Page 4 of Courting the King of Cliffs

“She needs the silence,” I signed back.

Understanding blossomed in her eyes.

I glowered at her, silently warning her not to ask.

“It’s Dissiri? She’s here?” Eeva’s gaze jerked toward the castle, practically vibrating with excitement. “Have you talked? Did you tell her?”

“No,” I signed back, more harshly. “Find her a place to stay; that’s it.”

She huffed.

“We’ll take care of her,” Crag said, taking his mate’s elbow.

There was a wicked gleam in his eyes that I didn’t like at, but I did trust him not to tell Dissiri anything. Both of them knew how to keep their mouths shut, or I never would’ve let them help with a damn thing.

Knowing that if I stayed, I would do whatever I possibly could to spend more time with her, I transported myself into the den of chaos that was Quake and Margo’s home.

Neither Quake, Margo, nor any of their six kids batted an eye when I appeared in their living room. They’d moved to the fire fae kingdom after I took the throne, since Quake wasn’t a fan of the earth fae, and now lived next door to Flame and Ivy.

“Uh oh. You’d better go talk.” Margo swatted Quake’s ass, and he strode over to me while she fed their three-year-old another bite of whatever was in her bowl.

We both turned and walked toward the room they’d designated mine, without exchanging a word. Both of them had told me when they moved that I would always have a place there, and it would be available to me any time, for any reason.

It had meant more to me than I’d ever been able to say. Over the years, it had turned into the room we went to when we needed to talk without any of their kids around.

“What happened?” Quake asked, as he took a seat on the edge of the bed I’d never actually slept on. I lowered myself into the chair nearby before answering.

“Dissiri is in my land.”

Quake was silent, for a long, long moment. He finally asked, “Why?”

“Storm and Harper’s baby.”

His lips turned down in a grimace. “The noise is too much?”

“She said she hasn’t been able to function since he was born.”

“Damn.” He let out a long breath. “She wants to move to your kingdom?”

“Yeah. I don’t know for how long. But you know kids don’t get quieter. And they’re not supposed to; they should be able to run around and laugh and be kids.”

“Why with you, though?”

“She doesn’t want to hurt Harper and Storm. She’s going to tell them that she just wants to see how the earth fae live. The water fae wouldn’t consider letting her stay, and she says fire magic has an aura that messes with her mind.”

He nodded slowly. “You said yes?”

“Of course I said yes. My mate appeared in my home, begging me for help. I only have so much control,” I growled. “I have Eeva and Crag clearing out somewhere for her near the bottom of the cliffs. I’ll deal with the current resident’s anger afterward.”

“Good.” He was quiet for a moment. “Are you going to tell her?”

“Of course not,” I said harshly.

He sighed. “Granite…”

“It’s a risk I’m not willing to take.”

“She deserves to know. I’ve told you a dozen times that I regret scaring you about your mate bond. She was only seven that day; there’s a chance you could both keep your magic bound tightly enough that you could be together.”

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