about.”
I came to stand by his side, looked over the railing, and saw the snouts of three dolphins, all of them chattering up at him.
“They say there are smugglers hiding booty on an island south of here that is officially in the waters of Triton,” I told him.
Aramus grinned down at the glistening, gray noses.
“My beautiful spies,” he cooed.
I rolled my eyes to the heavens.
The dolphins squealed their delight.
My husband turned.
“Bond!” he shouted. “You and Tint take some men and sail that ship to Nautilus. Impound it. Then set it for auction. We sail south.”
“Aye,” Bond replied.
“Sorry?” I asked.
Aramus looked down at me. “There’s booty to be had.”
“Husband, you’re king. You’re wealthy. You live in a castle. You have the ear of the gods. You don’t need booty.”
He then grasped me with an arm about my waist and pulled me tight to his body, dipping his face to mine.
“My Ha-Lah, I’m a pirate and pirates always need booty.”
I experienced a lovely tingle.
It was as if Aramus sensed it for his eyes then dropped to my mouth and he muttered, “Now to shoot my cannon.”
I really should have been exasperated.
But instead, I let my husband drag his wench to his cabin.
And I did it laughing.
Queen Farah
Guest Cell, Reception Hall
DOME CITY
“Why are we here again?” True asked, making a mess of his neckcloth.
This was unsurprising, for he detested wearing them, and as he did, he did not do so very often.
Thus, I moved to my husband, batted his hands away, took over and reminded him, “Mostly to see Ellie and Cass and the girls.”
“Right,” he muttered.
“And, say, because you are king of a great realm and history is being made that you’ve been invited to witness. Not to mention, these are your friends.”
“Mars and Silence didn’t come,” True pointed out.
“Nyx is close to having her baby. Silence doesn’t want to be far from her and Mars doesn’t wish to be far from Lorenz,” I told him something he knew.
“Aramus and Ha-Lah aren’t here,” he went on.
“Because they’re visiting a Mer colony down in the Fotía and they couldn’t get here in time.”
He sighed.
I finished with his neckcloth.
“I bet Cass isn’t wearing a neckcloth,” he muttered.
This complaint drew my attention.
And my concern.
For it wasn’t like my True to be grumpy.
So I pressed my hands to his chest in order to get his attention, this in order to get to the meat of the matter.
“What truly troubles you, caro?”
He held my gaze before he said, “You were visiting with Ellie when they came.”
“Who came?”
“Not who. What.”
I lifted my brows to share that this did not answer my question.
He wrapped his fingers around one of my hands, took it from his chest, and the other one naturally fell away when he guided me into the sitting room outside our bedchamber in the spacious, well-appointed cell we’d been given by the Go’Doan.
Definitely a different reception we’d had over the first time I was there.
Then again, much had changed for the Go’Doan.
And what was happing that day, and the lovely memorial plaque they’d mounted to G’Ry, were only two of a great many.
True took me to a bureau and pulled out a drawer.
Only then did he let me go as he reached in and took out two books.
He set them on the top of the bureau.
They were both handsomely leather bound.
One was maroon, the leather elegantly embossed, the very long title set in gold.
It said, THE BATTLE OF THE BEASTS.
And it had a subtitle, THE RISE OF THE POWER OF THE FEMALE.
Which had a subtitle of, AND THE RETURN OF THE FIRE KING, THE SEA KING, THE SKY KING & THE GREEN KING.
The other book had a rich, green leather, embossed with leaves, acorns and trees.
And the title was set in pewter.
It said, TRUE, THE GREEN KING, & FARAH, THE GREEN QUEEN.
“Oh my,” I whispered.
“These are copies. They’re sending the first to all the kingdoms. And they’re keeping the originals of both in their Narration Hall.”
“Of course,” I said, for this was what the Go’Doan did.
And this was good, for if they hadn’t done just so over the years, recording history, and protecting books that did the same, as well as books as a whole, we would not have learned so much about the Beasts.
“The other is unfinished, but presented as such as a gift to us,” he went on.
“I see,” I said in a way I shared I still did not understand why he was upset.
“We have our own fucking tome, darling,” he stated, reached to