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As soon as the flag went up, the rowboat lowered so that Red could meet her.
Marli descended, filling her lungs with air, happy to plunge into the ocean. Careful to pierce the surface at a perfect angle so as not to topple the ship with shock waves, she slid along the surface, snatching at a few fish here and there. As soon as the keel of Red’s boat appeared, Marli shifted into her human form and broke the surface of the water.
“Hey Mar, I hear you’re rolling through a shit storm these days.” Red reached a hand out to help her climb into the boat.
“It’s hitting everything, Red. Things might get a bit messy back home.” Marli grabbed the terry robe from the bench beside her and pulled it on.
Red rolled her eyes. “When isn’t it?”
“Two of the males that attacked us are on the loose again.”
“Fuck.” She eyed Marli. “You need me to alert them?”
“Yeah. Communications are off line at the mountain for a few days and I need to keep an eye on what’s going on in that lair a little longer. Jori’s definitely an ally, but changes of power are never smooth.”
“Right,” Red sighed, expression pained.
“Your day will come, Red. May as well accept it.”
“I hate politics. If Jori wasn’t the male king of our enemy, I might feel sorry for him. Being an heir sucks.”
Marli shrugged. “Enjoy your freedom while it lasts, luv. Things are changing.”
Red snorted but turned serious. “For real, huh?”
Marli nodded. “Regina is going to need you. Especially if those two males spread the word of Aeleftheria’s location, which I’m sure they’re bound to do.”
“I’ll go right away. I just need to alert my crew.” Red’s expression turned unusually somber. “Be careful in that mountain, Marli. Aeleftheria needs you.”
Marli reached out to squeeze the errant princess’ hand. “We need you too, Red. And Kymri misses you—you should see her with that little bump. The hormones are making her mushy!”
Red laughed. “I have to see that for myself. Mushy and Kymri are two words I could never have imagined in the same sentence.”
Marli stood, slipped the robe off and lay it on the bench before jumping over the side of the little boat without a splash.
When she surfaced, she asked, “Red, have you heard of The Consortium?”
Red’s brows lifted. “Unfortunately, yes. What’s going on that you have?”
“I’m not sure. Odson is looking into something to do with them. As soon as he knows anything, we’ll let the queen know.”
“Right. Double alert. Give Kymri my love and be careful. All of you.”
“I will. You too.” Marli sank beneath the water, giving the rowboat plenty of clearance before shifting back into her dragon. She swam some distance before she breached the surface like a powerful orca, snapped her wings out and caught the air currents to ascend.
Banking, she pointed her nose back toward the mountain range
Sten drew another breath, scenting.
Marli had been gone for hours longer than she estimated. Clive and Merwin had been Sten’s wingmen for as long as they’d served as Kargassa’s enforcers. They were capable trackers.
Had Merwin and Clive found her? Had one of the other guys gone after her?
He snarled.
Maybe she couldn’t find her contact, or maybe she just decided to return to Aeleftheria.
Would she leave Kymri and Elora? She hadn’t struck me as the type…
