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The missile entered the well and didn’t return. The men kept watch for a while before giving each other a pleased nod.
As for the remaining pieces, Jrijori filled a flask with water before placing the rest of the pieces inside. Daisy smashed the ones too big to fit.
“What are you planning to do with that?” Daksh asked as Jrijori stoppered it.
“Nothing.” Jrijori held it out to Daksh. “Take it.”
Daksh didn’t reach for it and held up his hand before anyone else could. “Hold on to it for now. I have a job for you.”
“A job, eh?” Jrijori eyed the King and then the bag. “Let me guess, you want me to lose the pieces.”
“It will pay well,” Daksh offered.
Qynn cleared her throat. “Might I suggest they be scattered at sea. You could take them to a port and find a ship that will take you a few days from shore to dump them.”
Daksh agreed, and after that, there wasn’t much left to do other than exchange stories of what happened while we were apart.
Palla oohed my story of the spider.
I clapped at her story of freeing the water.
We made camp by the fountain. Needing a day of rest before we tried to find a way across the lake now floating the First Jewel.
We had food. Dragon meat made a lovely stew. We had each other.
And that night, under the stars, a king showed me his love and asked me to be his queen.
I said no.
He asked again.
And again.
Countered my every argument.
Seduced my every qualm.
Showered me with attention and affection.
In the end, I chose to say yes. After all, once I was queen, if anyone disparaged me, or my King, I could always sentence them to death.
EPILOGUE
Six months later…
Daksh sat at the head of the massive table, eyeing his guests who were eating and drinking. Their tongues loosened as the evening went on, and his wife goaded them to tell her more. His spy in plain sight, absorbing it all, throwing him the occasional smile. To think he’d almost had her killed when he’d realized the subterfuge. Instead, because of her, he’d put an end to new monsters—the old would need to be hunted down. Water flowed in places that had long been dry, and oases sprang up all over the desert. Blame the previous network of canals under the sand, which had been too damaged in some places.
But best of all, Daksh had finally found the queen he’d been waiting for.
Happy seemed to be the word that best described his life since he’d met Asharee. She came in and swept him away with her wits and beauty. Bravery, too. He’d never forget her fierceness when she came to his rescue.
It took him the entire trip back to the Seventh Jewel to convince her to marry him. She argued he couldn’t wed a pleasure worker.
“I took your virginity and am the only man to ever see your face and know the truth.”
“What if someone figures it out?” she’d argued.
She didn’t appreciate his reply. And yet he’d kill to keep her.
