Page 13 of Conquering the King of Storms

That was actually kind of cool.

I had definitely gotten the raw end of the mate-magic deal, though.

The urge to slip my hand back in Sirus’s as we continued walking was a strong one, so I wrapped my arms around my middle to keep them nice and safe.

“How long have you been taking care of Dove?” I asked Storm, wanting to move back to a safe conversation topic.

“It’s hard to say. She hasn’t aged since my magic was corrupted, and I’m not certain why. I might have to find someone with less power to bind her magic to. Her mother—my sister…” He glanced over at me. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Of course.”

“Even from the other human women?”

“Yes.” They didn’t know most of the Steven shit, so yeah, I could definitely keep things from them.

“None of the other kings know. You take the secret to your grave if it comes to that,” he warned.

Now I was really fucking curious.

“My sister Felaria fell in love with a fae visiting from another land. A solar fae. They became mates and she got pregnant, but he refused to stay here, and Dissiri couldn’t leave. To do so would be her eventual death.”

His gaze was fixed on the horizon, and I had to tighten my arms around my middle to stop myself from grabbing his hand yet again. “I tried to convince Felaria to stay and raise her child until Dissiri was old enough to get her own magic and survive in the solar lands too, but Felaria refused. She chose her mate over her daughter, and when he left, she went with him. I told the other kings that she died.”

There was a long stretch of silence.

I tried to imagine myself in his sister’s situation, but just fucking couldn’t. If it was my pregnancy, my baby…

There wasn’t a chance in hell I could ever walk away from her.

Sirus spoke again, quietly. “When Dissiri is old enough to understand, I’ll tell her the truth. Until then, she deserves to grow up without her mother’s choice hanging over her head.”

Fuck.

“You’re a better father than the one fate gave her,” I said quietly.

“She deserves better, but I do my best. The other kings help.”

“You guys seem like a family,” I admitted.

“Wearea family.” His words were simple. “Life in the elemental lands isn’t easy when you have a lot of magic. We understand that better than anyone, and have each other’s backs because of it.”

Damn.

That sounded really, really good. I’d never really had a group of people who had my back like that, and I had always wanted one.

Maybe, here in Bluhm, I could finally find that.

Chapter 4

We madeit back to everyone else, and found them getting ready for bed. Sirus left me with the other women, giving me a small smile and thanking me for walking with him. When he found a spot on the ground for Dove and himself, she curled up next to him, snuggling against his side. His arm was beneath her, acting as a pillow.

I watched them sneakily, wondering what it might be like to lay on his other side. Would he hold me, too? He was attracted to me; his magic had been telling me that for ages. But even though he had promised he wouldn’t ask me to be anything more than friends, he had never actually told me what he wanted us to be.

And that felt significant.

My gaze lingered on the pair.

I had slept with Dove cuddled up against me for ages, so it was strange to know that I’d be sleeping alone now.

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