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Everything in me wants to charge in and burn the Silver Horde to the ground once and for all. They took my parents from me and now they have my mate. But going in hot andheavy might get Finley killed. Or Midas. I can’t let that happen.
It could also just reignite the wars that only recently stopped. The new queen of the Silver Horde seems different from her parents. I don’t think she really wants a war.
Goddess, let this work.
I swallow my anger and tamp down on the deep-seated need for revenge. “I think we need to be more strategic.”
Midas growls. “How can you say that? They have your mate!”
“That’s exactly why I don’t want to charge in there!” I force a breath. “Every time we fight the Silver Horde, we end up with casualties, and so do they. I don’t think any of us want that. I don’t think that’s what Adrianna Ra'a wants either. If she wanted to start a war, she would have just killed Finley. She took her instead.”
I look around the group. Damian. Aeson. Jethro. And many others I’ve known my whole life. I care about each of them and don’t want them hurt. My gaze lands on Midas last. Midas, with a new baby at home. Midas, who always advised me to act with caution. Maybe I’m finally learning. Even if it makes every muscle in my body ache and vibrate in resistance.
“What do you suggest?” Midas asks through tight teeth.
“I want to go in alone.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Absolutely not.”
“Midas, listen to me.” I sigh, feeling as if I’m seeing clearly for the first time in my life. “I don’t want war with the Silver Horde.” Not anymore. Not with my mate at stake. “I know you don’t either. So let me go in alone. Let me talk to them, negotiate, find out what they want.”
Just then, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and look at the text message before holding it out so Midas can see.
Silver Ra'a:Your princess is quite entertaining, even if she has been poorly educated.
“Fuck.” I hadn’t thought about the implications of Finley spending time with the Silver Horde, but they have no reason to keep her in the dark about what we are. It should have come from me. I’d planned to tell her after the party. But then everything went wrong, and now she’s in danger, surrounded by people who are probably blowing her mind with information and dismantling everything she’s ever believed about the world.About me.Will she even want me now that she knows I’m a dragon?
Silver Queen:I was going to negotiate for her return, but perhaps she’d prefer to remain with a horde that won’t keep her in the dark.
The flicker of an idea flashes in my mind.
“No,” Midas says before I can even say it.
I tighten my jaw, grinding my teeth. Heart pounding, I meet Midas’s stony gaze. “Invite her to the naming ceremony.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Jethro says.
Midas and I stare each other down. He knows the Silver Horde won’t try anything at the Temple of Gold, just as we wouldn’t try anything at the Temple of Silver. The Goddess’s homes are sacred.
“This is my path, Midas.” I set my jaw and stand straight. “It solves more than one problem at once.”
“Can you really do it?” He asks more quietly, his hands coming to rest on my shoulders, his face pinched in concern.
It took me a long time to work through my hatred for the Silver Horde after my parents died—I’m not sure I’ve fully finished that work, maybe I never will—but all I feel now is a burning need to prevent an all out war and have Finley back by my side.
Midas studies me intently. “What are you willing to give for her?”
“Everything.”
Chapter 31
Finley
Flying on a dragon’sback is much better than flying in their claws. Not sure why that’s the thing I’m fixated on as we soar over the water toward what I’ve been told is the Temple of Gold, but it really is better. Almost enjoyable.
Maybe I’m still in shock.
Last night, after the Queen answered the bare minimum of my questions—the most surprising being that Cyrus is in fact a dragon, something I’m still trying to decide if I believe—she locked me in a room and told me to sleep.
