The War of Two Queens (Blood and Ash 4)

When I was finally able to rise, another emotion rocked me. It was seeing Poppy greeted in the same way—watching her turn to bury her face in the fur of Delano’s neck and then hold Netta tightly to her. Hearing her laughter as the wolven pressed into her. Her acceptance of them—that shining love in her bright eyes—and their clear worship of her did something to my chest and my fucking eyes.

That was my wife.

My heartmate.

Godsdamn.

Clearing my throat, I looked at the tall Atlantian standing before me.

“Held back,” Naill said thickly. “Didn’t want to get trampled.”

Laughing, I closed the distance between us, embracing him. “Good to see you.”

“As it is to see you.” His arm hung around my shoulders. “Hasn’t been right without you.”

I blew out a ragged breath. “But I’m back now.”

“I know you are. Just don’t leave us again.”

“Don’t plan on it.”

Naill gave me one last squeeze before stepping back. He caught my left wrist. The glance was brief, but his amber eyes turned hard. “We’re going to make them pay for this.”

“We are.” I clasped our hands with my other.

When Naill moved to the side, Perry quickly replaced him and pulled me in for a one-armed embrace. The armor he wore dug into my chest, but I didn’t care. Neither of us spoke for a long moment, and then he said roughly, “You look good.”

“Feeling that way,” I told him. “You’ve been keeping an eye on Delano?”

“Always. It’s like a twenty-four-hour assignment.” Perry laughed, leaning back, his amber eyes shining. “Not once did any of us doubt that Kieran and our Queen would find you. Not for one damn second.”

My throat thickened. “Neither did I.”

Exhaling slowly, Perry stepped back and finally looked to where Malik stood. The arm around my shoulders tensed. “Gods, it’s really him.”

“Yeah.” I watched Delano approach Malik. The other wolven watched closely, cautiously. Their uncertainty regarding the Prince hung heavy in the air.

“He looks…” Naill joined us, and I noticed a muscle flexing in Perry’s jaw.

“He looks nothing like I expected,” Emil finished.

In other words, he didn’t look like the messy pile of flesh and bones I had when I returned from several decades of captivity.

Emil clasped my hand, and I pulled the fucker in for a close, tight embrace. “Delano said Malik didn’t want to return?” he asked quietly.

Perry glanced at us. “And that Poppy told him it was complicated.”

“It is.” I turned, slipping an arm around Poppy as she came to stand beside me, but I didn’t take my gaze off my brother.

Malik knelt in front of Delano as Kieran crept close, eyeing both of them. My brother spoke, but even I couldn’t pick up on the words. Whatever he said, though, Delano responded with a slight nudge of his head against Malik’s hand.

The act sent a small shudder through Malik and didn’t go unnoticed by the other wolven. The tension thickening the air eased. Poppy pressed against my side, her palm resting just below my chest as Malik placed a trembling hand on the top of Delano’s bowed head. Malik’s eyes closed as Poppy’s fingers curled into my shirt, his features pinching as he turned his head, dragging his shoulder along his cheek. I knew what Poppy had to be sensing. The emotion was clearly etched into Malik’s face. Sorrow.

Preela, Malik’s bonded wolven, had been Delano’s sister.

Chapter 39

We descended the hill to Padonia, flanked by the dozens of wolven who kept pace along the narrow road and had even branched out farther, into the Wisteria Woods. Netta and several others had already returned to town. Horns sounded as we cleared the thickest of the trees, and the valley that Padonia rested in opened before us.

A sea of white tents sat at the edge of the River of Rhain and at the foot of the Rise, where— My godsdamn breath snagged in my chest.

Banners.

Gold and white banners rippled from the battlements atop the Rise, each one bearing the Atlantian Crest—the one Poppy had chosen with the sword and arrow fixed in the center of the sun at equal lengths.

Gods.

She’d done it.

Changed the centuries-old crest. Showing the kingdom and the realm that there was a balance of power between the King and Queen, no matter the fact that she was so much more powerful than I.

Seeing it was a punch of unexpected emotion, straight to the chest. I tightened my hold on Poppy, dipping my head. “You’re fucking perfect,” I rasped in her ear.

She turned her head slightly, her brows puckering. “What for?”

“Everything,” I told her, blinking back dampness. “Everything.”

Poppy looked to the Rise. “The banners,” she whispered. “You like them?”

“I cannot wait to show you how much I fucking love them.” I nipped at her ear, drawing a soft gasp from her.

Her face flushed, but the sharp, sudden rise of her arousal told me she couldn’t wait for me to show her either.