Page 36 of Black Crown
Tyrrik sighed, dropping his head back to stare at the ceiling. “We should probably go and find out.”
I looked at him, Lord Broody-Drae. He was totally sulking. Not that I could blame him. Honestly, I kind of wanted to after the way our handsy wake up could’ve gone.
Leaving the door, which didn’t fit in the doorway anymore, we walked toward Lani’s meeting room, the same room Kamini had been in when we first arrived.
Just as we reached the entrance, Tyrrik touched my elbow, drawing my attention back to him.
I quirked a brow and waited.
“I’m glad we were interrupted,” he said.
“You sure look glad,” I said, quirking a brow. I pointed to his shredded aketon. “And we probably should’ve taken a moment to get dressed.”
He lifted a shoulder, expression wry. He closed the distance between us and folded one torn flap of my nightgown over the other. “I’m a Drae who has found his mate. The urge to bed you is nearly as strong as the urge to protect you.” He ran his fingertips over my lips and said, “But I do mean it. Your first time shouldn’t be like that.”
“I don’t think my ticker will continue ticking if there’s too much more than that before the aketons come off,” I said truthfully.
Tyrrik’s eyes heated and he crowded me, pushing my back into the wall as his hand slipped over my collarbone.
The door to Lani’s office opened with a creak.
I jumped and spun, my hands going to my torn gown.
Lani stood in the doorway, glowering. A peek past her revealed the guard Tyrrik had strangled . . . a little. I hadn’t done anything wrong, so why did I feel like I’d been caught with my face in the honey syrup jar?
I cleared my throat, attempting to sound stern. “What’s the news?”
Lani threw me an exasperated look. “Are you kidding me? You’d know if your rampant hormones weren’t tearing the castle apart.”
Graphic, but accurate.
One glance at Tyrrik showed he wasn’t bothered by the queen’s reaction. Of course not.
“So—” I drew the word out until she spoke.
“So, my people are nearly ready to go,” she said, lifting her head enough to include Tyrrik in her scowl.
The elderly and children had departed yesterday at first light for Verald, escorted by a guard of fifty. The rest of the Phaetyn, the vast majority, would march under Lani’s barrier toward Gemond. Tyrrik and I would fly ahead to alert King Zakai.
The morning light had chased away the largest of my doubts. There was so much I had no control over, but Dyter and Cal had been planning this for years. When we got back, a group of us would push on to Azule and rally them to our side. It wouldn’t matter that I had no experience in a war of this magnitude; I was surrounded by those whoseonlythoughts foryearswere of tearing down Draedyn. I wasn’t in this alone, and I had to remember that in the days ahead.
“Have you got everything you need?” Tyrrik asked Lani.
She shrugged. “We won’t want for food, and I’ll cloak us the entire way. We have plenty of weapons coated in our blood.” Her face twisted. “I sincerely hope we come across some Druman on the way.”
I wasn’t the only one who wanted revenge, and I suspected Lani’s urge was motivated even more by the need to prove herself to her people.
Me? I needed to make things right. I’d accepted blame for what happened, even if it was because I hadn’t done enough practice and not put enough stock in Tyrrik’s warning of what the emperor could do. I still had to make things right and get Kamoi and Kamini back. If anything happened to them, I’d never forgive myself.
“When do you leave?” I asked, dragging my focus back to the queen as the guard edged around Tyrrik and escaped the room.
“One hour.” Her voice was firm, but there was a wild look in her eyes as if she couldn’t believe what was happening.
I understood. None of this felt real even though the evidence was all around us. “Al’right,” I said, glancing between Tyrrik and the Phaetyn queen. I took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”
The Phaetyn queen lifted her chin, the ghost of a smile softening her lips. She arched a brow and said, “You might want to get dressed first.”
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