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“I plan to never leave a room without a dozen guards, lest another liar tries to steal me away.”
Celine’s eyes glittered. “Trust me, the king will never let you out of his sight again.”
I wasn’t certain I’d mind.
“Glad you found your way off the isle, My Queen,” Gavyn said, his elbows propped like the smug lord I’d seen from afar before our world toppled. “If I’d known I could force you away by merely peeling all the flesh off your bones, I certainly would’ve done so and avoided a lot of nasty threats from the king.”
“I’m rather glad you didn’t.”
Gavyn blew out his lips. “It would’ve been a grand adventure.”
“Little fox,” Sewell shoved Gavyn—his son—aside and pressed a kiss to my head. “Strong as the sea.”
“It is good to see you,Lord Sewell,” I whispered against his chest.
Sewell lifted a finger to his lips and slunk back between his children.
“The royal city!” Tait, alive and stern, shouted down from the helm. For a breath, his gaze stayed with me, but as quickly as he looked, he turned back to the sea. Tension knotted over my heart. I needed to speak to him, but what to say, how to thank him, left my tongue wanting.
I leaned into Erik, holding his freshly bandaged waist. Spires of gold, cliffs and coves, the glitter of the pale shores of the royal city gleamed in the rising sun.
Erik pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead. We did not need tohave a bond that spoke through our hearts—I knew what he was thinking, for I thought much the same.
We were home.
Merfolk guidedthe Ever Ship into port. Their orb eyes surfaced every few moments, scanning the laths for a peek at the king and his crew. Frightening and lovely, the merfolk captured the awe of my fellow royals.
Mira gasped when a woman with moss green hair and skin like a storm cloud beamed at her from the currents, flashing her jagged teeth and wailing her sorrowful voice.
Even my father seemed fascinated by their iridescent fins and cunning voices, urging the earth fae to join them for a swim.
“Don’t even think about it, Jonas,” Sander said, gripping his brother’s arm.
“She’s a bit pretty.” Jonas pointed down at a slender mermaid.
“They’ve no interest in your life once you’re beneath the tides,” Gavyn insisted, swinging a heavy canvas sack over the rails into some of the smaller skiffs taking supplies into the city. “They’re enamored by other folk but lose interest soon enough.”
“I’d see to it she wouldn’t lose interest.”
Gavyn chuckled. Strange, watching a bit of camaraderie between my lifelong friends and family, and my new people.
But for two.
Daj kept close to me, always a few paces away, but a clear distance was built between Erik and my father. They would give occasional nods to each other but didn’t speak.
I wanted to know everything—Erik’s journey to my homeland, how they returned, how they discovered the isle. I wanted to know my father’s thoughts about the few times I was certain he’d heard me addressedas queen.
More than anything, I wanted to slip away with my serpent. I wanted to touch him, hold him, tangle arms and legs with him, and for a moment, forget we’d ever been parted. There were conversations to be had. Larsson, Arion, and Fione still had some wretched power over Skadi and her people.
Larsson had been bruised, nothing more, but he would not stop his pursuits for the crown.
Now, we simply didn’t know how he would strike.
Another horn was followed by cheers from the crowds packed along the winding stone road. From the windows of red gabled rooftops, children waved banners of the Ever Ship, and women flailed their white linens, waving their men home.
“So,” Daj said, voice low. “This is the Ever.”
Erik took a step to one side, mutely offering us a moment alone, and pretended to busy himself with the unloading of packs and crates and crew.
