Page 2 of The Keeper of the Kingdoms

“Did someone invite the new dragon you two brought home?” I asked as casually as I could. Pretending I couldn’t even remember his name so as not to seem obsessed. I was avoiding bringing him up as much as possible, but I couldn’t get him out of my thoughts. He was—I cut off the thought. He was a distraction I didn’t need, I reminded myself.

“Er—” Zaria hesitated, looking puzzled.

“The massive one I could climb like a tree,” I added so she would know who I meant. I didn’t want it to seem like I was thinking about him all the damn time, but I could admit what we could all see. The male was spectacular and if I denied it, it would have seemed more suspicious.

She cleared her throat, the picture of purity, which we all knew by now was an act.

“This innocent thing. I can’t handle it.” I shook my head. “Not when I know how loud you two are.”

“What? We are not,” she denied, aghast.

I gave her a flat look. She may have grown up in a cult, cut off from the rest of civilization, but she was Nyx’s mate now. Her innocence was long gone.

“Anyway, I thought you didn’t like flyers?” she said, diverting the focus away from her.

“You’d never catch me with a flyer. Wanting to climb one like a tree doesn’t mean I don’t know that it’s an absolute no-go.” I shuddered.

“Jaxus? He was going to come, wasn’t he?” Nyx frowned. “I wonder why he didn’t show.”

Zaria nudged Nyx, and then they had some kind of silent discourse I did not like.

I narrowed my eyes. “What are you two talking about?”

“You need to work on your poker face,” Nyx told Zaria with a laugh.

“How do you know it was me?”

“It was you,” I told her, taking my mug of ale from the server as soon as she arrived at the table. I gulped down a healthy swig, needing it, before we raised a toast to Kol. My dear friend who had left a hole in all our lives.

“I guess I’d better work on that for all these council meetings I have to go to now,” Zaria continued. Though she didn’t know how much work she still needed to do if she was going to keep her feelings from showing on her face. She was an open book.

Nyx slipped his hand into hers. “It would help, so we can discuss things through our bond in front of others, without getting caught so often.” The love in his eyes warmed me. If he could find her after all these years and love her with that intensity, even through the worst times in his life, there was hope for us all.

“She’s always had a lousy poker face. She can’t gamble to save her life,” Luka said.

Nyx looked at Zaria in surprise. “Gambling?”

“What else do you expect a group of kids growing up in a cult to do with all their free time? We bet on everything.” Luka winked.

“Don’t you start with the stories.” Zaria poked his arm.

“No, no, I want to hear the stories,” Nyx said, leaning around her to look at Luka.

“Me too,” I added, lifting my mug of ale only to find I could drain it in one mouthful. I put it down and reached for the second. It was going down too fast, but we all needed this today.

“We are not here to talk about me,” Zaria insisted.

Nyx pulled her into his lap and she squealed.

“I’d rather talk about you than anything else in the Twelve Kingdoms,” he murmured into her lips, brushing a kiss lightly there as he nuzzled his nose into hers. Goddess! I was going to die from the sweetness. I exchanged a look with Luka and we both took a drink.

“Where did this come from?” Zaria asked him breathily.

“Just reminding you that you are all that matters.”

“Goddess, spare me,” I groaned.

“And me,” Luka added.

---