The Siren and the Deep Blue Sea - Kerrelyn Sparks Page 0,87
him. But he’d never been able to find her.
Until now?
Maeve pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a cry. Brody’s curse and all his years of suffering—was the one responsible for it her own mother?
Chapter 17
In the kingdom of Eberon, King Leofric was standing by his desk in the privy chamber of Ebton Palace. He finished reading the latest report from Captain Shaw, then passed it on to his wife.
Luciana sat on a settee between her adopted sisters, Brigitta and Gwennore, and all three of them read the report together. Gwen’s husband, Silas, was anxiously pacing across the room.
“Any confirmation yet on the Embraced army?” Silas asked.
“No.” Leo shook his head. “Shaw was reporting from Ebport. Our navy will be ready to leave in an hour. General Harden has arrived with five troops of soldiers, one for each of our five ships.”
“Excellent.” Silas continued to pace.
Leo wandered to the window that overlooked the Ebe River. The royal barge was tied off at the pier, ready to take him and the dragon shifters, Silas and Dimitri, downriver to Ebport. Silas had offered to fly there, giving Leo a ride on his back, but Leo had thought it best to decline. If he accidentally gave Silas a lightning shock while in flight, he might severely injure the dragon and cause him to crash.
On the front lawn, Dimitri was playing chase with Leo’s twins, Eric and Eviana, and Brigitta’s son, Reynfrid. Leo smiled to himself, relieved to see that Eviana was comfortable with the dragon shifter. Eric looked back to see how close Dimitri was and tripped, falling onto his face.
Dimitri swooped him up and tossed him in the air. When Dimitri set him on the ground, Eric was laughing and Eviana was demanding her turn.
Silas glanced out the window and snorted. “Dimitri must be practicing. His wife is expecting.”
Leo nodded as the familiar twinge of regret jabbed at his heart. How easy it was for someone else to play with his children. They were four years old, but because of his lightning power, he’d never been able to touch them.
He flexed his gloved hands. He’d realized while the twins were mere babies that all the regret in the world would not change his situation. But still, it hurt.
To keep Luciana from being distressed, he tried to hide the pain, but deep down, he knew she understood. She was expecting again, and he loved resting his hand on her belly so he could feel the babe moving inside. He cherished those moments, for it was as close as he would ever get to the child.
There’s no point in dwelling on it. He turned away from the window and focused his mind once again on business.
Yesterday, late in the afternoon, Captain Shaw had arrived from the Isle of Moon with a message from Nevis. Maeve had disappeared, and Nevis suspected she’d gone to a mysterious island to the south to see if the Embraced army was hiding there. Leo suspected Maeve was right, since all four mainland kings had scoured their countries and not found the army anywhere on the continent.
Of course, Luciana had been alarmed by the news that her youngest sister could be in danger. She’d insisted on sending the navy right away to search for Maeve and rescue her, but Leo had convinced his wife that they needed to be prepared in case Maeve was correct and the Embraced army was, indeed, stationed on the Isle of Secrets. And so, they had immediately sent messages by carrier pigeon to Tourin and Norveshka, urging the kings there to prepare for a possible sea battle.
Brigitta had arrived late last night with her son and a small troop of Tourinian soldiers. Her husband, King Ulfrid, whom she preferred to call Rupert, was busy preparing the Tourinian navy. They were leaving Rupert’s general and old friend, Stefan, in charge of the country while they were gone.
Once Silas had received his message in Norveshka, he’d used his telepathic powers to communicate with his dragon friend, Aleksi, in Woodwyn. Aleksi had passed on the news to Sorcha and her husband, King Brennan of Woodwyn. They had headed south down the Wyn River to Wynport, where the elfin navy was being made ready to sail. Six ships, fully manned with soldiers, Aleksi had reported.
Silas and Dimitri had flown in this morning in dragon form with Gwennore riding on Silas’s back. They had left Annika in charge of Norveshka. She’d wanted to come and fight, but Silas and