Chapter 14 Dove
fourteen
Dove
My stomach falls as Gideon runs from me.
Was it foolish to hope we could pick up where we left off? I wasn’t going to get on my knees before him. I just wanted to know that I wasn’t the only one who felt something. I can’t even explain exactly what I want from the wolf. Is it just about sex? Is it friendship? Is it more?
It comforts me to know he is around. I don’t want to lose that. Rivern and Fury are becoming strong, permanent forces within my chest, but Gideon is something different. It scares me, knowing he could just run away without a second thought, without a way to connect to him.
A strong, smooth grip finds my hand, a kiss landing on my knuckles. “Give him time, love.” Right. Rivern and Fury can probably sense all the turmoil in my body—or it’s just written all over my face.
Having Rivern’s skin pressed to mine brings me back to the pit.
Seeing his body cocooned amongst those vipers.
How they’d wrapped their frames around him, and I slowly sang them free.
Cold, anguished fear had raced through my heart, alongside the adrenaline rush of Fury’s power.
It was a lot for my human form to handle.
I’m starting to feel the aftereffects, my side pushing into Rivern’s chest to use him as a prop.
When my fae prince was finally free from harm, the relief that washed through me was immense.
None of my body’s current woes are going to stop me, though.
I need to complete my mission, which means pushing through, finding my strength and being assertive in the face of danger—all things I would have crumbled at before.
Rivern’s hands come to wrap around my waist, pulling me in tight.
Thoughts of the wrinkles embedded between his brows as he hoisted us out of that pit like some type of Spider-man fill me with tension.
The moment he climbed out of the hole and locked eyes with Moyrie is still firmly etched into my mind.
Rivern spoke like a king, storming over to her and telling her if she was going to play games with our lives, all deals were off, threatening her with Saff burning the kingdom of Osear to the ground.
He was so angry and hurt. I could sense it all through the bond, just like he could feel my exhaustion.
I didn’t have the heart in that moment to remind him that Moyrie could not understand a word he was saying. However, by the scowl on her face, she could understand his facial expressions and hand movements well enough.
I wish I could’ve cussed her out, revoked our deal, punished her. I knew none of that would help our situation, so I walked over to Moyrie with as much courage as I could muster and asked if I had satisfied her requirements for our deal. She said yes.
That was the end of it.
We are people from different cultures. I do not presume to know her or her motives.
I will try to understand Moyrie and her people because that is what is required of me if I am to save mine.
I will push aside my feelings because, in the end, they will not overthrow Haven’s corrupt king. My deal with Fury will.
Rubbing my hands over my face, I come back to the moment. Here, with Rivern.
I shake my head, an itchy sensation coming from the scar on my neck.
I place my free hand on it. This is the first rhythm I’ve paid it any heed since being in the Sands.
Footsteps move our way. Rivern squeezes me tighter, alerting me to who it could be.
I turn to Moyrie. “Now you know I’m your Seraph,” I say, my voice exposing its serrated edge, “will you help us?”
I wish I could still use my powers. Fury’s powers. Once rage turned into a low simmer, the God magic dissipated. It seems like I can only use it for short bursts when I am truly worked up.
“You have proven yourself,” Moyrie’s slithered words make my skin crawl.
Once I’d calmed Rivern down enough to talk to Moyrie, she explained the test they had just put me through was to prove I was their Seraph.
Only the Seraph could tame the beasts created by the old Gods—in their case, the emerald snakes of Osear.
An angel sent from the stars. I scoffed at her words because I am no angel.
I am just a woman who wants someone to do right by the people she walks amongst. How hard is it to show compassion and empathy, no matter the creature?
“It is said that once the Seraph tames the beasts of old, she will be the key to unlocking the new world,” Moyrie continues. I shake my head.
“Another key?” I mumble under my breath. What don’t these people get? I am just—
“No, you are not just another creature,” the growl comes down the bond, making my spine straighten. “You are everything. Stardust brought to life, infinite in your capabilities. Don’t ever discount what you are capable of, Pet.”
