Chapter Fourteen
WREN
Iwoke to the soft sound of wings. They were not flapping, but restless and uneasy. It took me a moment to remember why.
The child. Ronan had gone off to get her. Had he returned? Had Benedict left secretly after I’d fallen asleep?
My own wings trembled before my eyes even opened.
I inhaled deeply and caught his scent and Kieran’s. Still here.
I resisted the urge to cry. I’d been crying a lot.
Apparently, that was normal, according to Enya. She insisted that producing a living being in my body meant emotions were now overflowing like a tipped bucket.
But something was still wrong, beyond all of that.
The treehouse vibrated with a pulse so strong that I felt through the bedding. Someone paced just outside the nest, trying not to wake me.
“Benedict?” I croaked.
He froze, then turned back, lowering himself beside me, eyes dark with exhaustion and worry. His face was pale—too pale. He was worried.
“Wren,” he whispered. “How do you feel?”
“Fine. Where’s Ronan? Is he back yet?”
Benedict didn’t answer. A cold shard of fear stabbed me clean through.
No. And he needed backup.
“And—” My breath hitched. “They should be back by now. I’ve been sleeping for a while, haven’t I?”
Silence stretched too long.
Benedict exhaled. “They’re both gone. North. Ronan left the wards to chase her.”
Everything in me tightened from my chest to my wings and throat.
I shouldn’t have stood, but I did. “We have to go after them—”
“No.” He caught my elbow gently, acting as if I were made of glass. “Wren. You cannot fly yet. You know this.”
My eyes burned with fresh tears that burned hot, angry, helpless.
“I’m the queen,” I croaked. “I can’t just lie here while a child is missing. I’m feeling better now, I–”
But even as I said it, my voice cracked. I didn’t want him to go. He was my top mate, and I needed him with me. I didn’t know what to do, torn between my duties as a queen and a soon to be mother.
Gods, this was awful.
“Kieran is here with Firya and Garith.”
I blinked and stood quickly as Perri’s parents hovered outside the treehouse on the platform, faces hollow, eyes swollen from crying.
Firya clutched a tiny carved wooden toy in her hands, rocking it unconsciously, her long red hair in disarray.
Her mate, Garith, looked lost in anger and sorrow, the only thing keeping him tethered to reality was his grip on Firya.
My heart broke for them.
“Come, let us walk.” I descended the winding ramp slowly with them, every step a negotiation with aching muscles. When we reached the bottom, Firya collapsed into my arms, her sob turning sharp and animal.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, holding her tight as my own tears blurred the world. “I’m so, so sorry. We will bring her home.”
Garith bowed his head, trembling. “I must go. Please let me go.” He directed this behind me at Benedict and Kieran, who had followed.
Nerissa stepped forward then, her expression grave before anyone could answer. “The wards above the volcano ridge are thinner. Nuva and I checked them. They’ve been weakening since the Overlord perished. One strong push from above and the barrier cracked. We can fix it though, I believe.”
Nuva, stoic and solemn, touched the volcanic rock. “Bloodmagick here is old. Older than your enclaves. It’s shifting. Weakening in high places.”
“So anyone could breach it?” Kieran gasped.
“Not anyone,” Nerissa corrected. “Something powerful. Or someone who knows draken magic intimately.”
The name hovered unspoken.
Veskor.
A cold shiver spiraled through the crowd.
“So any random creature can just walk onto my island, or just random drakens?” I demanded, pain throbbing through my belly. I needed to sit down. I needed to plan. I needed to sleep. I needed to save everyone.
Before I could force myself to stand straighter and decide what the fuck to do, the sky cracked with the beating of enormous wings, and shadows fell across the clearing.
The wards fed me information: two drakens. Mated.
Mated?
Swords were drawn. Witches scattered and children were tucked away; Garith hissed and covered his mate with his wings. Benedict and Kieran growled, flanking me, bloodmagick flaring across everyone’s skin and scales. Guards rushed in, everyone tense and waiting.
“Veskor!” someone shouted.
“No,” Benedict snapped. “Not him.”
Two forms descended and they were massive, strong, and unmistakably draken. Gasps erupted.
“All of you down!” Benedict ordered.
The drakens were all forced to their bellies, groaning as their bodies folded into a submissive position. Benedict shoved an arm in front of me, and Kieran flared his wings wide to shield the platform.
My heart stuttered painfully.
Not again. Not tonight.
The first stranger landed first with a thundering crack of claws against earth.
A female.
Benedict realized it first and forced the unmated males down.
Smart, even if she was mated.
The female draken’s pale scales illuminated her silhouette like a ghost, purple eyes wide with excitement. She straightened to her full height and bared her teeth in what might have been a smile. Her wings flared, gold scales proudly showing off the colors of her mate.
Benedict went rigid beside me.
“Kaida,” Nerissa said, moving forward to embrace the strange draken. Everything shifted after that, tension bleeding from Benedict’s shoulders.
