Page 129 of Wrath of the Dragons
I look at him, but he averts his eyes to the knife as he clenches his jaw.
When I flip the page, my breath is ripped from me as if I’ve been punched in the stomach. I trail my shaking finger over the small dragons staring back at me. They’re so tiny they could fit in the palm of my hand if they hatched today rather than when I was an infant. I turn another page, and a detailed description of Sorin follows: his breed, his size, how his egg was incubated, his strengths, weaknesses, and personality traits. They’re all details I’ve shared with Cayden in passing, thinking nothing of it as I rambled about my memories or things I learned.
Several drawings of Sorin in various positions and from different angles fill the parchment, followed by more pages dedicated to the other four. Judging from both the weight and size of the book, I think all twenty-four years have been illustrated, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the twenty-fifth year is there as well considering our birthday is only a few weeks away. I’m a year older, which is so strange to think considering I view them as oversized babies.
I keep flipping as my heart fills to the brim and overflows, hugging the book to my chest after looking at an aged seven Venatrix so my tears don’t bleed through the page. Cayden reaches forward to wipe them from my cheeks, looking as if I’ve stabbed him.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he murmurs. “If you hate it, you can toss it into the sea, and we never have to speak of it again.”
I shake my head. “H-how?”
He licks his lips. “It was nothing, don’t worry about it.”
“This isn’tnothing,” I adamantly state. “This must’ve cost a fortune.”
“You mentioned how much it hurt you to not know what they looked like as they grew up.” He shrugs. “I just wanted to try to give you back a piece of what Garrick stole. I know it’s not the same as—”
I shut him up with a kiss, climbing between his legs with the book still pressed firmly to my chest. His pulse thunders through him, and he threads his hands through my hair. I pour all the worries and anxieties that drove me up here into him, letting his love burn them away. I want to be here with him, not lost in my head or worrying about a future that hasn’t come to pass. But even the sweetest fruits ripen and rot; nothing lasts forever, but clinging to him makes me feel like I can alter that inevitable path.
“You don’t hate it?” he asks, pulling away.
“I love it.” I blink away the remainder of my tears. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“Fuck,” he breathes, the tension fully melting from his broad shoulders as he tightens his arms around me and pulls me into his chest. “Thank the gods. For a second I debated jumping over the railing with the book.”
I scrunch my nose. “I think I’ll keep you around for a bit, Veles.”
“Mmmm,” he mumbles. “How generous.”
He kisses me again, threading his fingers through my hair and holding me against him while I flip through the book. There are times when it gets to be too much, where the pain is overwhelming and I have to set it aside, but he continues holding me as dawn breaks over the horizon and I’ve read through it all.
Chapter
Sixty-four
Elowen
All too soon, the graveyardof ships I left behind in Port Celestria juts from the ocean and I send the dragons forward. Their flames burn what remains, and we hoist anchor to sail through the ash, getting as close to the shore as possible before filing into rowboats. Vareveth soldiers fill the beach and begin cheering as they spot their king and queen coming to shore with an armada at our backs. I’m buried in my dark blue-and-black leathers and furs with my sapphire and moonstone crown resting over my forehead. The cold feels even stronger after spending all that time in the Galakin sun.
“How are you holding up, princey?” Finnian asks Zale.
“I’ll let you know if my balls freeze off,” he mutters through a shuddering breath.
“I eagerly await the update.”
Zale snickers in response as our boat wedges itself in the wet sand, and I step out onto my land, onto my home. I kneel and coat my palm in the coarse sand, rubbing it through my fingers. I will have the life I want after I spill the blood of those who try to take it from me.
“The wards are gone,” I say. “As is their army.”
“Garrick and Fallon must’ve ordered the army to retreat to Zinambra. They’ll have a better chance at facing our army as one considering we have our full force,” Cayden answers.
“So it all comes down to one battle.”
One battle to determine the fate of thousands.
The fate of the Imirath throne.
The fate of everyone I love.
