Page 388 of Kingdoms of Night

CHAPTERTEN

VIRIDI

Focusing on his father, Viridi stalked forward, the trees whispering on the wind.

Watch. See. She is yours to take…

He gritted his teeth as he tried not to stare too long at the beautiful young woman from the shoreline.Silence,he said back to the trees.

Yes, they were in agreement that this woman was his fated mate, but they wanted him to drain her energy, to absorb her instead of cherish her. Their whispers grew to a low roar.

Silence,he mentally commanded again.

The trees and their riotous spirits shuffled and howled in his dryad ears, but finally they went quiet.

The woman glowed faintly. No one else would see it; Viridi knew enough of his kind and the way their eyes saw their fated mates. What was he to do with this development? He still wanted Father to persuade everyone to relocate to the Pearl Isles until he untangled the mystery of the jeweltrees and made sure he wasn’t a threat. What could he do with the woman? She was in danger here—not only because of Father’s hatred of outsiders, but because of the Thorned One he would become.

Father put on the expression that said he didn’t want to scare Viridi off. He knew how much he’d angered him at the feasting by proposing that the woman, Helena, could be his mate. Viridi hated that appeasing, cunning look. Viridi wished Felix were here—he was likely still working at the eastern coastline or had already gone to sleep in his tree.

“My son,” Father said, “how kind of you to take note of this disturbance. How are you today?” He spoke in the dryad tongue so that the newcomers wouldn’t understand.

Father would never in a thousand years stand by while he claimed a human as a mate. Viridi needed time to figure out what to do with that information and how to proceed.

One thing was certain: Viridi wasn’t giving her up for Father.

He might release her for other reasons, but not for the wicked king whose seed had sown him.

“I’m doing fine, Father,” he bit out. “What do you plan to do to these intruders?”

“You could ask how I am faring, but of course…” Father shook his head in that dramatic way of his, and Viridi had to fight not to look skyward in annoyance. “I plan to imprison them and think on it.”

Imprison? His mate? His dark blood raced and his lips parted. “Don’t. I am drawn to the young woman,” Viridi said, surprising himself. “May I keep her and request royal treatment for her friends?”

The corners of Father’s eyes twitched and he crushed the storyleaf in his hand. But then he smoothed his features and lifted his free hand in a gesture of acceptance. “You never ask for a thing, my son. Of course, I will order it done. But what if she won’t have you?” His gaze skipped to Viridi’s thorned fingertips.

Viridi’s heart shuddered at the thought of rejection. If she wouldn’t have him, even if they only had a short time, his soul would crack in two. He couldn’t look at her; his face might show that very fear. And he didn’t want to give Father the satisfaction of reacting to his taunt. Father loved the idea that Viridi might someday be a monster that could forever protect the island, but he was also slightly horrified by him. Father had never been good at hiding his emotions.

“I’ll worry about that if it happens,” Viridi said, forcing his voice to remain smooth and unruffled by emotion.

Father nodded, and stepped back to allow Viridi to speak to those gathered.

“Welcome to the Isle of Dryads,” he said, allowing his deep voice to carry over the whisperings of the boy, the murmuring of the other dryads, and the clatter of the wind in the forest.

The young woman’s amber gaze darted around his face and body. Every glance was a press of warm sun, and his lips parted, momentarily lost in what he was going to say next. Her hair fell over one shoulder, tangled and sandy but still beautiful, its hue like the branches of the darkest tree in the forest. She seemed to shine brighter than everyone else and he couldn’t tear his eyes away. He found himself walking up to her and taking her callused hand in his. She was so soft, but also so strong. He sensed fatigue in her.

He kissed her wrist and her breath snagged, but she didn’t pull away. “What is your name?”

“Isa Bisette, a subject of Wylfenden.”

His fingers traced the calluses on her palm and she shivered, her scent telling him she was enjoying his attention. His body warmed, his mind imagining her bare back under his hands. “You have been working too hard, Lady of the Sun.”

“You’re telling me,” she said, a twisting note to her voice.

He grinned. She had spirit. “Well, that part of your life is over.”

“Oh, it is? Am I to die and work no more, or do you have a better alternative?” She leaned closer. “The king doesn’t seem to like us,” she whispered. Her cheeks reddened like perhaps she’d shocked herself with her pluck.

So brave and outspoken, this Lady of the Sun.

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