," Tasar said after a couple of minutes, "but we should be going. It isn't good to linger, even this far from the capital."

"What's the plan?" she asked before Talon could voice the words.

"We will travel to the capital disguised as human travelers. There's a passage that leads into the city from Fort Kastali."

"You're kidding!" Claire breathed.

"Found it while we were exploring," Feowen said, grinning. "Wasn't much else to do while we waited for your return. We've got every passage in the city mapped out."

"Glad to see you've used your time wisely," Talon said. "What of the others?"

He disguised his worry, but Claire felt it gnawing at him. He was afraid of what Feowen would say.

"Good, all good. Well, Reyr is a little worse for wear, but he's hanging in there. Verath and Dallin too. We have kept them sane in these trying times. I'm sure they're ready to be free of their cells."

Claire blew out a breath. The thought of Reyr, of Dallin and Verath, stuck in the dungeon all this time. They must have been going mad. She couldn't wait to hug each of them.

But...first things first.

"Let's get going," she said, nodding at Tasar.

He produced a sack from a nearby shrub and began handing out clothing. It was rough, homespun fabric in shades of brown and black. They separated and changed, packing away their finery. She wistfully slipped out of her shimmering gown into the brown dress. It scratched against her skin.

When they reassembled and set off, they looked like weary travelers with dusty packs. Tasar assured them that if they kept up a strong pace, they would reach the fort just before morning. It was important to do so under the cover of darkness. "Kane's got Oshean guards everywhere," he explained. "They've all but overrun the capital."

Talon's anger rose but he stayed silent. She reached for his wrist, giving it a squeeze. He threw her a grateful look.

"Tell us what we've missed?" she asked. "How many people have joined the resistance? Who is in charge? What have you all been doing in our absence?"

"One thing at a time, Majesty." Feowen bumped her shoulder.

He started at the beginning, with Reyr acting as Talon's body double. She was still surprised that Taylynn had later enchanted a woman named Merrian to stand in for her.

"Did she do a good job?"she couldn't help but ask.

"Quite. You'll like her," he said, continuing.

Reyr and Merrian had held things together until Kane showed up and ruined the charade. After that, her spriten guard gathered those they could and fled into the passages. From there, they began mapping them out until they found a way into the dungeons. Helping Dallin, Merrian, Reyr, and Verath was one of their riskier tasks. Kane threatened to use the dragonstones should he suspect anything.

Feowen told them about the various resistance Kane faced within the keep, missing cutlery, guards uniforms, furniture, and the like. The false king had his hands full. No one had made it easy for him.

As a result, Kane didn't hesitate to imprison whomever he wished. Those prisoners were then given to slavers.

"You cannot be serious?!" she cried, bile rising in her throat. "He's selling our people?"

"Trying to," Feowen said, and a vicious grin spread across his lips. "We've had some allies helping on that matter."

"Allies?" Talon sounded intrigued.

"Captain Bennett—remember him? We didn't know about it at first. Not until we received word that Byron had contacted him and together, they arranged a way to go after slave ships carrying our citizens to Oshea. Byron's got some of his drengr aiding in the efforts. From the missives, they've recused thousands already."

"Gods," she breathed. Heat welled in her chest. It felt a lot like pride—her people were fighting back. She couldn't wait to fight for them, to end this once and for all.

💕❤️💕Don't forget to heart this chapter!❤️💕❤️



Happy Friday, Bookdragons!

Gah! I hate to say it but...we are getting near the end of the book. I anticipate somewhere between 45-48 chapters. Can you believe it?! I sure can't!

Next week's chapter is Leah's POV as they arrive at the fort. See you then!

--Mel

PS. I hope you are all enjoying the holidays! Take this time to reset and relax your mind and prepare for the new year. Best holiday wishes to you!