Page 165 of The Queens and the Kings
“I know.”
“Youloveher?”
Without wavering, he said, “Yes.”
Love.
Pedr.
Was it possible?
Wading through her shock, she stammered, “I-I . . . wasn’t expecting that. Of all you just revealed, Mila surprises me the most.”
“Get used to it,” he said firmly. “I’m finding her and I’m saving her from those wretched biddies.”
“Do you think you can find her?”
“I will.”
His finality left no room for follow up questions.
“Breaking the bonds that the Siren Queens placed on my ability to speak about them is going to change the game,” he continued. “Not only does that mean I can break other layers of the curse, like the one that lashes me to the ship, but it means I have a prayer of breaking the restriction on finding the Siren Queens.”
More gently, Britt asked, “You don’t know anything about Mila’s situation, though. Right? All you know is that the Siren Queens separated you and they have Mila. You’re not sure what she’s been doing, where she is?”
“I know that she’s in the Siren Queen’s castle in the Westlands.”
“Where is their cast?—”
“No one knows,” he said quickly, shutting down the most obvious question. “No one knows exactly where the Siren Queen’s castleis. I know the area, but the protective arcane attached to it protects it from intruders.”
“I see.”
That thought led to another. She asked, almost as quickly as he’d cut her off, “The wyverns are truly kings?”
“Yes.”
“They’re powerful enough to fight the Siren Queens, who are also legends?”
“Yes.”
Britt gulped. “I released the Wyvern Kings.”
“Yes, but what else could you have done? They would have broken out eventually.”
She drummed her fingers along her upper lip, drowning in despair, before concluding, “I’ve doomed the world.”
“Don’t be dramatic. Your efforts aren’t wasted. The Wyvern Kings might be excellent allies.”
“Might be?”
He shrugged.
“You’re just trying to mollify me,” she insisted.
He didn’t disagree. “Britt, I don’t know what to expect. Assuming the Wyvern Kings are wretched bastids with a singular focus is probably our safest route. At least, that’s what I’m going with. And Himmel believes it, too,” he added.
She swallowed her regret. She truly hadn’t known at the time. Knowing now, she still wasn’t sure she’d change anything. He’d spoken to her. Winged her off the burning ship. In some form, he’d done it selfishly.
