Page 234 of Spring Guardians & Songbirds

“Was hoping you would get her convinced that she was not needed,” I said.

Thora sat up taller. “I am coming, and I will see the ship. Meet you both tomorrow morning. Mal has promised to take me down to Lyra to see the prophecy. I keep debating with him that I am not the dragon but the dire wolf. My wind magic is not nearly as strong as the ice part.”

“What about dinner?” Kilian asked. “Do I ask the cook to make you the potato bake?”

“No, I’m having dinner with Larg and his family.” With that, she turned on her heels and left toward the gardens, hopping along to a melody she hummed.

“She is getting along well here,” I remarked.

Kilian pinched my chin. “She is slowly getting used to Olympia, too, my love, it will be fine.” He huffed a long, long sigh and then threw me over his shoulder again. “The bath and then you got some convincing to do.”

“Are you suggesting I use my body to sway you to help us?”

He smacked my bottom. “I was talking about your mouth, little beast.”

“Ah.”

“Ah?”

“Will you finally let me?”

He laughed, hard. “Words, woman. I meant words.”

The cliffs of Llyn were what I as a child thought heavens looked like. The breeze brushing my cheek was not cold yet not warm, just a subtle perfect in between that made the glistening sapphire view ahead even more magical. Sound of waves crashing against the tall rock sung a lullaby along with the chorus of seagulls rushing overhead. The scent of sea was salty yet not fishy and it made Llyn perhaps the only seaside that didn’t make me sick.

“I wish you hadn’t picked my territory to go get yourself in a mess,” Leanna said, nudging my shoulder with hers. “Alaric will serve my lungs on a platter to my child if anything happens to you. At least take my Tristin with you.”

“Her feathers get in the way.”

She chuckled. “Will this work?”

“When has anything I’ve done not worked?”

With a sigh she turned to face me. “Well—”

“Fuck off, Leanna.”

At that moment Kilian, Alaric, Thora and Tristin all walked up to us.

“Be nice, love,” Kilian said, coming to stand by me.

Leanna chuckled again and now the whole kingdom was about to find out the Night King had just scolded me.

“Volantians are already hovering above them after they sent off the Isjordian ships inside the northern storm,” Tristin said, pointing her chin at the expanding distance of the Hollow Sea. “If you find trouble, signal and the Skye warriors will portal to you.”

“Won’t be necessary,” I said, reaching my sister to pull her hood up and her veil down. The leathers fitted her perfectly. A little too perfect. I never wished to see her in them. Every time I've worn them, I have either taken a life or lost a life. “Ready?”

She nodded and we both grabbed hold of Kilian’s extended hands. The fading was rapid. Vast sea surrounds us and from the deck of the ship Kilian had just faded us to, you could see the Isjordian Islets in the distance behind.

Thora rushed to the edge, looking down at the waves crashing on wood. “Nice.”

“Hey,” a man below deck shouted in Laoghrikrease. “Who are you? How did you get on the ship?” More men gathered below us, all aiming some sort of weapon in our direction.

The hair on the back of my neck rose when magic littered the sea air. Shadow tentacles crawled over the wooden floor till they reached the men. The moment they mingled with their shadows, the men dropped their weapons and stood frozen aghast. “Find the prince. Check the great cabin first.”

We manoeuvred around the still bodies and rushed to search around. And there he was, snoring on his two-seater while his ship had barely left Isjordian waters. They were idiots, truly.

Thora kicked his leg and he jolted upright before startling further back in the seat when he saw us. “Come on now,” my sister urged, flinging her dagger up at him. “Get up, sir.”