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Her best friend, her soul sister, was safe.
That’s all that matters now.
She squeezed Kymri’s hands and growled, “You’d better not fucking do that to me again.”
Kymri shrugged. “Can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best.”
“Shall we get on with this meeting?” Elora prompted.
Marli released Kymri’s hands so they could focus on what the Aeleftherian Ambassador had to say.
“Now that we’re here, this initial gathering is just to ensure that the core individuals have met and agree to work together.” Elora’s gaze landed on Marli, then on Stenlen, who stood several paces behind her.
Heat radiated from his body, caressing her back, tugging at her awareness, distracting her from concentrating on Elora’s words.
Recollection of the first time she’d seen him in his human form steamrolled her brain—when she’d spent ages luring him and his wingmen away from her island and lost him on a hedonist beach.
And just how nice the sight had been.
She slammed the door shut on that memory, shifting her posture to release the sudden rush of desire, and resisted the urge to glance at him.
Elora went on, “Jori has a relationship to build with both the male dragons of this lair and with the female dragons of Aeleftheria.”
Odson moved toward the large table, perching on its edge. “That’ll take decades.”
Eamerson nodded. “It will, and Stenlen made a timely suggestion that will accelerate the building of their trust and respect.”
“Go on,” Odson prompted.
“A funeral for Kargassa,” Jori said, gaze locked on his mother.
Elora’s mouth tightened while a vein ticked along her temple. She swallowed and nodded. “An excellent start. Upholding certain traditions is crucial.”
Jonathan muttered, “He doesn’t deserve it.”
Marli’s heart ached for the human professor. His journey these last two decades hadn’t been easy, especially in recent days, with new revelations.
Without being brought to this mountain, Jori would never have found out his mother was still alive. And Jonathan would still be separated from his dragoness wife.
Elora linked her fingers with Jonathan’s. “Jori needs this, so that we can avoid repetitions of what happened to us, moving forward.”
Marli looked to each of the gathered faces, except for Stenlen, who remained behind her.
She moved so that she could watch him from the corner of her eye.
It was a good idea, but she didn’t admit that she thought so.
Beyond them, the panorama of windows highlighted the beauty of the sunlight mountain vista. It differed vastly from her island home, but was nearly as breathtaking.
This wasn’t just about ending the war between male and female dragons. This was about changing things so that there was no war at all.
And that, she would fight for.
She turned to Jori. “Where do we begin? I haven’t been to many dragon funerals and I’ve never had to bury a monarch before.”
“I’ve buried a few in my time,” Odson nodded to Eamerson, who stood nearby with a tablet, ready to take notes.
Stenlen’s voice rolled through Marli when he spoke, “I heard there’s an archive somewhere in this mountain, maybe there’s something in there.” He spoke with the slightest of accents, that she’d never noticed before.
