Page 103 of Shrine of Fire

He smiled, and it sent a chill through me, even though he looked pleasant enough. “Oh, absolutely. Duty and honor govern everything I do.”

I bet it did.

“I should do my duty as the Princess and future Queen of Ember Island?”

“I cannot tell you the ways of your designation, Princess. I can only hope to offer advice and counsel.”

“I am forever grateful to have you here to help me navigate these new waters.”

That wasn’t even a lie. I was grateful to get to know members of the royal court.

I couldn’t let Stefan go. I would help him navigate the court politics and create a safer place for our entire pack to thrive.

It felt like hubris to have such bold plans for the future, but having a pack forced me to accept that life was going to move on, and I had to be ready to move with it.

Iwoke up in the morning, the bedroom we shared on the ship starting to almost feel like home. Nova was buried under my arm. Hashir was behind me, but the other men had already gotten up and started their day.

I’d hoped with Nova finding out I was a beta, some of the sinking dread that made me sick with worry would go away.

She loved me. It had to be enough.

But we had only one more stop before we would return to the Ember Islands. There we would confront my father, and I couldn’t pretend to be an alpha anymore.

I shifted, my stomach clenching. My father would be angry.

Hashir patted my back, his voice thick with sleep. “Are you okay? You want some water?”

“Please.” I shifted onto my back.

My omega followed me and cuddled in against my chest, making sleepy murmurs.

Hashir brought me a cup of water and helped steady my head. It was cold, refreshing, and quenched my thirst.

He watched me as he helped me, but then, when I finished, he kept looking at me.

“What?” I glanced down at Nova, who nuzzled into my chest.

“You’re still worried.”

I sighed. “We have an ancient spirit to fight, and my father is about to find out his heir isn’t a real heir after all.”

“Don’t say that,” Hashir said fiercely. “No one should care whether you’re an alpha or beta.”

I looked directly into his brown eyes. “And you don’t mind having to hide your bondmark on your omega?”

A slight crease appeared between Hashir’s eyes. “When it’s for the common good? No. She smells like me, and no other alpha could mistake that.”

He sounded so pleased with himself.

Hashir leaned over and stroked his hand through Nova’s hair. She smiled, opening her eyes. “Morning.”

“Morning.” I ran my hand down the side of her face. She was soft and warm and perfect. Some of the shadows were gone from her eyes, and it almost felt like a miracle.

“Still.” Hashir nudged my body, his larger body shifting against me from behind. During Nova’s heat, I’d had a crash course in pretty much every sexual position Nova could think of, and then some that Hashir came up with. There was absolutely nothing like having one of the men inside me while I was thrusting inside Nova, and now I saw why packs were constantly running off to have lots of sex.

“What?” I blinked. Hashir had said something, and I’d missed it.

Nova grinned and nipped my neck. “Hashir is distracting, isn’t he?”

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