Warrior King New Worlds (Crystal Kingdom #6) - Milly Taiden Page 0,22
him it was my fault.
Ferrus closed the doors to the throne room and smiled to himself. She was worried about him. She cared, though he bet she would not admit it to anyone, including herself. A warm flow filled his body in the chill of the room. His mate. What was he going to do with her?
“Ferrus,” the king said. Ferrus turned to him from the entrance.
“Yes, My King.”
His father stared at him with narrowed eyes. Dragon dicks, he showed too much happiness. His father knew him well enough to know when his moods were off. He kept his head bowed to hide his face.
“Ferrus, I do not have to remind you of the law against mates, do I?”
Though he did not want to, his animal took it as a direct threat to the one born just for them. His dragon wanted to eat the royal in one bite. No, make it two, so he would not wiggle going down its throat. Ferrus told his other side to stand down. They were not hurting the man who raised him.
“No My King.” The long pause after his response unnerved him. He remained where he was before the ruler, with his head bowed. He knew what was expected of him. As the future leader of the clan, he had to do what was best for his people. And according to his father, mates were the destruction of a male’s soul.
“Good, now what have you found out about our visitors.” The king glanced to the side. “Come out of hiding, Ferra. I want to know what you have seen.”
“Yes Father.” His sister hurried from her usual perch in the darkest corner of the room, where she liked to eavesdrop when the king allowed. She was still too young to understand what the world was about. In a few peaks, she would be mating age, if such a thing had been allowed. He wanted her to be happy and thought many times about sending her away if she found her mate among the clan so she could live a normal life with him. But that put a knife through his heart just thinking about her gone.
“Ferrus, who are they, and where are they from?”
He paced as he ran the answers through his head, picking out which to share and what to keep to himself.
“The two non-gnoleon females I don’t think are from our dimension.”
“Why not,” the king asked.
“Because the one with pale hair, she calls herself Lilah, has ideas about…certain things that few would allow on our planet. Unless there is some new advanced civilization, we don’t know about.”
“I doubt that seriously,” the royal interjected.
Ferrus agreed. “As for why they are here, I’m not sure. But they were traveling to the town.”
Ferra gasped. “What business would they have there? Only thieves and murderers seek such a place.”
The town was known to be full of rogues and killers who would do any job for payment. Those who managed to survive there worked the water ports where other lands came to barter and trade for goods. Many pilgrimages were made to the port town, where worshipers went to pray to the Mother of the Mountain at the Standing Stones.
Ferrus had been there a few times to study the creatures there to see if any were a possible threat to the citogen. None were, unless paid, and no one had enough wealth to convince an army to go against his warriors.
“I do not know what their business is in the town. They did not say.”
“So, do they hold magic? Are they a threat to us?” his father asked.
Ferrus had to be so careful answering. If he said the wrong thing, he could doom his mate.
“No magic I detect,” Ferra rushed out then turned toward him. He didn’t look at her. They would talk afterward. “I do not think they mean us any harm. They are only females. What can they do? The male gnoleon with them seems quite capable, but he has no weapons.” In fact, Ferrus sensed he was an alpha. But the male seemed too worried about his mate rather than presenting any danger to the citogen fae.
“Good,” the king sighed, “we can send them on their way. That female—”
“No,” Ferrus blurted, then added, “My King. I think they are worth examining a day or two longer. Just to make sure they are not concealing any crucial facts.” Again, the king paused, studying his son.
The king cleared his throat. “Ferra, what are your observations?”