Hmmm. The bond hums happily at his words, defending me against my own negative thoughts.
For the most part, my God is an annoying asshole, but in movements like these, when the smell of bonfires and warm nights wrap my naked body in an invisible hug, I can admit our bond isn’t the worst thing in the world.
“What’s this new world?” I address the female gazing towards the shells located in the centre of the crystalline sapphire lake before us.
She shrugs. “Father says it’s when peace will descend upon the lands.” Suddenly, her eyes flick from Rivern back to me. “Since you require a blooded heir from each of the Gods’ creations, your next journey will be the hardest.”
“How so?” I ask, frowning at her words. I don’t see how much more complicated things can get after I was nearly sacrificed to a pit of venomous snakes, all in the name of some prophecy. I am starting to feel a bit sick of all the Gods meddling.
“The mers—” Her sigh is audible. She runs glinting fingers over smooth scales.
“They have been our natural enemy for centuries. Their presence was the catalyst for our people learning to fight. Once we secured the dragon, they disappeared within the void for good. Until that point, stories had been told of their kind kidnapping ours.” She points across the lake at the open shells.
“This lake is fed by the ocean. We believe the mers have access to it, but we cannot hold our breaths like they can. They have the ability to breathe both on land and underwater.”
Rivern looks down, a baffled expression lining his perfect features, most likely reflecting the look on mine. His confusion, though, is present because he cannot understand a word Moyrie is saying.
People who breathe in the water and on land. How can that be?
As if summoned from the depths of my untold knowledge, Fury pipes up in my head.
“They are Oriel’s people. She was enchanted by the oceans and wanted to create a species that could thrive underwater but still converse with their neighbours on land.
She said it wouldn’t be any fun if her people couldn’t interact with Osear’s and Oona’s. ”
“And do I need to be worried about these merpeople? Are they going to try to eat us alive if we enter their waters?” Until now, I haven’t thought too much of the threat of entering new territories.
I have always been accompanied by someone who knew the people of the land.
This is the first time we will be going in completely blind.
I don’t like it one bit. Argus ruffles his wings inside me, making his apprehension known.
“Are you sure you need a blood heir from the merpeople?” I ask the daemon God in my head.
Maybe we can get by with Rivern and Moyrie.
I’ve already had enough adventure to last a lifetime.
My nerves are thoroughly frayed, especially at the untold power surging through me since bonding with Fury and now Rivern.
I feel like I’ve been holding myself together pretty well up until this point, rolling with the punches, but the task before us suddenly seems even more daunting.
“Yes.” His remark is almost snarky until he continues. “Do I need to remind you who you are, Pet?” His words catch the unsteadiness of my thoughts.
My hands tremble. I feel the grounding smell of pine wash over me, gripping me tight from behind, settling some of my nerves.
“You are more than a human. You are built of strength and grit and persistence. You are a human who has two God bonds. And you are mine. There’s no one more capable of this task.”
“Damn, that almost sounds like a compliment.” My heart swells to twice its size, forgetting about my original worries.
“I’ll compliment you all day, Pet, if it means you’ll finally understand what I’ve known all along.”
“What have you known all along?” I all but whisper down the bond.
“You are fire.”
He doesn’t say anything after that, and I’m left to ponder the interesting turn of events that have befallen us since entering the Silver Sands. Should I start to expect the unexpected? In fact, should I expect the worst? If anyone understands that, it’s me.
“So, how are we going to find these merpeople?” I question Moyrie, who is also pondering her fate, looking over the glassy waters before us.
“The void,” she responds.
Now that I’ve completed my Seraph test, it’s like I’m the new princess of the Silver Sands.
When we exited the cavern leading to the snake pits, Silver Sands people were eager to be near us—even to touch us, which was very disconcerting.
Rivern was adamantly against anyone touching me and was eager to push through the crowds.
