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With the cold cave at my back, there I sat, waiting for Malachi and Amory to return. I felt an overwhelming amount of relief. I knew without a doubt it was possible to get the shifters shifted back. When Esta woke, we would learn if she could shift back and forth again. Regardless of if she could or couldn’t, her father had wanted to take the crown from her and give it to her brother because of her limitations in her shifted form. She currently was no longer in that form. The least I had done was saved her from having the crown yanked right out of her hands for no good reason.
I struggled to not stare at her while she slept. Her hair was such a dark hue of black, with the low lights of only the lantern I had lit here in her lair, that on occasion it even had a purple hue to it. Remarkably like her scales.
I couldn’t fool myself. Before me slept the most gorgeous creature I had ever seen. Now that she was inthisform, shutting down my growing feelings for her was going to be damn near impossible.
I found a pitcher and dipped it into the lake next to her outrageous pile of treasure just to keep myself from staring any longer. I transferred it to a glass I found in a cupboard in case she needed a drink when she woke.
Queen Estalena Rhea Mallick was finally back in her human form. We had to work together to get the rest of the shifters unstuck. To help her avoid a civil war within Dra Skor, and to avoid another with Wylan. No matter if she had been weaving her way into my heart long before I knew what she physically looked like, I knew this tangled web of danger in Dra Skor would only get messier if lust or even love were to enter the game.
So I had to shut this down. Had to keep my hands to myself, though I wanted severely to touch her skin, feel for a pulse, hold her hand, be reminded she was truly back. There could be no exploring this. I was here to help Esta. Her ally. But Wylan was home. There could be nothing more.
And yet I couldn’t get the thought of her wiping away my tear, her green eyes on mine after she finally changed back, out of my mind.
* * *
Malachi,Whit, Dex, and Amory arrived at nightfall. I had been sitting at the entrance to her cave keeping an eye on our surroundings while chatting with Nyx.
“I brought different clothes,” Amory stated. “I’ll go throw them on her.”
Malachi’s hoof stomped into the dirt.
“Were you followed?” I asked.
He gave his head a shake.Not that I know of. Amory is going to put a hat on her though. And then we are going to fly her directly to your room instead of hers. A few of the advisors have been wanting to ask her some questions about Serkan’s death and we don’t want them showing up unannounced. But your room is a better plan anyway. If anyone sees us, they will think we are delivering your queen or another Wylan delegate.
“Smart,” I nodded.
Sorry for the intrusion,Malachi stated.But considering that she slept on your balcony at least a few nights a week lately, I didn’t think you’d mind.
“I don’t.” I knew he was trying to feel me out a bit, but I wasn’t going to bite. There was nothing there. There could be nothing there.
Malachi’s head bumped into me as I took in the purple lake.Well done today, brother.
I patted his neck. “Thank you. I’m still worried about her, though. Whoever wants her gone will not like this.”
Nor like you. That is why no one can know she’s back for a few days, until she has her strength back,he agreed.I will need to rally some shifter presence at the castle before she reveals herself too.
“Keir,” Amory called from the cave.
I walked in the cave to find her.
“Can you take her on Malachi, and Dex and I will ride with Whit?” she asked. “That way if anything happens you can use your Enchantment to catch her. She will likely not rouse until morning.”
“Of course.”
The stars began to glitter the sky as we took off for the castle. Esta was wearing loose sweatpants and a sweatshirt for clothes, a hat on her head to hide her hair. And she was curled into me as we rode Malachi.
My magic flared. To feel her in my arms like this but know that I could never experience this in the manner I really wanted. She was the dragon queen, but she could never be my queen.
She shivered as we neared the halfway mark.
“Malachi,” I stated softly. “I’m going to use my Enchantment to warm her, she’s freezing.”
Got it.
I sent my magic to warm her skin slightly, not wanting to wake her, but also not wanting her to suffer the rest of the way to the castle.
The result was that in her sleep she gripped my jacket lapel and mumbled, “Keir?”
