Page 115 of The Dragon Queen

I turned to Calista, the woman who’d taken my heart when I’d thought there was nothing to give, who saw in me what I didn’t see in myself. My heart was full of the love that I had for her, and my heart would grow so I could love her more. “I take Calista Laurier, Princess of Scorpion Valley, to be my wife—the Queen of the Southern Isles—the Dragon Queen.” I raised my palm to her. “If she’ll have me.”

With watery eyes and a trembling lip, she took my hand and squeezed it. “I will have you for as long as I live.”

I pulled her into me and released her hand so I could slide my arm across her lower back. I tugged her into me, forced her onto her tiptoes, and kissed her in front of the kingdom, in front of the soldiers who served me, in front of the people and the dragons who had made this moment possible.

“Roooaaaaarrrr!”

“Rooooooaaaaarrrrrr!”

“Roooooaaaaarrr!”

“Rooooaaaaaaarrr!”

Epilogue

Talon

I looked at the map of the sea and tried to understand what my commander had just relayed to me.

“The currents have changed,” he said. “We’ve lost many ships at sea, and the fish have been swept off to other places. We can’t figure out what’s caused such an abrupt change in the sea patterns.”

I studied the map before I looked at him. “It’s a hurricane.”

“A hurricane?” he asked. “Because there’s not even a breeze. Not a cloud.”

“The sea knows things,” I said. “Things that have happened long ago. And things that have yet to come to pass. Tell all the port hands to bring the ships into the harbor. No one leaves this port for the next week. It’s hard to know when it’ll reach our shores.”

“Yes, Dragon King.” He nodded before he prepared to leave my chambers. “The Dragon Queen requests a word with you once you’re finished.”

“Why didn’t she just come in here?”

“She didn’t want to disturb you.”

I felt my annoyance grow. “Tell the Dragon Queen to walk her ass in here whenever she needs something—anything.”

He nodded then bowed.

I got back to work and waited for her to appear.

It was minutes later when she walked in. She opened the door—and then Lily ran inside. “Daddy!” She beelined right for the desk and ran around it, full of so much excitement and energy that I couldn’t remember a time, at any age, when I’d had such enthusiasm.

My heart melted at the sight of her, the way it did every time I looked at her, so grateful that I got to feel her beating heart every single day, that she knew life and love…and joy.

She immediately climbed into my lap and looked at the map on the desk. “What’s this?”

“It’s a map of the Southern Isles and the neighboring territories. The currents have changed, which means a hurricane is coming.”

“What’s a hurricane?”

“It’s a storm on the sea. It can cause powerful winds and big waves.”

“Should we be scared?”

“No, sweetheart. We’ll be fine.”

Calista approached the desk, moving at a slower pace than she used to because this pregnancy was harder on her than the first.She sat in one of the armchairs and rubbed her belly, and despite her fatigue, she smiled. “It’s been a long day.”

“Mommy and I worked in the rose garden.”

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