Page 48 of When the Wicked Sing
Dax turned to look at her. “Who?”
“You’ll see. C’mon,” she said with a small grin and started walking down the staircase that would lead them to the other levels of the village and eventually the ground.
Dax bit the inside of his cheek, glancing back toward the clinic. Mari was with the person he trusted most in this world; she’d be fine.
With that in mind, he followed Kenna down the winding staircase to the ground level, where she led him to a large wooden barn near the stables.
Kenna unlocked it and swung the barn doors wide open. It was pitch-black inside until she turned a light on, and a soft glow illuminated the giant black and white creature within.
“Leo? Look who it is!” Kenna mewed, and Dax couldn’t believe it when the creature turned to face him.
“You kept him all this time,” Dax said in awe, hands on his hips, standing by the door. Leo’s bright, sunshine eyes stared at him, not as though Dax was the next meal, but instead like they were a shy child scared to approach.
“Of course I did. He’s a magnificent hunter.” Kenna scratched his spotted ears, then moved to his mane, earning a loud purr. “Remember when you found him?”
Dax stepped forward, then sat down on his haunches to get a closer look. “Yeah, he was so small back then.” The rare leomagnus cub used to fit into the nook of Dax’s elbow, sleeping soundly after a full meal of deer meat.
Dax had found Leo half-starved and desperate, alone, crying out in the forest. There was no way Dax could’ve left the cub out there on its own. Of course, Spiro strongly objected to keeping the cub, especially since Dax would have to leave it to return to Aurelia. That had been nearly three years ago.
Now, Leo was the size of a large horse, with paws twice the size of Kenna’s head.
“He’s grown up to be a strong, sweet, handsome boy, haven’t you, Leo?” Kenna placed a loud kiss on Leo’s cheek before ushering him toward Dax.
“How did you convince Spiro to let you keep him?” Dax asked as Leo slowly approached him, his head extended to sniff Dax’s hands.
“Well, I kinda gave them no choice,” Kenna replied with a closed-lip, guilty smile. “By the time Leo was large enough to hunt on his own, he was domesticated. Now we’re stuck with him.” The way she said it and the soft glow in her cheeks as she stroked Leo’s soft fur made Dax realize how much he missed seeing his family happy. She lifted her eyes to his. “You know, he’s yours. You found him.”
Dax shook his head but smiled softly when the creature allowed Dax to pet his head. Leo laid down and stared up at him fondly. “He belongs to you now. Besides, Aurelia isn’t a place for a leomagnus.”
“I meant you don’t have to go back. You can stay here, Dax. Even Mari is welcome.”
“Kenna …” Dax cautioned, instantly irritated.
“No, listen to me,” she ordered firmly. “Spiro and I have been talking. I’ll go with you to Aurelia and work out a deal so you can come home. It isn’t right that you’re trapped under the royal family’s rotten thumb—”
“Stop this, please,” he begged quietly.
“I can’t. You know that. You’re my brother, I can’t just stand by and let you sacrifice yourself for us.”
Dax stood, and Kenna did the same. Leo lifted his head to glance between them, probably sensing the tension.
“Let me come with you to Aurelia,” Kenna urged, but Dax shook his head, growing more and more irritated. “You belong here with your people, Daxon—”
“I belong nowhere!” he shouted.
They both winced, especially when Leo retreated a few steps into his barn.
Dax sighed. “Sorry. I just … You can’t come with me. Mari has to go to Aurelia, and I have to be the one to take her there.”
“Why does she have to go?”
“She’s trying to find her sister.” Dax looked away, hoping to indicate that nothing was left to discuss regarding the siren.
“Dax …please. Let me go with you.”
He shook his head. “There’s nothing but darkness in Aurelia,” he murmured. “Trust me.”
“And who’s going to pull you from that darkness, huh? If you won’t let us, then who?”
