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“Give me one good reason we should help you.” A thunderous voice came from the door, making Tristan jump to his feet.
“Killian.” Ella said her husband’s name as though trying to keep a lion at bay. “We’ve been through this.”
Tristan lifted his hands. “I truly am sorry about what I put Ella through. I would never have done it had I known the truth. If there’s anything at all that I can offer as compensation….”
Ella smiled kindly. “There’s nothing—”
“There is one thing,” Killian cut in, pulling out his hunting knife. Tristan stepped back, and an amused grin started to spread across Killian’s face. “Relax. I wouldn’t kill you in front of my wife.”
The menacing look in his eyes gave Tristan the impression that he would not even hesitate to cut his throat had Ella not been there.
“Have a seat,” Killian ordered as he stood next to Ella’s rocking chair.
Tristan sat back down, hesitantly.
“I have made many enemies through the years because of my line of work,” Killian said. “In the event that those enemies come for me, I would like for my family to have a secure place for them to flee.”
He placed a large hand over his wife’s baby bump, and she rested hers over his. And suddenly, Tristan understood. They were just two parents trying to protect their unborn child.
“Of course.” Tristan nodded. “My palace will always be open for your family.” Tristian added, “For you too, Killian,” since Killian had asked for a safe place for his wife and child, but not himself. “If you agree to leave the past in the past, I will do the same.” Tristan stepped forward and offered his hand to Killian. “From this moment on, your family will not only have protection within my palace walls, but you may choose any property in my kingdom and it will be given to you in the event that you need to leave this one behind.”
Killian looked down at Tristan’s hand for a long time, then took it in a firm handshake. “Thank you.”
Relief washed over Tristan. For a moment, he thought Killian might have been contemplating breaking every bone in his hand.
“Well, I better be on my way,” Tristan said, pulling back and securing his cloak. “Thank you for letting me know about the sundrop flower.”
As Tristan turned to leave, Killian raised a hand. “Wait. I might have something you can take with you.”
Killian walked over to a cabinet in the kitchen and pulled out a jar with a silver liquid inside.
When he returned to her side, Ella’s eyes widened. “When did you—?”
“I took it from the fairies before we left,” Killian said, handing it to Tristan. “In case we needed it again. I didn’t want to have to go back there.”
Tristan took the jar and examined a silver flower floating on the surface of the water inside. “I’ve never seen a flower this color before,” he said.
“The flower is normally yellow,” Killian said. “But after they boil it under the moonlight, it turns silver. That’s how you know the water is ready to drink.”
“Fascinating,” Tristan muttered. “Thank you so much for this.”
“Be careful in there,” Ella said with a frown. “The Dreamworld is a very dark place.”
Killian took her hand, and Tristan wondered what had happened to them there.
“I will,” Tristan said, shoving the jar inside his bag. “Thank you.”
He threw the hood of his cloak over his head and walked out the door. The sun had already begun its descent, but they just needed to make it to the marina. Once back on his boat, he would be among his trusted crew and in much less danger.
As he approached the carriage, he noticed that the driver was sitting in the exact spot he had been when Tristan left.
“To the marina,” Tristan said, then climbed into the carriage. He leaned back on the hard seat and closed his tired eyes as he waited for the carriage to move.
But it never did.
Tristan opened his eyes, the eerie silence prickling his skin as he leaned forward.
“To the marina,” he ordered the driver once more, this time a little louder, but the carriage still didn’t move.