“You know them?” he demanded.
“From the other island?” Kieran asked, curious.
The newcomer’s gaze flicked from Nerissa to Wren to Benedict to me and back. She didn’t look surprised, but instead thrilled.
A gold draken landed heavily next to her, eyeing us warily. Benedict and Kieran puffed out their chests. He wasn’t as large as Canavar, but looked like he could still give Kieran or Benedict a run for their money.
“Who are you?” Benedict demanded.
The female—Kaida—trilled and wrapped herself around the golden draken. “We went out searching, and here we are.”
Silence.
Benedict opened his mouth, wanting answers.
Canavar strode up beside her, chest puffed, wings stretched wide. “We vouch for them. If anyone tries to attack them, you answer to me.”
The gathering crowd mumbled nervously, backing away.
Nerissa jabbed a thumb at the strangers. “This one is Kaida,” she announced. “And this is her mate, Nasi. They stumbled across us on the southern currents and asked for parley. They are part of our enclave.”
Kaida dipped her head gracefully. “We mean no harm. In fact, I have been searching for you.”
Her eyes pinned Benedict, who froze at the female’s complete attention directed at him. Something in me heated at that, uncertainty and insecurity gnawing at me with sharp teeth.
Nasi nodded. “We were following Nerissa, trying to assist with finding Anar. We also felt a disturbance in the wards here. We came to see if someone needed aid. Since her ship was docked here, we figured you’d found him?”
The shift in the crowd was slow and wary.
“Anar is dead, his ashes scattered to the wind,” Nerissa muttered, bowing her head.
Kaida and Nasi glanced at each other, then put a fist across their chests and bowed their heads as well. A breath I didn’t know I’d been holding escaped me.
“Thank you,” I said shakily, stepping forward despite Kieran’s growl. Benedict was still doing his best impersonation of a statue, still as stone. “Now that you mention it, our island is under threat. A child has been taken, and as you see, our wards are weakened.”
Kaida’s eyes sharpened instantly. “Taken?”
“By a rogue draken,” Kieran answered. “Our mate is close to birth and reluctant to let us leave her side.”
I blushed.
Nasi’s wings bristled. “Then you will need trackers.”
“And fighters,” Kaida added.
A hum rippled through the onlookers—hope for some, fear for others.
Kieran exhaled hard, shooting a concerned look at Benedict. “We could use both.”
I swayed slightly, exhaustion punching through me. Kieran caught my elbow.
“You should sit,” he murmured. “Don’t overdo it.”
“I can’t—not while a child is missing.”
But my vision wavered anyway. What use was I? They’d all leave and I’d be forgotten, useless.
Kieran stepped closer. “Wren. Please.”
Before I could argue, Firya caught my hands again.
“Queen Wren,” she whispered. “We don’t need you to fly. We don’t need you to fight. We only need to know you care.”
Tears burned my eyes.
“I care,” I whispered, “more than anything.”
Nerissa touched my shoulder. “Then rest while we hunt. This is perfect. Nasi and Canavar work well together, and have for years. They can track down your drakling, your mate, and this rogue together. We will bring everyone back and demand answers. Your mates can stay here, with you, and help rebuild the wards.”
I closed my eyes briefly and nodded. Benedict shot Nerissa a glare, clearly not thrilled by the news. But he didn’t protest.
Instead he turned to Kaida and Nasi. “Who are you?”
His hands shook worse than mine.
“Benedict?” I asked. Hadn’t they already introduced themselves? I didn’t like the uneasy feeling in my chest at the way Benedict stared at Kaida like a long-lost lover.
I bit my lip.
Kaida moved between us. “Why don’t we sit down somewhere more private? You should rest, so close to your time!” Her nostrils flared as she took in our scents. My cheeks heated, wondering how much she could pick up on one sniff.
“Very well, come up into our treehouse,” Benedict offered.
I tried the first step up but pain shot through my hips. Kieran noticed and scooped me up immediately, bundling me to his chest. I couldn’t help the yawn that escaped me.
Our strange procession made it up the treehouse. My anxiety calmed the moment I stepped inside, and snuggled down into my cushions.
“Enya, do you and the others mind giving us some privacy?” Kieran asked. Enya’s head tilted to the side when she saw Kaida, eyes bulging.
“Kavni—” Enya gasped out.
“No,” Benedict grunted. “Kavni is dead. With all our other females.”
Kavni? Who was Kavni?
Enya was across the room in a flash, holding Kaida’s face in her hands and crying. What was going on?
Kaida gently took Enya’s wrists in her hands. “I am not Kavni.”
Enya blinked, pulling away. “Of–of course not. My apologies.”
She left the room, still looking stunned.
Kieran arranged me better in the cushions, and the two new drakens sat across from Benedict, Kieran and I, with Canavar and Nerissa between us.
“So who are you, and why is my mate staring at you like you’re his long lost lover?” I demanded.