Page 4 of Enchanted Crown
“Amory did.”
She pressed her lips together tightly, a flicker of emotion crossing her face. I looked back to Dex and Owen, gave them a nod, and the guards started closing the door behind us.
“No you don’t,” Owen snapped. “I’m staying with the prince.” He stepped just inside the doors, a role I had seen him do what felt like a thousand times. He was posting guard. For me.
“Esta,” I offered gently, pulling her back into me and whispering into her hair, “I’m here.” I swallowed hard. “And I’m sorry I ever left to begin with.”
It was those words which unleashed the dam of tears welled up inside her. She started sobbing, holding onto me for dear life.
I stood there and allowed her to. Knowing her, she had set plans in motion for investigating and handling what happened. She likely took care of herself last, if at all. She needed time without running the country to process everything.
Over her head, I exchanged eye contact with her mother. I wanted her to disappear, but with the way she was inquisitively watching us, she seemed in no hurry to leave.
I let Esta get it all out, only repeating the words, “I’m here” as needed.
What had to be minutes later, she pulled back. This close, I took a good look at her, head to toe. How could so little change in one week of time, but at the same time so much? How had I ever found the will to leave her side at all?
As my eyes settled back on that bruising around her eye, I clenched my jaw tightly. I would tear apart the realm to make sure I never saw her look like this again. Not only bruised, but also defeated.
“Keir?” she asked, her hand coming up to my cheek. “Your magic.”
I pushed it down slightly, as much as I cared to, but my eyes stayed on hers. “I’d like to slowly kill whoever did this to you, that’s all.”
Her throat bobbed with her swallow. “I already did.” A pause as if she were bracing herself. “I shifted, picked up the human in my teeth, and threw him to the rocks below the balcony.”
I inhaled deeply.
“He screamed the entire way to the crunch which signaled his death.”
“Good,” I snapped. “That’s my dragon queen.” I was holding my jaw so tightly my teeth were sure to be sore tomorrow. “He deserved far more.”
“I’m okay,” she assured me.
“No,” I countered. “You are bruised. You look exhausted. You got ambushed. None of that is okay. In no realm would any of that ever beokaywith me.”
“I am going to be okay though,” she choked out. “They injured Malachi, and I lost it.”
“Esta,” I argued, “it isn’t as if this was a meeting with your advisors. You were attacked. You are allowed to defend yourself. They deserved whatever they got.”
The doors creaked as they opened and in came Amory and Malachi, his arm in a cast.
“We heard you were back.” A tight smile crossed her lips.
“You had your hands full,” I responded. “I wasn’t about to leave you to deal with it on your own.”
She dropped her eyes a minute, and I realized she was almost in tears. How many times had the two women before me had to handle things for Dra Skor on their own?
“Dammit, come here,” I demanded.
She shocked me by listening. I kept my right arm around Esta and wrapped my left around Amory.
“Sorry I didn’t get here fast enough to be of use,” I told Amory. “But thank you for sending for me.”
“I—” she stopped, as if realizing between Esta’s mother and Owen, we were far from alone. “You deserved to know. Kian wanted to go. Wanted to tell you.”
“I believe an ass haunting is in order,” Malachi joked from beside Owen with his signature smirk.
“Good thing you have a nice one then,” I quipped, remembering our last conversation together. “Or so you’ve told me.”
