Page 49 of The Dragon's Gambit
Even in the fairy world, merrows were often avoided. Now she would have to seek out their queen in order to retrieve the Ocean’s Tear. Merrows were not very pleasant, but the Queen of the Merrows was known to be downright cruel and vicious. She wasn’t one to be reasoned with.
“I suggest you take your horse and bear with you if you embark on this journey. You’ll need strong allies in your corner.”
“You’ve got that right.” Reiya chuckled and shook her head. “Wait ... you told my mom about this. What did she say?”
“I only told your mother what the Ocean’s Tear was. I didn’t tell her where you would have to go to get it. Knowing your mother, she would have stormed down to the Merrow Queen and demanded it herself.” Grandpa Sage began to chuckle, and Reiya nodded her head, laughing along with him.
Reiya knew her mother would have. It was a good thing she didn’t know about it. There was no way she would approve of her seeking out the Queen of the Merrows. She knew she would need Brody and Chelsie with her, but how would they react to hearing what she had to do? She would tell them about it, since it wouldn’t be fair to drag them into a dangerous situation without them knowing the stakes.
“Could I not just fight the merrows and claim the Ocean’s Tear?” Yes, this would be an act of war against the merrows, but she wanted to at least know if it was an option.
“If she refuses to give you the Ocean’s Tear and instead tries to claim your life, indeed, you should fight back. However, killing the queen will not give you the Ocean’s Tear. She has to summon it from wherever she has it hidden. I’m sorry. I don’t know much. What I know is just from the legends of the Ocean’s Tear. Levi would know the most about it, but it’s obviously something you can’t talk to him about. If he even suspects you plan to retrieve it, I don’t know what he’ll do.”
Reiya nodded her head in agreement. She knew that Lee would come up with some sort of plan in order to keep her safe. If he ended up being sealed, he could ask Xander to keep her captive. She knew he wouldn’t want her to risk her life, but that wasn’t how she looked at it.Pfft. To hell with that merrow. She has another thing coming if she thinks she can easily kill the fairy princess. If she fights, it will be her end, not mine.
Her skills as a water elemental would be useless against a merrow, though. Honestly, this task would be more fitting for her mother, a fire elemental. Bringing her mother along would be too risky, though. The demons had their gaze fixed on Elysia and would be watching her movements. No, this task would have to be her burden to carry.
“Thank you, Grandpa Sage. I knew you would tell me what I needed to know, and that is that there’s hope. There are options.” Reiya appreciated his honesty with her. She knew he was telling her this for his people’s sake as well, making them mutual beneficiaries, since they both had something to gain.
“I’m afraid I don’t know where to find the Queen of the Merrows. Her location has never been disclosed.”
Reiya smiled and looked at him confidently. “Being the princess of the fairies does have some perks. I know where to find her.” This was also where having a kelpie as a friend would come in handy. Reiya stood up and smiled at the older man. “Thank you once again.” She watched him nod his head as sheturned and headed to the door. She turned and looked at him once more. “I understand why you said this needs to be kept secret from Lee. It’s because he might stop me. But there’s no reason other than that? It doesn’t change anything for him to have this knowledge, right?”
“No, but do you think he would allow you to embark on such a dangerous journey?” The old man smiled gently at her.
She smiled. “Probably not. But I just ... I just don’t know how comfortable I would feel taking his immortality away without directly asking. I guess I’ll just have to think about it for a while. Thank you again.”
She then opened the door and walked out of the room, satisfied she’d gotten the answers she needed. She would now need to discuss them with the two people who were waiting for her outside the room. She needed them on board and to keep it secret. Reiya closed the door and her gaze flicked between Chelsie and Brody. She would need to find a private place to confide these new secrets.
“You know something, huh? By the look in your eyes, you have some interesting news.” Chelsie smirked, folding her arms over her chest.
“Why do I feel like you’re going to be marching into danger?” Brody sighed and shook his head. Yep, being her guardian had to be harder than being Lita’s or Hunter’s.
“I do have some things to discuss with you two, but we’ll need to do so privately. And it will have to be just between the three of us.” Reiya looked up at them and saw Chelsie beaming.
“Keeping secrets from your mate but including us ... I feel so special again. I knew you wouldn’t forget that I’m your favorite, even after taking a mate.” Chelsie bounced over to Reiya and lifted her into a hug.
“Why would I ever forget you two? Not to mention, how could I? We’re always together.” Reiya giggled. She could see that awave of worry had actually left Chelsie’s face. It must have been something she was truly concerned about. She thought she was going to end up losing her friend. That would never happen, ever. Who would drop their friends just because they found their mate? Well, kelpies did all the time, so she understood where her concern came from.
“Reiya could discard you, but never me. I’m bound to her for eternity.” Brody poked at Chelsie, who turned and shot daggers at him.
“And I cry for her every day because she’s stuck with you.” Chelsie straightened up and turned to face the annoying bear.
“Okay you two. Let’s see if we can find a—”
“Reiya!”
Reiya turned and looked behind her to see Reese jogging up to her. As he got closer to her, she noticed how his eyes trailed her up and down.Damn it, Chelsie. You made me eye candy!A streak of red rose over his face and then he cleared his throat.
“My king has ordered me to accompany you throughout the day. I am now your personal guard.”
Greeeaaat, now I’ll never have any private time. I can mindlink Brody easily enough, but I’d still need to get Chelsie alone to talk. Well, I have time. I’ll have to wait until I get my next opportunity.Reiya gave him a forced smile.
“Yuck! She doesn’t need a worm following her around constantly. She has me and Brody. No one would be able to lay a hand on her. Though, wandering eyes might still be a problem.” Chelsie didn’t hold any punches, making sure to embarrass the young man. His face shaded nearly purple with embarrassment, and he looked down at the ground, knowing he’d been caught.
“Chelsie, we aren’t going to cause any trouble for him. It isn’t his fault Xander ordered him to be here. You should take your grievances up with him,” Reiya said, trying to smooth the situation out. She felt sorry for the guy. She could see hewas really embarrassed, and Brody and Chelsie seemed to be relishing it. Yep, they were a lot alike in that sense.
“I’m sorry if me being around is a problem. I’m just following orders to protect his mate in his absence.”
