Page 33 of Enchanted Queen

He took a step back.

Emric was there, giving me a slap on the back of a hug. “Don’t do that again. Please. Or if you do, in the very least, take me with you.”

I gave him an understanding nod. It had to have been intimidating to be standing on the shore with fifty or more shifters of different varieties and not knowing what was happening beneath the water except by the shifters and what they or Amory cared to communicate to him.

Malachi’s head turned slightly to the side as the queen swooped down to land in the sand next to us.

She said I can return you to the castle. Since you’ve definitely drawn some attention to yourself. We don’t know who did this, but you likely made yourself an enemy of whoever it was.

I ran a hand over my face. “I would love to head back to the castle, but I am going to need a minute.”

“Burnout?” Emric guessed.

I gave him another nod.

And then I was being hugged. Not just a slap of a hug, a real one. I hadn’t been hugged in gods knew how long. Since the day I gave the throne to my brother?

“Amory?” I whispered, hugging her back.

“Thank you,” she managed to get out, voice cracking with emotion. “Just thank you.”

She moved from me to Malachi, wrapping her arms around his large neck also.

“Didn’t have you pegged as a hugger,” Emric offered.

“Shut up,” she snapped and then hugged him too.

Emric’s attention went right back to me. “Do you need to sit down?”

I looked around, seeing that a few of the Enchanted in their human forms had stuck around, along with a whole audience of non-Enchanted. “I am afraid that when I do, I’ll be lights out.”

“What’s going on?” Amory asked.

Emric explained, “When we use too much of our magic all at once, it can cause burnout. My Prince was extremely close to that. It’s not pretty. It takes some food and a lot of sleep to combat it and recoup our magic. He shouldn’t ride back on Malachi’s back in case he passes out.” He turned to glare at me. “There is no way in hell I am letting you get on a flying horse while fighting burnout.”

“You could catch me if I fell,” I argued.

“Still,” Emric snapped.

I will take him,the queen offered.Emric and the prince can just swap places.

“And you won’t drop me as soon as I get sleepy? Just for the hell of it?” I spun toward her smirking.

Tempting, but no. Please let me talk to Kian and Savanna for a few moments first. If you can wait that long.

Was she actually being courteous? “Of course.”

“Let me see if I can get you some bread,” Amory said and approached some of the humans while Malachi moved a few feet away to speak to some shifters.

Emric walked me over to some rocks and forced me to sit down. Oddly enough, I had felt ready to pass out in the water, but since my magic had flared during the stomping, I was already beginning to feel better.

“Want your crown back?” he asked. He’d been holding it in his hands the whole time.

“No. Not if I am going to be flying back to the castle. I don’t want to lose it if I nod off.”

“Are you sure flying with either of them is a good idea?”

I gave him a shrug. “I hope they won’t off me after I just saved one of their shifters.”