The next morning didn’t start with a royal fanfare or a grand proclamation. It started with a wet, sticky slap to the face.
I groaned, peeling my eyes open to find Raiden sitting on my chest, looking imnsely proud of himself. He had managed to crawl over the ’mountain’ of my husband’s sleeping tail and was currently trying to see if my nose was detachable.
"Raiden... no," I croaked, my voice still a shredded wreck from the night before.
Beside , Damar stirred, and then his eyes snapped open—bright, erald, and instantly alert. He didn’t look tired at all, despite the marathon he’d run through the night. He looked sated, his skin glowing with a healthy shine that made feel even more like a crumpled piece of parchnt.
Yes, yes, he had been very rejuvenated by our previous night’s exercise. No need for nature to rub it in the face.
He sat up, the furs sliding down to his waist, and Raiden imdiately pivoted. The boy stared at the silver scales still dusting Damar’s lower back with wide-eyed wonder, then let out a sharp "Babba!"
Ah, Raiden knows how to do ’Babba’ now? Guess he was learning from Lyra. But just when I was feeling proud of him, he lunged, trying to see if he could fly with that chubby body of his, but luckily Damar caught him mid-air with the ease of a seasoned predator, a soft, rare chuckle vibrating in his chest. Ah, a rare and wonderful morning blessing.
"He has your spirit, Ari. He does not fear anything."
"Yeah, and that’s the problem," I sighed. My spirit and Fenric’s spirit combined; what did we expect to create?
Then, I finally dragged myself upright.
Every muscle in my body protested. My thighs felt like jelly, and my core was still humming with the ghost of that double-thump, but I was clean. Which ant Damar had done so extra work while I was passed out.
I looked around the tent for the other two. Phina was busy trying to climb Fenric—who had apparently snuck back in at so point and was pretending to be asleep—while Lyra was sitting in the corner, staring at the tent flap.
She was dressed in her little cotton clothes, looking composed for a toddler who had just slept through a primal reclamation. Well, that just ans she didn’t hear anything, right? Phew!
And since I don’t sll anything ’offensive’ in the tent, it seems soone changed all their napkins. It couldn’t have been Damar since he doesn’t know how to do it yet. Then, Fenric, who was pretending to sleep?
Nah! I shook my head. He hated napkin duty more than anyone else. Then, was it...?
I noticed she was looking way too intensely at the flap, as if she was—
"She is waiting," Damar murmured, his eyes narrowing as he followed Lyra’s gaze.
"Waiting for what?"
"The cold salty scent," he rasped, his tongue flicked out and in as his mood shifted instantly, and I flinched. "The fish is outside."
My heart did a nervous little flip. I had managed to push the ’Thalor Problem’ to the back of my mind during the heat of the night, but now it was front and center, slling like salt and impending drama.
"Damar, rember what we talked about," I said, reaching out to touch his arm. "He’s part of the West Way now, and he’s part of our family. He’s been helping out with the water system, too."
"I do not care if he brings the rain itself, Ari," he said, lifting his body up and reaching for his tunic. "He has touched my mate. And he is currently standing between and the walk I want to take with my daughter."
Oh boy.
Who knew Damar could be so aggressive? I don’t hate it, but I don’t exactly like it either. How do I get him to accept Thalor if this goes on?
I scrambled to get dressed, wincing at the soreness. "Damar, don’t be like that, okay?" I said. "Rember, I do not belong to you alone. There is Fenric, there is Noah,"
He lowered his gaze.
"And that is why I feel particularly upset about this situation, Ari," he said, and I sighed, going to hug him,
"It’ll be fine," I whispered to him. "No one is taking from you. I’m right here, okay?"
He grumbled, and yes, this was going to be a battle in itself, but it’s fine. It’ll all be fine. A little ti will fix it.
"Let’s just... let’s have breakfast. A nice, calm, family breakfast. We can introduce you properly."
