Page 81 of The Kraken Bride

I woke in bed, alone. The door between our suites was open, but there was no sign of him nearby.

All I could see? Treasure chests. Dozens of them. Lining the walls, stacked on the furniture, spilling over. Gold coins, mounded and gleaming. More gold than I’d ever seen in my life.

My dragon practically purred. She was so easy.

A note sat on my nightstand. The paper carried his scent.

An apology will never be good enough.

Love,

Bastian

The ink writing the word love bled slightly, as though his pen had lingered.

Sighing, I clutched the paper to my chest and stared up at the ceiling, where clear water churned. Sebastian thought he had something to atone for. That if he laid gold at my feet, if he suffered long enough, hard enough, I might decide he’d earned his way back to me.

But I didn’t need him punished. I just simply needed him.

Only… how did I make Sebastian understand that?

Olyssa might know. My eldest sister had turned every member of her husband’s family to ash, yet they’d still gotten their happily ever after. She’d know exactly how I should proceed. And since my bargain with Sebastian had been fulfilled, I could discuss it now.

I rose from bed, dressed, and plunged my hands into the chests. Though I wanted to pocket handfuls of gold coins, I did not. He hoped to buy my forgiveness, and I refused to accept a gift for something I’d already freely given.

Oh, who was I kidding? I pocketed one coin. Just one.

Two coins.

Five.

Through the ring on my finger, I signaled my sister.

Olyssa, I need you.

The reply came within seconds.

Head to the traveling stones.

No one stopped me as I requested a car. The driver did not question my choice of destination. As we soared along the roads, morning light filtered through the dome in rippling blue ribbons.

We reached the warehouse where one of Sebastian’s traveling stones was guarded. Soldiers didn’t stop me as I walked the base. By the time I stood before the massive stone arch, I all but frothed at the mouth, eager to hear whatever queenly wisdom my eldest sister imparted.

But it was Adelaide who stepped through, still typing on her phone.

I blinked.

“There’s the happy bride,” she called, finally glancing up. Sable hair, emerald eyes, the same infuriating calm she’d had since we were hatchlings.

“I called for Olyssa.” Not the woman whose longest relationship was with her phone.

My sister spread her arms wide. “Congrats! You got an upgrade.”

“Where is she?” I asked.

She fluttered her fingers. “Busy doing queen stuff. There was mention of a territorial dispute, someone threatening someone else. Blah, blah, blah. I stopped listening.”

“Adelaide.”