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Balbus trembled and began sobbing. “The Lochen king stayed very close to my side when I entered your chamber. The close proximity somehow got him through your wards and allowed him to enter.”
“Don’t blame your servant.” Drachu waved a hand, then prowled to his feet. “I found where his wife lived. It was either the servant let me enter through the secret door you created for them, or I kill her.” He shrugged as though murdering my most faithful servant’s wife was par for the course.
“I’m so sorry.” A sob shook Balbus’s chest. “He has Marcina locked in his chambers. If I didn’t let him try to enter with me, he was going to?—”
“It’s all right.” My nostrils flared, but I didn’t blame Balbus. In all honesty, I was surprised my father hadn’t tried something similar over the seasons when I hadn’tbeen falling in line fast enough. Drachu certainly hadn’t wasted any time, but the bastard was tricky. He must have been watching closely enough to learn that my wards apparently wouldn’t detect him if he plastered himself so closely to my servant.
“What do you want?” I asked the Lochen king just as a new scent entered the room.
Fuck. Tylen crept through my servant’s door. With Balbus’s wife in tow nonetheless.
“Marcina!” Balbus stumbled toward her, and Tylen released her into the servant’s arms. They both started crying, their fear potent enough to taste.
Drachu beckoned his son closer as Marcina clung to Balbus. My mate hissed, and all of my guards unsheathed their swords. The Lochen king’s gaze grew wary.
I created a solid Shield of air around us, but with Tylen’s magic, it wouldn’t hold if he touched it. “Again, what do you want?”
“I think that’s obvious,” Drachu finally replied when Tylen was safely at his side. “I. Want. My. Pendant.” His lips thinned, and his eyes flashed.
My dragon snarled within, and I bared my teeth. “No. You’ll never control my mate again.”
Drachu hissed. “I won’t give up until it’s mine.”
My death affinity undulated out of me. I wrapped it tightly around the king’s soul, and his throat bobbed in a swallow. “I won’t either. Perhaps I should just end you right now and be done with all of this.”
Tylen made a move toward me, but Sandus andRyder were there before the Lochen prince had taken a full step. Swords pressed into his neck and abdomen. The weapon’s reach gave my guards an advantage. They were over an arm’s length away from the null’s touch.
“Never again, fish boy.” Ryder bared his teeth and pressed his blade more into Tylen’s throat. A trickle of blood welled at its tip.
Tylen seethed but took a step back.
I smirked. “My guards have spent over a hundred seasons honing their warrior abilities. Do you really think they don’t train without the aid of magic?” Tylen’s eyes narrowed, so I added, “Even if you touched them, they could still kill you. Just try it. Push them and see what happens even with your nulling magic swimming through their veins.”
Sandus grinned darkly as Nish’s eyes took on that manic gleam every time he was in a fight. Only Haxil’s expression remained unchanged, the seasoned warrior in him patiently waiting for the perfect strike.
The agitation in Drachu’s scent grew, but he waved a hand at Tylen, and his son returned to his side.
Drachu’s dark hair flickered in the firelight as Ilara and my guards positioned themselves around the Lochen traitors. The basic warrior tactic wasn’t lost on me. Their affinities had them all moving in sync, just waiting to pounce.
As if sensing the same, Drachu cocked his head. “Killing me would start a war with our kind.”
I strengthened my hold on his soul. “Perhaps, but then my eternal mate would be safe.”
Drachu’s eyes widened for the briefest second.
I held up my hand, showing him the faint silver mark. “That’s right. We’re now eternally bound. You should know that I will doanythingto protect her, including starting a war with you seafaring fae.”
Drachu’s throat bobbed again. Other than that subtle response, he showed nothing, yet a sour stench of fear rose from him. It grew more potent with every breath.
Taking a step closer to him, I let my dragon flash in my eyes, morphing them into reptilian slits as my tone deepened. “I’d rather go to battle with the Lochen for the next millennia than allow you toevertouch her again.”
Ilara’s shoulders drew back. “You won’t win, Drachu. We won’t back down.” Her expression hardened.
Silence reigned in the room. Even Balbus and his wife had grown quiet.
My guards still held their swords up, and their warrior affinities hummed thickly around them. They were a storm cloud just waiting to be unleashed.
Drachu regarded all of us with a calculating assessment. He first looked at me, then Ilara, and last my guards. With each second that passed, his scent grew more potent.
