Page 26 of King

Durin lifts his head and looks at me with glassy eyes and a sleepy smile. He flops down on his back, taking me with him, and wraps his arms securely around me. I suck in a deep breath now that his weight isn’t pressing down on me.

We lie together as we catch our breath. I grip his knot as long as I can, unwilling to break our connection. But my walls eventually tire. He ends up slipping out of me, along with much of his essence. I resist the urge to gather it and push it back inside me like my instincts want me to. I watch his strong, bronze body rise from the bed and cross the room instead.

“I’ll find something to clean up with,” he says. “And I’ll open both doors so we can hear Vaegon if he wakes. I think we’ve earned a nap.”

“I just napped,” I laugh.

“Well, you deserve a second one,” he says as he heads into the kitchen.

I grin and slip into sleep, barely noticing as he cleans me up and climbs back onto the bed beside me. When Vaegon wakes up, I’ll bring him in here to snuggle with us both before his father has to leave.

For now, I surrender to the comfort of a dreamless sleep, forgetting the dangers that will be waiting for us when we wake.

Chapter 8

Durin

“Where are you going?” I mumble, reaching for Rue as she slides out of my arms. “We have more sleeping to do.”

She laughs while slipping on her dress and fastening the ties. “I want our son to snuggle with us.”

I smile and pull on my leathers, listening to her feet padding across the hut. Do I really need to pretend to be some kind of savior? To rescue the realm from its evil queen like some kind of fable? I could stay here with Rue and Vaegon, free from obligations or fear. I’m sure I have something to offer the elves that would earn my keep. Would getting rid of the queen really change anything for them? They seem to have it good here already.

A deadly growl shakes the walls and rips me out of my thoughts.

I rush into Vaegon’s room and find Rue seething down at an empty bassinet. Panic and fury take control of her face. Her fangs protrude menacingly from of her gums. It’s both striking and terrifying, but it’s painful to watch.

Where the fuck have they taken our son?

Rue’s fingers grip the bassinet so tightly that her knuckles have turned white. She screams and turns to the rocking chair. With the strength of an Alpha, she picks the entire thing up andsmashes it against the wall.

Straw spills from the cushion, and wood splinters scatter across the floor. She turns to me with a killer’s face but pleading eyes before racing out of the hut.

I quickly throw on my boots and chase after her.

She seems to know where she’s going. I blindly follow her while I try to convince myself that everything is okay. The elves are extremely selective about who they reveal themselves to. They’d never bring anyone into their hideaway they weren’t sure about. Vaegon must be okay.

But why would they sneak him out while we slept?

Whatever they’re doing, they’ve chosen a shitty way to do it. Seeing Rue so distressed fills me with rage. My magic surges to the surface. Flames spread across my hands, and my fingertips crackle with raw energy.

I worry the elves will see it as a threat, but maybe it fucking should be.

The small clearing where we met the seer comes into view. She’s there, sitting by a fire with another elven female who’s holding our son. He’s awake but seems unaffected. Seeing that he’s unarmed is a huge relief. But when they see us, the alarm on their faces tells me they’re hiding something.

I move to Rue’s side, and we charge toward them together, ready to take Vaegon back and demand an explanation.

The seer holds up her hand and casts out some kind of translucent barrier. It ripples over them like water flowing down an invisible dome. Rue reaches the barrier and pounds on it, screaming at them to give Vaegon back to us.

The seer touches his forehead with her hand and calls out a spell over him. “Tulya i calma en alassë, i orya yáve.”

She seems to have significantly stronger magic than most elves. Whatever she’s doing to Vaegon will be tough to undo. But I won’t even get to try if I can’t reach him.

I press my palms against the barrier and channel my magic into it. The elf holding Vaegon looks panicked as the barrier takes on a bright blue hue.

Rue steps back, and I push harder, pouring more of my power into the dome until it bursts into a cloud of steam. Rue stumbles forward, barely catching her footing before sprinting toward them.

But the seer is quick. She utters a single word and waves a hand over Vaegon and the other elf. They vanish, leaving Rue grasping at nothing.

---