That’s when I really started to notice the fact that we were no longer clothed, especially with the bright morning suns beating across our skin, alighting Rivern’s golden drawings on his tanned skin.
The silvers do not care about our nudity, but I definitely care that people are taking stock of my bonded’s assets. I want to rip their eyes out. Seeing my anger, Moyrie quickly ushers us back to her chambers to give us clothing.
They are more strips of material than clothing.
The articles cover sections of our bodies.
We tie the fine, natural materials around our hips to cover our bottom halves, and I am provided with a top scrap of material that Rivern helps me tie around my neck and back.
It is just enough to cover my breasts, doing nothing to hide the peaked nipples underneath.
Rivern braids my hair, weaving delicate scraps into it as he goes. I sit patiently between his legs on the bed, basking in the glory of his soothing hands on my body. With our height difference, I don’t need to manoeuvre lower than him.
“I like this,” Rivern all but smoulders with desire into my ear, running his fingertips over my pointed nipples.
I melt into him. This male… Gods, I’ll never get sick of him. His fingertips continue to trail over the sides of my thighs, lifting my skirt just as Gideon breezes in through the arched doorway.
Back in human form, he freezes at the sight of us, his warm amber eyes gliding over my face and body.
“You’re okay?” He nods in my direction. Rivern’s hands have moved out from under my skirt, resting on my waist. The position seems to be his new favourite.
“I’m fine now,” I all but croak out, the jumbled pieces of my heart doing some erratic dance in my chest at seeing the male before me. Placing a hand on my chest, I rub.
Gideon’s fists are tight beside him. “Good, because we are leaving.” On that strained note, he strides out of the curtained door, leaving me and Rivern almost lost for words.
“What’s gotten into him?” I mumble aloud.
Rivern places his lips close to my ear. “Mmmm. I can think of only one thing.” He grasps my hand and bops my nose, smiling with wicked dimples on full display.
Outside, we are greeted by a shimmering red beast of old, and I almost crumble, instead choosing to release Rivern’s hand and run to my dragon. Without touching her, I can sense she is restless, being away from her egg.
“Little human,” she rumbles. I make contact with her ruby scales, staring deeply into one of her flaming irises. “I’m sorry I could not help you.” The words come through my mind.
In no way do I expect Saff to help me fight my battles.
Plus, there is no way for her to fit down the narrow hall that leads to the underground lake.
“I have Rivern, Gideon and Fury. Just focus on keeping your egg alive, my friend.” The only task that we required of Saff was her unrivalled ability to take us where we needed to go quickly.
“Don’t count on her for your next leg, Pet,” Fury’s voice glides through my head. “The egg has begun cracking. She’ll need to flame it to finish the process.”
He imparts this news as if it’s no big deal, like baby dragons are born every day, when in fact, they are not. This is the only known dragon hatching since both Saff and her mate were created by Fury. “Dove, you will need to pass the news on to Saff.”
I murmur to the dragon before me in shock and unbridled excitement, “Fury said your egg is hatching.”
Saff’s wings lift in an arch, the sand sweeping the ground as they fall back down, a plume of smoke gushing from her nose.
“I must go, little human.” The sound is almost a war cry in her head—a mother desperate to be with her child.
Her feet shift one by one off the ground, anxious to move.
Two hands glide around my waist from behind, heat and sandalwood finding my senses.
My wolf moves our bodies back. “Go, Saff. Go take care of your baby.” On hurried, stamping feet, the dragon nods her head and jumps without another word.
A radiant joy moves through the shards of my heart.
Hope for our future. Maybe this world will come together as the silvers’ prophecy reads—a new world, where we can share the land beneath our feet without cause for harm.
A sandy wave moves to wash over our bodies, but a golden chest moves before us, encasing me in hard muscles and pure sunshine. Rivern. I sigh, knowing these men by scent and feel alone.
With Saff gone, we will be on foot from now on. I hope the void is close. Moving through the heat of the Silver Sands will be no easy feat.