Page 79 of Conquering the King of Storms

“Whoa.” Margo’s eyebrows shot upward. “Why did the lake wake up Flood?”

I looked over at the other king, whose eyes were no longer glowing.

Ayla’s expression had become hopeful. “I don’t know.”

“I guess if kissing didn’t work, something had to give.” Margo shrugged a shoulder. “He can protect us, at least.”

That fact made her grin.

“Are you guys a thing?” I asked Ayla, looking between her and her king.

She shook her head quickly. “Just friends, but I’d like to be able to talk to him. He can hear me thanks to his magic, but can’t speak to me or hear anyone else. Would Storm be able to teach me Sign Language?”

I looked over at Sirus. He wasn’t going to answer her question though, which was a pain.

Dove giggled, and both me and Ayla turned to look at her. Flood was grinning, holding her in one arm and signing to her with the other. His fingers stopped moving, and then hers were signing rapidly in response.

She noticed us watching her and beamed at us. She made a pause motion toward him that even I recognized, and said, “Flood thinks Ayla is really smart and she wants to know hand-speak. She calls it Sign Language.”

Well, he could definitely hear her, then.

“Can you teach me?” Ayla asked her.

Dove shrugged. “How?”

I bit back a snort.

The little girl was smart for her age, but she was still only six.

“Storm, can you teach Ayla hand-speak?” Dove called out. She looked over at Flood, and signed something to him. I wondered if it had to do with Storm’s exhaustion, or the creatures she had mentioned that he loved, or something else entirely.

“I can’t teach Ayla directly without a mate bond between them,” Storm reminded her.

Her eyes lit up, and she looked at Ayla. “If you make the promises, he can teach you.”

“She’s not fae yet,” I reminded Dissiri lightly, and then called out, “Hey Storm, can you teach me your version of Sign Language?”

“Of course,” he told me with a tired grin, and Dove giggled. I flashed Ayla a smile, and she mirrored the expression with a little hesitation.

We all made our way over.

Sirus and Flood conversed for a few minutes while Dove told Ayla rapidly about how Flood said he liked being in the Aboa with her even though he couldn’t remember most of it. Ayla was still grinning when the conversation ended, and Storm began his first lesson.

I knew he needed rest to recuperate, so I would make sure he got some sleep after a lesson or two, but just didn’t have the heart to crush Ayla’s hopes in that moment by trying to talk my king into taking a nap.

Night time didmy job for me shortly after the lesson began. The lake glowed a little bit, but seeing Sirus’s hands move was just too difficult, so we all called it a night. I watched Ayla and Flood closely, and saw them lay down side-by-side like friends.

When I looked over at Margo, my eyebrows shot upward. She was draped over Quake’s massive body, his glowing eyes closed.

Dove was already snuggled up against Sirus’s side, so I took the other one. She, of course, climbed over his chest and slid right between the two of us, making herself at home there.

Sirus flashed me a grin, and I mirrored it.

Things were strange, but good. He had made a not-so-great day end perfectly for me, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

When morning came around,we ate some of the food from our bags. Flood’s eyes were glowing again, so Ayla dragged him back out into the water. Sure enough, the glow vanished, and then both of them were happy.

We spent the day relaxing on the beach, swimming every now and then, but mostly just eating and practicing Sign Language. Even Margo practiced with us. Dove thought it was hilarious how bad we all were—she had learned to sign while she learned to speak, because the kings had been so close.

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