Of Blood and Fire, page 30
He jumped to his feet and thumped the table hard. “This is unconscionable!”
“No, this is revenge, and damn if it doesn’t taste so sweet.”
“You can’t—”
“Oh, I can and will. Garran may rule Esan, but I am the drakkon queen. He has no sway over them. No man ever will.”
“You would rather watch Zephrine burn than come to her aid?” he said incredulously.
“After what your father did, after what you tried to do? You’re lucky we came to Zephrine’s aid in the first place. Oh, and given your murderous tendencies, if your brother—Tayte, I mean, not the myriad of half-blood ones you have running about—or any of his sons mysteriously die or otherwise disappear, be it next week, next year, or fifty years down the track, we will consider that a severing of all agreements and withdraw all drakkons that might be here.” I smiled savagely. “And in case you think I can’t, I ride the queen. None will gainsay her. Not now, not ever. No matter what allegiance their riders might have to Zephrine herself.”
Truth, Kaia said.
He stared at me, his expression apoplectic. “This is—”
“We know exactly what this is,” Garran said, and rose. “You have twenty-four hours to consider your options. Oh, and on the off chance you decide to send your tame earth mage after us, our rooms have been shielded by your half brother, and anyone trying to enter with ill intent in mind dies.”
“For fuck’s sake—” Damon ran a hand over his scalp. “Sit. We’ll go through the entire document and work out a succession plan.”
Garran hesitated, then nodded. “Fine. But be warned—I am similarly shielded against a personal attack.”
“You trust me so damn little?” Damon growled.
“Well, you haven’t exactly shone in the trustworthy stakes now, have you?” I snapped back before Garran could.
He glanced at me, amused. “You may leave. I’ll deal with the minutiae.”
I nodded, met Damon’s gaze briefly, victoriously, then turned and walked out. My Damon leaned against the wall several yards down the hall but pushed away and fell in step beside me.
“How went the meeting?”
“Better than expected. His face... it was a picture, Damon. I wish I’d had some means of capturing it so I could forever remember the moment when he realized he’d utterly lost everything he’d wanted.”
He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to his big, powerful body. “Gloating does not become you, wife. Besides, the last thing I want on our bedroom wall is a picture of my fucking brother.”
I laughed. “As Kaia would say, truth. But the main thing is, we got everything we asked for. Angola’s path now lies in the hands of her people rather than the whims of whoever sits on Zephrine’s throne, and both Esan and Zephrine can start rebuilding, both our cities and our relationship.”
“And Zephrine gets her drakkons. Not sure how wise that is.”
“They won’t get them anytime soon. Distrust runs too deep, and we need to find a lot more fire witches besides.”
“And if the Prioress is right? If future generations of drakkons are born with fire rather than gifted it? They may decide they have no need for kin.”
“Except for the fact our life forces have been entwined and there is no escaping the consequence of it. Those who bear the blood of both are now and forever linked. In the distant future, fire drakkon and kin will rule the skies over Arleeon. There will be none without fire.”
He glanced at me, his eyebrows raised. “That sounds like a prophecy.”
“No, it sounds like a reason to celebrate. Shall we retreat to our room and order Zephrine’s finest wine?”
“I would rather celebrate in the more traditional manner.”
“Oh?” I said, amusement dancing through me. “And what might that be?”
“Taking my wife to bed and making mad, passionate love to her until lust is finally satiated and neither of us can move.”
“I’m definitely liking the sound of that, husband, but satiation could take days—are you sure you’re up to the task?”
Amusement and love lurked in his expression. “You doubt my stamina, wife?”
“I’m afraid I do, husband.”
“Then I accept your challenge. Prepare to be ravished unmercifully, wife.”
And with that, he swept me up in his arms and carried me into the bedroom, where he did indeed prove how long and how hard a Zephrine half-prince could go.
It was the absolutely perfect start to our new life together.
A life filled with love, drakkons, and one day in the future, little girls who would grow up to be drakkon riders just like their mother.
