Page 122 of Enchanted Crown
But dammit if I didn’t want to kill this one too.
Esta and I finally had a future. I finally had a home in Dra Skor. Winning over her people was proving much easier as the person credited with healing her shifters. The people loved the story of the prince who healed and fell in love with their dragon queen. I wasn’t delusional, I would still have my doubters, but only one lingering threat stood in our way. One person who would try to take my soul mate from me. One person who let the feeling of jealousy infect them until they became its living, breathing form.
And like in the case of my own father, I had learned the hard way that certain instances called for no second chances. No redemptions. No logic. No matter how hard you wanted otherwise, sometimes death was the only way to release someone from the poison of themselves.
Death should never be the first answer, but it would always be the last.
“I should’ve had Kian meet us here with my board,” I offered afew moments later, grasping for less violent thoughts. “It’s warmer today.”
“The water temperature here is colder,” Dex commented.
“We do not enjoy your pain,” Emric told me. “We only momentarily savor it.”
“Is there a difference?”
“It’s temporary,” he argued. “Unless I think of it again later. In which I re-savor it.” A pause. “Okay, yeah. Not much of a difference.”
We headed back to the castle, another trip made and no sightings of Morana. But maybe Whit’s team in Rael had gotten lucky.
For part of the way home, Esta allowed me to stretch my wings and fly with her. It was the only thing which made the long flight bearable. By the time we arrived, I was ready for bed, not another pointless war room meeting. One in which we were close to figuring out Morana, but not quite.
Then again, she had once sat in on such meetings, using our own strategies against us. Now we had her on the run. Hiding.
We walked in the war room, Esta’s hand again tucked into the crook of my arm. Everyone else had already arrived, other than Whit’s team still in Rael, but they were not getting home tonight anyway.
What was most peculiar to this meeting was a throne chair, similar in appearance to Esta’s had been moved to sit at the opposite end of the table.
Nana Mallick thumped the chair with her cane. “Got it out of storage.”
What was the old bird even doing still awake at this hour?
Esta’s steps stilled, and her voice cracked as she asked, “Was that yours?”
Isolde flashed me a smile. “It was.”
“You didn’t let my mother use it?” Esta asked, eyes still on the chair.
“She preferred not to,” Nana said with a shrug before she turned to me. “This is the consort throne chair. One I sat in for years.” She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. “By tradition, we keep it on the other end of the table. Doubly as handy in this instance since soul bound couples can have difficulty focusing.”
“Nana!” Esta exclaimed as laughter rippled across the room.
Nana looked to me over the top of her glasses. “Believe me, I know. Lots of meetings, not enough time for the more enjoyable things of life.”
“Nana!” Esta repeated as I laughed.
I looked first to the advisors and then the chair. It was not feminine looking in the least. It was black and jagged, much like my crown. Likely the reason Esta’s mother hadn’t wanted to use it. I looked to Nana, “Do you think this is wise? I would be honored to sit where you have, but is it wise?”
Nana didn’t hesitate. “I think it is needed. A reminder of the rank you held long before you ever wed Esta.”
I looked to Esta’s brother, who had been taking that spot at the table up until now. “Jagen?”
He gestured with his head. “It’s yours. High time we try to separate the two of you in here.”
I felt my lips pull into a smirk. “I feel that I have behaved rather well in this room, thank you very much.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Esta joked as she took her chair across from me. “Now shall we get this over with? It has been a long day and we are all tired.”
Amory didn’t hesitate to rattle off, “No sign of Morana in Rael yet. Zatva was more than happy to receive you. Our missing person is still missing in Arava and they are quite jealous they did not actually get to receive the two of you, other than that, nothing much has changed.”
