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“Mother sang it to us, didn’t she?” I asked.
She nodded then looked away, swiping at her eyes.
I pulled my knees to my chest, remembering with surprising clarity singing this song while tucking them into a bed with a low ceiling. I remembered having to climb a ladder to get into bed, sleeping there first with just Shiri as children, and then with my daughters pressed between us. I released a slow breath of air while recalling the cramped cabin we shared with our parents. Below our loft bed was a modest kitchen, a hearth, and then a narrow bedroom for our parents in the back. “A few more memories are coming back now.”
“I resent our parents for taking you from us,” Shiri blurted, swiping at her eyes again.
I swallowed back bile while looking at my sister as shadows fell over her glossy eyes. “So do I.”
Tari
AFTER LEAVING SHIRI and the girls, I dreaded returning to my shifter mates, for I sensed I’d have to endure a lecture from Ash. I did my best to ignore my mates’ looks of longing as they sat on top of their furs staring after me like they were starving wolves and I was a big, juicy lamb.
Tari, Ash called in my mind.
I’ll be right back, I answered curtly as I made my way toward Helian on the other side of the camp. He was tied to a big tree, his eyes wide as he watched my every move. Nobody had bothered to build Helian a fire, though I supposed he didn’t need one with Radnor sleeping close by. Smoke billowed out of the monster’s nostrils, warming the air and keeping any mosquitoes at bay.
I stopped in front of Helian, waving the acrid stench of smoke out of my face. “How do you feel?”
He tilted his chin, flashing a soft smile. He had a tenderness in his eyes, the same look I remembered from our time together on the Fallax Islands. “Better, now that I’ve had food and drink.” He nodded toward a spot in front of him. “Won’t you sit with me?”
I took a step back, as if he could somehow untangle himself and reach for me. “I have to return to my mates.”
A look of pain flashed in his eyes before he plastered on another smile. “I’m your mate, too.”
“So you’re acknowledging it now?” I was hardly aware of the words before they came out like searing arrows as a bitter resentment bubbled up from somewhere deep within my heart. I’d been so worried that Helian had perished in the blast that I hadn’t acknowledged the anger that had been there. But there it was, and I couldn’t shake it now. He’d rejected me and then pledged himself to another. Damn him.
“Yes.” He swallowed, looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. “And I’ll never deny it again.”
I looked away, instinctively crossing my arms. “Do you know what happened to your father?” I didn’t know why I’d chosen this moment to tell him that my shifter mates had shredded Fachnan to pieces. Was it because I wanted him to find out from me before he heard it from someone else, or was I just wanting to avoid talking about our relationship?
He frowned, his voice taking on a darker edge. “Radnor told me.”
I didn’t ask how the dragon had found out. No doubt he’d come across other dragons on his travels.
I picked up a twig, absently peeling away its bark while trying not to look at Helian. “How do you feel about that?”
“He got what he deserved.”
My gaze shot to his, and I was shocked to see not a hint of moisture in his eyes. “You don’t resent your brothers?”
“Absolutely not.” He let out a burst of bitter-sounding laughter. “He wouldn’t have rested until my mother and brothers were dead.” His eyes narrowed to slits. “And if he found out about your girls, he would’ve killed them, too.”
Bile projected into my throat at the thought. “I would’ve turned him to ash first.”
He slanted a grin, a note of pride in his voice. “Well, now you don’t need to thanks to my brothers.”
I didn’t know if I should’ve been unnerved or relieved at Helian’s reaction to his father’s death. I stretched my arms to the sky while purposely avoiding looking into Helian’s eyes, though I could feel his penetrating gaze upon me with the intensity of a summer sun. “I have to get some sleep.”
“Goodnight, my love.” His voice dripped with syrupy sweetness. “I’ll be holding you in my dreams.”
I curled my hands into claws, resisting the urge to slap him. “Goodnight,” I mumbled, stomping back to the furs.
I walked back toward my mates with a heavy step and an even heavier heart while Ash’s dark gaze bore holes through me. I dreaded the lecture that was sure to come. I stopped to check on my rabbits, who were resting between ours and Shiri’s furs. My mates had made a pen for Demon and Angel out of melon-sized stones with a little hidey cave in one corner. Though they could easily hop over the barrier, they preferred to remain inside, exploring their shallow cave and grazing on fresh, dewy grass and flowers. I’d grown all their favorites, plus sprinkled oats throughout. I leaned over the pen, petting both of their heads, all while I could feel Ash’s dark gaze boring holes through my back.
With a resigned sigh, I slipped beneath the furs between Ash and Finn.
Ash turned to me, his brow creased in a heavy frown. How long have you known about the baby? he projected to me through thought.
