Chapter Seventeen

Arach and I gaped at the empty doorway for a second, then scrambled to our feet and raced after Samara. Naked. Because we were that shocked. Not by her declaration but by her transformation. Samara flew to the central spiral stairwell, leaving a pile of shredded clothes behind, and shrieked as she dove down the column of space between the stairs.

“Samara!” I cried, but she was gone.

“Well done, my sweet girl!” Arach shouted.

“Arach!”

“What?” He looked back at me. “You should be happy. Weve been arguing over her first flight for months now. It should have happened already, but you were too frightened that she might fail. Now, you dont have to worry. She just had her first flight, and she was amazing!”

“But wasnt that strange? She just shifted on her own and flew away. No instructions.”

“Thats how it goes, A Thaisce. I would have tossed her from the tower, and she would have figured it out on her way down. Thats what Dragon-Sidhe do. But we waited too long so her dragon took over. It was probably anxious to fly.”

“Arach, that wasnt just her first flight, it was also her first shift. Thats why I havent wanted to risk the whole tossing her out a window thing. You know that. Rian shifted as a baby. A baby, Arach. Hed gone through many shifts before he had his first flight. We had to fireproof the nursery. But Sam has never shifted.”

“Some Dragon-Sidhe are late bloomers.”

“If you say so,” I whispered, staring down the stairs.

“What else could it be?”

“Arach, have you forgotten how I ate that fey apple full of Wild Magic while I was pregnant with her?”

Arach blinked his yellow dragon eyes.

“You did forget,” I said.

“It may have momentarily slipped my mind.”

“In light of your recovered memory, is that normal?” I pointed after Samara.

Joyous cheers and applause suddenly echoed to us from the dining hall. Our court had no doubt seen their Princesss first flight. There would be much celebrating that day. I, in particular, would be celebrating the fact that I didnt have to watch my husband throw my daughter out of the flight tower. Yes, it even had a name. But overwhelming my relief was my worry over Sams sudden shift.

“Its normal, Vervain. Im sure of it,” Arach finally said. “Shes just taken longer to set her dragon loose, and once she summoned it, it burst free and flew.”

“I dont know.”

“Come now. Shes a Dragon-Sidhe who turned into a dragon. Its not as if she manifested a strange version of her god magic.”

“Oh, my goodness, do you think she will?” I asked. “What will that be like? Twisted love? Will she be like Aphrodite? No, not my precious girl.”

“Relax, A Thaisce.” Arach pulled me into a hug. “Samara will be fine. Shes not just a goddess like Hadess daughter. She is a faerie, and her Fire essence will know how to handle a dose of Wild Fey Magic. But thats only if she was affected. So far, she has only done something normal for a Dragon-Sidhe child. That apple may not have touched her at all.”

“Yes, okay. Youre right.”

Someone cleared their throat. “Good morning, my King and Queen.”

I looked over my shoulder to see one of the maids walking down the stairs, her gaze set resolutely forward.

“Good morning,” I said weakly.

As soon as she was gone, I shoved Arach toward our bedroom.

He burst out laughing. “What are you embarrassed of? Youve been naked in front of people before.”

“Yes, but we were both naked and embracing! Thats different. Shell think we were having sex in the hallway.”

“So what? Its our hallway. The whole castle is ours. We can have sex wherever we wish.”

I rolled my eyes. “Now youre acting like a Wild Faerie.”

“If you want wild, I can give you wild.” Arach grabbed me, tossed me over his shoulder, and carried me to bed.