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“What the fuck happened, Jori?” Odson growled.
Elora released her husband and approached Odson. “It’s good to see you, brother.”
Odson grabbed her in a bone-crunching hug. “If I’d known…”
“I know.” She smiled up at him and patted his cheek.
“If you’ll all follow me, there are refreshments in the new council room.” A stiff dragon male said.
“Thank you, Eamerson,” Jori took Kymri’s hand, following the male away from the plane toward the interior of the mountain.
Marli hesitated as she observed Kymri’s sure strides and Elora’s grasp on Jonathan’s hand, leading him inside. She wouldn’t leave the only two other Aeleftherians alone in this mountain. Not her best friend, and certainly not the queen’s long-lost ambassador. She spared the small plane a last glance as she trailed after them.
The male, Eamerson, led them to an elevator at the rear of the cavern. They rode it up, then followed him along several stark marble corridors to a set of black double doors.
Cold. Austere. Rigid.
Marli’s nose twitched at the musky atmosphere inside the mountain.
She glanced around the expansive room that opened to a glassed-in vista of the misty mountains beyond it.
Eamerson gestured toward a table set with several trays of food and drink.
“New council room, huh?” Odson asked, sauntering toward the windows.
Marli’s fingertips drifted along a seam in the glass, wondering if they opened.
The place could use a little fresh air. And a way to escape.
Marli moved to the table, reaching for the platter of cookies, gaze roaming the room and the faces within it. She ignored Eamerson, though she was mindful of his movements.
“Yes sir,” Eamerson said to Odson’s question. “I understand you are King Mountainside’s uncle?”
King?
Cookie crumbs caught in Marli’s throat, making her cough. Kymri handed her a glass of water.
Odson glanced back at her. “I am.” He ran a hand through his hair and blew out his breath, turning toward Jori. “King Mountainside?”
Beside Marli, Jonathan and Elora appeared, hands linked and red-eyed.
She studied the drawn features of Aeleftheria’s ambassador. “The queen will be very cross with you, for staying away after Jori’s birth.” Marli drew a breath. “But I know she’ll be overjoyed to learn you’re alive and have been rescued from Kargassa’s imprisonment all these years.”
Elora nodded, then shrugged as her gaze swept over her husband’s face. Her throat worked as she swallowed.
It’s worth it to her. And to him. After all this time.
In Marli’s experience, love was fleeting, and that kind of dedication was rare.
Marli looked at Kymri. “So, what Odson said? What the fuck happened?”
Kymri briefly recounted the abduction, meeting the mountain king and the events that led to his death.
“And just like that, Jori is the new king. So what’s next?”
Elora waved a hand toward the room at large. “This was Kargassa’s personal space. Jori decided that turning it into a council room—like we have in Aeleftheria—would be the best use for it.
“We’ve asked one of the resident carpenters to make a new round table for this room.”
