Page 4 of Taloned Heart

Abraxas frowned. “Go? I thought we were parting ways here.”

The two women looked at each other and then back at him. Clearly, they had been talking while he had packed their things in the cabin.

He hated it when they did this.

Again, he rolled his eyes to the skies and counted to ten before he looked back at them. “What plan have you two cooked up, then?”

Lore eyed him as though he were going to argue. “I think we should look around the docks first. I’m not sure what is the best way to tackle this kingdom, nor do either of us know what has changed. Margaret clearly has her claws in everything and I want to know what that means, and just how much she’s affected before we make any more plans.”

Why would he argue with that? Hadn’t he been telling her the same thing?

His woman was the most annoying person he’d ever met, and yet, he was madly in love with her.

Abraxas gave them both a nod and then reached for the bag that Lore held. “Lead the way, ladies. I won’t get in the way while the two of you plot.”

“I can carry that,” Lore said with a little grumble.

But he didn’t give it back. He gave her a very unimpressed stare before he jerked his chin to the plank that would bring them down onto the docks. Let her try to take it from him. He was nothing if he wasn’t a gentleman, and his woman would not carry all her own bags.

He was no fool. Nor was he anyone’s whipping boy. He just wanted to make sure she was happy and comfortable. It wasn’t too much to ask.

Lore shook her head at him, but he saw the glittering pleasure in her eyes. She loved it when he did things like this. It reminded her that she wasn’t alone.

Meanwhile, Allura gagged. “The two of you are disgusting, you know that?”

“Ah, you’re just jealous.”

“A bit,” she grumbled as she started down onto the docks. “You can come to my house to get settled if you want. I can’t host you for long, though. I don’t intend on staying here.”

He tilted his head to the side as he watched Lore balance down the gangplank without any issue. “Itching to get back to the sea already, siren?”

As he joined them, his booted feet heavy on the plank that groaned underneath his weight, he felt the air still around him. Abraxas looked at the siren, only to see her staring off into the shambles of buildings with a troubled expression on her face.

“No, it just feels like something is wrong. I don’t want to be here when it all boils to the surface.” She shook her head, and then gestured for them to follow her. “Come on.”

Abraxas remembered many of the times he’d been here. The docks were a mixture of mortals and magical creatures. They moved as one. The sea brought everyone here, and many of them had learned how to get along with each other. A very different place than the rest of the kingdom.

Zander had hated it. As had his father. Both devious kings thought that the magical creatures shouldn’t be near humans.

The first time he’d come here, Abraxas had been shocked to see them all. Together. Working as one and teasing each other as they went about their day in whatever safe manner they could manage. The docks weren’t safe. They were a place where the rough and the dangerous ended up to survive.

And yet, it was always still full of life. He’d always known that there was a place here, in this kingdom, where magic and non-magic could live with camaraderie.

Until now.

As they walked through the streets, he scented the air and listened for whatever he could find. There were no humans left. Only magical creatures darted from the shadows and moved along to get their labor done for the day. And none of those creatures looked well.

He noticed a small pixie who ran across their path. The woman’s face was gaunt and dark hollows underneath her eyes suggested an exhaustion that only came from being overworked. She looked terrified that she’d even seen them, and then raced away into the shadows.

None of this was normal. None of it was right.

He stepped closer to the women ahead of him and muttered underneath his breath, “What is going on?”

“Not sure.” Allura peered down a dark alley before making a low sound in her throat. “There should be a lot more people here. At least a hundred more, if not two hundred.”

“That’s what I thought.” Abraxas made to look down another one of the streets, but again, it seemed... “Abandoned?”

“No reason for it. This is the only place any of them can go. They don’t hide from the crown anywhere else in the kingdom, that’s for certain. Besides, sailors are sailors for life.” Allura’s troubled expression deepened, furrows carving through her face. “I know nothing that would have made them leave.”

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