But I was talking to the wind. Damar was already heading for the flap, Lyra perched on his shoulder like a tiny, silver-haired sovereign.
When we stepped out into the morning light, the village was already bustling. The aftermath of the feast was visible—a few hungover wolves were face-down in the grass near the fire pits—but the construction on the walls had already resud.
And there, standing near the entrance of the unfinished palace, was Thalor.
He looked like he’d been grood for a photoshoot. His purple hair was as wavy as ever, as if he had taken a recent dip in the sea to feel more refreshed. His violet eyes were clear, and he was wearing a new silk wrap that shimred like fish scales. He held a piece of slate in his hands—blueprints for the final irrigation—but his eyes weren’t on the stone.
They were locked on Damar.
The air between them didn’t just feel cold; it felt electrified. On one side, Damar, towering and lethal, was carrying the heir to his bloodline. On the other hand, the Prince of the Sea, elegant and ancient, holding, well, just a slate, but he does hold the secrets of the water.
Noah and Fenric were standing a few yards away, leaning against a timber beam. Noah was smirk-eating a piece of dried at, looking like he had a front-row seat to the best show in town.
"Morning, Little Tiger," Noah called out, his eyes dancing with mischief. "The water’s running in the North wing. Thalor was just about to give us a tour. Right, Fish?"
Thalor didn’t look at Noah. He bowed his head slightly toward Damar—not a gesture of submission, but a formal recognition of another King.
"Welco back, Damar," Thalor said, his lodic voice carrying across the quiet clearing.
Damar didn’t bow. He didn’t even blink. He just shifted Lyra higher on his shoulder and let out a low, vibrating hiss that made the nearby sheep drop their wool-shears in terror.
"I’ve been wondering about sothing, fish," Damar rasped. "Tell ... does the sea not provide enough females that you must co to the dirt to find a Queen with the excuse that your soul belongs to her?"
My eyes widened, and I knew where this was going to go.
I imdiately stepped forward, placing myself right between them. My body was sore, my heart was hamring, but I wasn’t going to let this turn into a brawl before breakfast.
"Damar, stop it," I said, placing a hand on his chest. I could feel the rumble of his growl through his ribs. "Thalor has been a huge help."
"I do not care, Ari," Damar said, and I furrowed my brows.
There was sothing strange. Sothing has changed in Damar, and I can feel it.
At this point, he wasn’t just jealous; he was on the defensive. Like really defensive, aggressively so.
"Damar, look at ," I said, my voice firm. "You’re back now. You’re ho. But ho looks a little different than when you left, right? But that’s okay. It may look different, but not much has changed. Thalor is just... a part of it now."
Thalor, to his credit, remained remarkably still. He didn’t flinch at the hiss or the insult, though his grip on the slate tightened. He looked at , then back at Damar, his violet eyes holding a depth of ancient caution. He knew he was the intruder here, and he was playing it smart.
"I have no desire to steal what is yours, Damar," Thalor said softly, his voice like the steady pull of a tide. "I am here because the Land-Mother—because Arinya—chose to let stay. She let in, so my interest is in helping her as much as I can."
"Your interest is in stealing my mate from ," Damar countered, his tail giving a sharp, whip-like crack against the ground.
Noah let out a loud, delighted snort from the sidelines. "Oof. Points to the snake for honesty. It’s getting spicy, Fenric. Pass the jerky."
Fenric, however, wasn’t laughing. He stepped forward, his expression grave. He looked at Damar, then at Thalor, and finally at . "The babies are hungry, and the workers are watching. If you two want to asure your tails, do it in the woods. Not in front of the tribe."
I breathed a sigh of thanks. Trust the Snow Tiger to be the voice of reason when the Wolf and the Serpent were acting like teenagers.
"Fenric’s right," I said, grabbing Damar’s hand and tugging. "We’re going to the Great Hall—well, the dining area—and we’re going to eat. Thalor, bring the blueprints. You can show us the water system while we have breakfast."
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