Page 56 of Conquering the King of Storms

My smile widened.

Kids were adorable.

Everything was so exciting when you were little.

Sirus’s wind shut the door lightly, but we were both quiet as we listened to Dove knock on the door, and then ask Flame to take her to the café after he opened it. He and Ivy agreed, and Sirus and I remained silent as their voices and footsteps walked away from us.

Sirus’s hand slowly dragged over my arm again, and we were both quiet for another few minutes.

Things were different between us after the shower the day before.

We still hadn’t had a real conversation about what the future might hold. He still hadn’t admitted to me what he wanted in the long run, and I still hadn’t admitted to him what I did either. There was a shit-ton of uncertainty between us, but we were more relaxed around each other than we had been. And that felt important.

“So what’s the plan now?” I whispered to Sirus, finally breaking the silence between us.

“The monsters in the Aboa are awake and raging. Flame and Ivy will most-likely need to remain here in case the water fae need more power than they already have. Quake and Margo will need to leave; he’s never been welcome here, truthfully. Crest will likely ask me to stay, but I won’t.”

I stayed quiet, waiting for more of an explanation. Now that I was starting to understand Sirus a little better, I’d realized that when he went silent, he wasn’t trying to ignore me. He was just observing, or thinking things through.

“Being in the Aboa made me realize just how much danger you’re in here, without magic of your own. The other kings and I still need to retake and heal our lands, but first, we need to ensure that all of you are safe. And the only way to do that is by taking you to the hearts of the lands until you all have magic.”

“I like the idea of not being powerless,” I admitted.

“There’s also the matter of the mating ceremony. If we go through with it, you’ll be able to converse with the male population without them challenging me.”

That was extremely tempting.

But also… not.

There were so many things Sirus and I hadn’t talked about.

So many things we didn’t agree on.

But mainly, he still refused to admit to me what he wanted from our relationship, and that was a huge problem.

“I’ll think about it,” I finally said to him, knowing he needed an answer but not ready to turn him down completely.

I wanted him.

I wanted to be mates.

I wanted that stability, that love, that sense of family and belonging.

But I only wanted it with Sirus if he wanted the same thing I did. And if he wasn’t willing to come out and say it, then he obviously didn’t want it as much as me.

“Thank you.” His fingers continued stroking up and down my arm. “There’s another slight problem.”

I propped myself up a bit, so I could see his face. “What problem?”

“Dissiri’s magic has begun pulling on mine,” he admitted. “I started feeling it shortly before we went into the Aboa. It’s gotten stronger, since then.”

Oh.

Well, that wasn’t good.

“It’s making you weaker?” I asked.

“It is. Which is helping with my control over my magic.”

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