“With five going to Radaan, perhaps more will choose to stay,” Ronan muttered, barely masking his irritation. As if the very idea of dragons leaving was a personal insult.
I studied him—sun-bleached hair pushed back by worn flight goggles, blue irises bright with fierce loyalty. Smile lines had already begun to form at the corners of his eyes. He would make a fine king one day—once he matured.
“Only time will tell,” Nienna said with a shrug. “Ronan, let Mother know we won’t be at dinner.”
Back in our rooms, she stumbled toward the bed. I bit down a smile and shut the door behind us. Greaves had finally been sent to rest—he needed it. The past few days had taken their toll, and though my body screamed to lie down, Nienna required care.
She collapsed face-first onto the blankets, limbs spread wide in a very undignified heap of exhaustion.
“I’m afraid you’ll need to bathe before sleep, my queen,” I called, unlatching the chains at my shoulders. The laces of my tunic came loose as I headed for the bath chambers. Praise Elohios—Freya had drawn a hot bath. Our delay at Nereus’ side gave her just enough time to prepare.
“I’m a queen,” Nienna groaned. “I do what I want.”
The golden yoke slid from my shoulders, its links clinking as I set it on the stand. I unbuttoned my vest, peeled off the rest, and bolted the lock to our door.
“You are a queen.” I crossed to the bed, then rolled her onto her back. “But even queens don’t always get their way.”
Her eyes roamed over my naked body and she bit her lip. “Too tired.”
“I have no intentions beyond seeing you clean.” I frowned at how her mantle twisted around her neck. “Start with that.”
She groaned but rose, her fingers fumbling with the chains while I loosened the side laces of her dress. In moments, the mantle hung beside mine, and I pulled her dress over her head.
She kicked off her boots and wriggled out of her trousers, flinging them across the floor. I gathered her up. My back ached in protest, but her body sank against my chest, warm and limp, her breath feathering against my throat.
Once we were scrubbed and rinsed, I plucked a limp sprig of mint from her hair and carried her to bed.
I kept my word—held her close but nothing more. Rest claimed us fast. Not only had the past days drained our bodies, facing down an enemy nationdemanded a level of energy that would take time to recoup. Sometimes mental fatigue was worse than physical.
So I held her—and let the queen of Radaan sleep.
“You’re with the living!” Nienna burst into the private dining room, flinging her arms around her father. He wore his leathers, calm as if it were any other morning.
She kissed his cheek and dropped into the seat beside him.
“I didn’t know I was ever with the dead,” he muttered, nodding my way as I pulled out a chair.
“You might as well have been, for all the good you did.” Nyxaria sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, while Ronan threw his boots onto the table like a delinquent court jester.
“I heard you torched Galdoni’s fleet,” Nereus said, sipping from a cup of flavored fish water. The minty, briny scent wafted through the room.
“If they want war, they’ll get one.” Nienna shrugged. “They’ve got years of shipbuilding ahead of them.”
“Forty percent of their workforce was on those ships,” Nyxaria added.
“Should’ve flown to Innaku to remind them not to mess with us,” Ronan grumbled. “Elmo’s scorched from nose to tail. We were too far to shield them properly.”
Nereus turned to me. “You had a hand in the strategy. Thank you.”
“I’m no sailor,” I said. “But war is war, and that much I understand. Hiding the dragons in the Spire was a trick we used in the Battle of Gad at the base of the foothills. We lured the Velli in, then dropped the charge from the mountain.”
“When was that?” Nereus asked, tipping his cup.
Ronan snorted a laugh. “Was Nienna even alive then?”
The king choked, and the corner of my eye twitched with the urge to put the boy through the nearest wall.
The rest of the evening passed easy. Nienna’s family folded me into their little group without pretense or suspicion. I’d told myself for years all I needed wasGreaves, that anything else was a liability. People always wanted something. But Nienna didn’t take—she and her family gave. Their only condition was that I protect her.
