Page 66 of Finding Love with the Fae King

Alaneo tightened his stance and nodded his head. “We don’t.”

“Darling, I want you to come to meet someone.” Osirus’s fingers were intertwined in mine, but his face became the stoic King I first saw at the Crimson Shadows Pack. He was back into his role, the leader of a nation, one to protect from any outsiders.

Osirus stood up from the chair and had me follow him, leaving his men behind.

The walk felt long as we walked through several corridors and finally outside where the suns were shining. If only the suns knew how dark inside the palace had become. The danger was here, all the danger that Osirus said would come to haunt us was here, and now it was not to just get me, but Osirus too. To bind him down and to be ruled over by his very own government that had corrupted itself.

Rounding the palace, there was a large rock-face cavern. The opening was massive and settled right in the middle of the large stone face. “Horus!” Osirus shouted from the entrance. Large banging against the ground made small rocks tumble from the top of the entrance to the bottom. The pebbles shook violently where they sat until a large animal approached the entrance.

I gasped at the sight. It was a large golden dragon, its scales almost like mirrors of the suns themselves. His talons were white, long, and sharp, with bits of dried blood between his toes. The jaws of the creature were large, as well as the teeth. Some may have been as tall as me. The dragon itself was taller than two elephants toppled on each other, and who knew how long the creature was.

The neatly folded wings to his body looked strong, full of muscle and power. The wingspan would be enormous to hold the sheer power of this dragon’s body. Osirus tugged at my arm, pulling me from my trance, and led me forward. I trusted Osirus, but this beast gave a whole new meaning to the word trust. Horus could stomp on my body without a second thought, and I would feel but like a pebble under its foot.

“Darling, this is Horus. He’s our dragon.”Our dragon?My words had left my brain as I wrapped my head around this creature. Fairies, werewolves, fae, shifters, all registered, but an actual dragon in front of me took the cake.

“N-nice to meet you?” I stuttered. Horus just bowed his head and blew through his nostrils in acknowledgment. Gripping Osirus’s hand tighter, he chuckled at me.

“Don’t be afraid. He is the most trustworthy dragon in all the realm.” Osirus went to pat him on his neck, and Horus purred in contentment while closing his eyes. “Dear friend, this is Melina, my destined, my mate.” Horus’s eyes lit up and flickered with flecks of gold. He took two mighty steps to where I was standing and rubbed my cheek with his nostrils. I started laughing at how it felt. It wasn’t hard like I thought it would be with the sharp scales, but smooth and cool to the touch.

Horus was a magnificent creature. No one could even use words to describe how beautiful he was. His eyes were like a cat’s, his dark pupils opening and closing as he adjusted his vision to see every detail that was on me.

“Not a shifter dragon, right?” Horus huffed and growled in his neck.

“No, no,” Osirus laughed. “He is a proper dragon, much stronger than any shifter dragon. He is one of the last of his kind that lives on the mainland. Most have flown off and stay away from us two-legged folk.” I chuckled as Horus came up to me to continue to inspect, rub, and smell me. He was like a giant puppy, enjoying the scratches under his jaw and even rolling on his side for belly rubs.

“Darling.” Osirus’s smile faltered as he became serious. “With what happened today, I’m going to have to change some plans.” Both his hands picked me up from the ground, taking me away from loving on Horus. Osirus’s eyes held pain, which only made me panic.

Osirus sighed. “I’m going to have to send you away.”

Chapter Thirty

Melina

“What?”Iwhispered.“Youare getting rid of me?”

“No, darling, listen. I’m sending you somewhere safe, where no one will harm you. The battle is happening tomorrow. It cannot wait any longer. Your life is in danger, and the threats are becoming real. I must strike now before all this planning is for naught.” Osirus shook his head.

“The only thing I got out of that was that you are making me leave, away from you. You promised you would never leave me, and now you are sending me away!” I yelled.

My heart ripped in the places he had so meticulously stitched up. The fear of abandonment, my parents driving away in their brand-new BMWs all came flooding back. I had been alone for so long, so many nights huddled in the corner of a room watching movies, reading books, and looking out the window. Tulip’s family was nice and took me under their wing, but it was different. I couldn’t help but see it as pity. Their family was whole before I even arrived, and I was just the little extra child forced in with a bunch of wolves.

“You can’t do this,” I begged. The strong, independent woman who didn’t need anybody now needed someone, him. This man had broken down the fortress around my heart, and now all he was doing was solidifying another wall, an impenetrable one. I never wanted to let anyone in for fear of them leaving. The thought of Tulip living in the Crimson Shadows Pack and not coming back with her own mom and dad had me breaking. Now, the man who was supposed to be my mate was making me leave.

Sure, he was trying to save me. He was trying to protect me, but the thoughts of my own parents leaving had ripped open the stitching of my heart. I was bleeding out, and I didn’t know if I could recover from this. I was still the broken girl whose parents left her at thirteen, but this time I didn’t know if I had the strength to keep going.

“Once this is all over, I will come to retrieve you, Melina. This isn’t forever, just until we’ve won.” Osirus’s face became softer, his hand touching my cheek, wiping away the stray tears falling. “Horus is powerful. He is taking you to the Isle of Dragons. No one can go there unless invited or brought specifically by a dragon. There is a small cottage there that will have everything you need.”

I backed away from him, my hands no longer feeling the tingles that he usually leaves on my body. Now I was feeling nothing but anger, hurt, and resentment. He was leaving me and, as selfish as I was being, I didn’t care. I had taught myself to be strong, not to rely on others, and he taught me to trust him, to know he would always be there. Now he wasn’t. I was confused and conflicted about my feelings. I thought he would send me to some underground bunker where I could stay at least near him and not on some island who knows how far away.

“I see your anger, your fear, darling. This is not forever. I will come back to you. I want you safe. Please understand that.” Osirus was pleading with me, pulling me to his chest and rubbing my hair. What kind of Queen would I be anyway, being spoiled and not wanting to let him go? He had an entire kingdom waiting for him, and I was wallowing in self-hatred and pity. I didn’t even have some witty comment to come back with. I really was pathetic.

“I’ll do as you say,” I sniffed and backed away. Alaneo walked from behind some bushes, held out two large bags, and wrapped them around Horus.

“Don’t be like that, darling. I love you, and I’ll be damned if anything happens to you.” Osirus’s fists clenched as he held onto his sword. He came in to hug me, but I stepped back. Sure, I was selfish, but he was deciding things without me. We were a team, and he just shipped me off without talking to me about it.

He should go rule his kingdom and take care of his people.I was getting in the way, just like how I impeded my parents’ dreams.

“Darling…” His face was saddened. Even with the stoic kingly face he had on, I knew he could read my heart. It was broken, and all he could do was watch as Alaneo helped me climb onto Horus.

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