ALSO BY KERI ARTHUR
IN SERIES ORDER
Dark Secrets (Black Lantern, 1)
Of Steel & Scale (Drakkon Kin, 1)
Of Scale & Blood (Drakkon Kin, 2)
Of Blood & Fire (Drakkon Kin, 3)
Crown of Shadows (Relic Hunters, 1)
Sword of Darkness (Relic Hunters, 2)
Ring of Ruin (Relic Hunters, 3)
Shield of Fire (Relic Hunters, 4)
Horn of Winter (Relic Hunters, 5)
Bia’s Blade (Relic Hunters, 6)
Geitha’s Tears (Relic Hunters, 7)
Blood Kissed (Lizzie Grace, 1)
Hell’s Bell (Lizzie Grace Series, 2)
Hunter Hunted (Lizzie Grace, 3)
Demon’s Dance (Lizzie Grace, 4)
Wicked Wings (Lizzie Grace, 5)
Deadly Vows (Lizzie Grace, 6)
Magic Misled (Lizzie Grace, 7)
Broken Bonds (Lizzie Grace, 8)
Sorrow’s Song (Lizzie Grace, 9)
Wraith’s Revenge (Lizzie Grace, 10)
Killer’s Kiss (Lizzie Grace, 11)
Shadow’s End (Lizzie Grace, 12)
Blackbird Rising (The Witch King’s Crown, 1)
Blackbird Broken (The Witch King’s Crown, 2)
Blackbird Crowned (The Witch King’s Crown, 3)
Unlit (Kingdoms of Earth & Air, 1)
Cursed (Kingdoms of Earth & Air, 2)
Burn (Kingdoms of Earth & Air, 3)
City of Light (Outcast Series, 1)
Winter Halo (Outcast Series, 2)
The Black Tide (Outcast Series, 3)
Fireborn (Souls of Fire Series, 1)
Wicked Embers (Souls of Fire Series, 2)
Flameout (Souls of Fire Series, 3)
Ashes Reborn (Souls of Fire Series, 4)
Darkness Unbound (Dark Angels Series, 1)
Darkness Rising (Dark Angels Series, 2)
Darkness Devours (Dark Angels Series, 3)
Darkness Hunts (Dark Angels Series, 4)
Darkness Unmasked (Dark Angels Series, 5)
Darkness Splintered (Dark Angels Series, 6)
Darkness Falls (Dark Angels Series, 7)
Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Series, 1)
Kissing Sin (Riley Jenson Series, book 2)
Tempting Evil (Riley Jenson Series, 3)
Dangerous Games (Riley Jenson Series, 4)
Embraced by Darkness (Riley Jenson Series, 5)
The Darkest Kiss (Riley Jenson Series, 6)
Deadly Desire (Riley Jenson Series, 7)
Bound to Shadows (Riley Jenson Series, 8)
Moon Sworn (Riley Jenson Series, 9)
With Friends Like These (Stand Alone Novel)
Destiny Kills (Myth & Magic Series, 1)
Mercy Burns (Myth & Magic Series, 2)
Circle of Fire (Damask Circle Series, 1)
Circle of Death (Damask Circle Series, 2)
Circle of Desire (Damask Circle Series, 3)
Beneath a Rising Moon (Ripple Creek Series, 1)
Beneath a Darkening Moon (Ripple Creek Series, 2)
Memory Zero (Spook Squad Series, 1)
Generation 18 (Spook Squad Series, 2)
Penumbra (Spook Squad Series, 3)
Dancing with the Devil (Nikki & Michael Series, 1)
Hearts in Darkness (Nikki & Michael Series, 2)
Chasing the Shadows (Nikki & Michael Series, 3)
Kiss the Night Goodbye (Nikki & Michael series, 4)
Lifemate Connections: Eryn (Novella)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Keri Arthur, the author of the New York Times bestselling Riley Jenson Guardian series, has written more than sixty novels–35 of them with traditional publishers Random House/Penguin/Piatkus—and is now fully self-published. She’s won seven Australian Romance Readers Awards for Favourite Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or Futuristic Romance & the Romance Writers of Australia RBY Award for Speculative Fiction. Her Lizzie Grace series won ARRA’s Fav Continuing Romance Series in 2022 and she has in the past won The Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Urban Fantasy. When she’s not at her computer writing the next book, she can be found somewhere in the Australian countryside taking photos.
for more information:
www.keriarthur.com
keriarthurauthor@gmail.com
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www.payhip.com/KeriArthur
Keri Arthur, Of Blood and Fire
