Chapter Forty-Six

The bridge was empty when I landed on it with Amara. Against Zerk's judgment, I took her down to the kingdom. She deserved to see the remains of her father's restaurant. It'd been her dream to own it one day, and the last month had torn her plan to pieces.

Amara winched when I sat her down to look at the kingdom. "It's only part of the kingdom. Not all of it took a hit."

A breeze blew Amara's hair from her shoulders, twirling her scent around me. "Did they touch my stepmother?"

"I don't know. My father won't answer any of my messages. I'm not sure who made it and who didn't at this point."

Amara nodded. "Take me down there, please."

Lifting her into my arms, I guided us off the bridge and toward the courtyard. The cobblestone was littered with debris and trash from the battle. Random dragons chatted with one another, thankfully, none of them noticed us.

Knowing my father, he likely blamed everything on us, and I wasn't sure a clan of dragons wouldn't show up to kill us if the wrong person noticed.

Amara stayed a few feet in front of me, her nerves evident with each step she took. My dragon could pick up on her quirks more so than before. She halted at the edge of the alley and stared.

The building was in shambles.

It'd been hit the most out of all the buildings on that strip.

Maybe they picked up her scent there and demolished it out of spite. Either way, her father's restaurant was gone.

"My father loved that restaurant. He put his heart and soul into it," she whispered. "Helena won't rebuild it. I'm sure siren attacks aren't covered on her insurance, and even if, she didn't care about it like he did."

"I'm sorry, Amara."

She wiped a tear from her cheek. "It hurts, but maybe it's for the best. Helena always held that over my head, and now, it's gone."

"Amara," I whispered, turning her to face me. "Your father wasn't that restaurant. He was more than that. He loved you, and right now, he'd be happy that you"re safe."

Amara blinked her baby blue eyes. "You're right. Can we go check on Sasha? I haven't heard from her since all of this happened."

"Of course."

Amara led me toward a part of the kingdom I hadn't visited in years. It was mostly untouched, the homes nicer than some we passed on the way. The lights were on in the house she stopped at, but she didn't knock.

"What's the matter?"

Amara opened her mouth and then shut it.

"Amara?" I asked again.

"I'm afraid your father told the kingdom bad things about me. What if they don't let me inside?"

Tilting Amara's chin up, I stared at her innocent face. She'd been dragged through so much, and her fear of her best friend not loving her anymore hurt me.

"Sasha is your best friend, Amara. She'll understand."

Amara gathered her courage and pulled away to knock on the door.

Seconds passed before the door opened and a woman who I assumed was Sasha's mother answered. Her dark eyes widened and she pulled Amara in for a hug. "Sasha! Get down here!"

Amara began to cry into her shoulder.

I realized that she was more of a mother to Amara than Helena had ever been.

Her gaze met mine over Amara's shoulder and she reached out for my hand to squeeze it.

A thunder of footsteps boomed down a staircase to the right. Sasha halted at the bottom step. "Amara," she said in a relieved whisper. She raced over and pulled her into a hug.

"Come on inside," her mother said. "I'm Karen."

I stepped into their house with the ceiling close to the top of my head.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Sasha whispered. "I was so scared when we heard about everything. The King said you two are leaving—,"

"We are," I said.

Karen's dark gaze shifted toward mine. "Are you not taking the throne?"

"My father doesn't want me here. He is mad that his army fought against the sirens,—,"

"He blames me," Amara said. "Dorran is in the middle of my drama."

"Amara," I said. "Your drama is my drama."

Karen smiled sweetly and cupped Amara's cheek. "Are you hungry? I have some cookies on the stove."

"I don't have a big appetite right now," Amara said.

Sasha noticed Amara wince as she shifted on her feet. "What happened?"

"He stabbed me."

Sasha frowned. "Bastard."

"Sasha," Karen hissed. "Language."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "Have you heard about Helena?"

Amara shook her head.

"Zella didn't make it during the fight. Turns out she sneaked out to see a boy and was killed during the raid."

Amara's heart fluttered.

I knew they treated her like trash, but she was still affected by her stepsister's death. It showed how much love she had in her heart. That was one of the many reasons I loved her.

"I need to go by and see them."

Karen crinkled her nose, not liking the mention of Helena any more than I did.

Sasha snorted. "The hell you do."

Karen tossed her daughter another annoyed look before walking into the kitchen to bring out a Tupperware container full of cookies. "Take these with you."

Amara lifted onto her tiptoes and kissed her cheek. "Thank you for letting me inside. If anyone comes by, you haven't seen us."

"I love you, Baby Girl."

"I love you both."

Sasha hugged her again before Amara walked out of the door. I dismissed myself, finding Amara standing at the edge of the sidewalk that would lead her toward her childhood home.

"Ready?" I asked.

"As I'll ever be."

Amara and I stopped at the front door of Helena's house. She raised her hand to knock but stopped. "She doesn't want to see me. I don't want to see her either."

"We can leave. You have no ties to them, and no responsibility for what happened to her. It"s up to you."

The door swung open, and Helena stood on the other side wearing a black dress and a veil covering her face.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" she snapped.

Amara shifted into my side for comfort. "I heard about Zella—,"

Helena turned her head. "How dare you come here in regards to Zella. You don't care that she's dead. You're the reason she's dead. Bringing those ungodly things here to this kingdom. I can't wait for the king to kick you out and never let you back in."

Amara's gaze shifted over Helena's shoulder to her other stepsister, Stasa. "I've called the guards," she said proudly. "They are on their way."

I grabbed Amara's elbow and shifted her behind me. "I'm sorry about your daughter. It should have been you."

Helena gasped.

I didn't stick around to wait on her. I grabbed Amara gently around the waist and shot into the air. Amara patted my chest and whispered, "I need to go into my room and look for something. Can you take me up there?"

I landed on the roof softly, listening as the guards made their way from the castle through the courtyard. Amara slipped inside the window, and tiptoed over to her closet, pulling out some documents.

Amara reached up to grab a shoebox from the shelf around the top of her closet and winced. "Let me."

I grabbed it for her and handed it over.

She nibbled on her bottom lip for a few moments, before handing it to me. "Can you carry it for me?"

"Of course. Are you okay? Do we need to go lay down—,"

Amara glanced up at me with wide innocent eyes, and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

Amara's face contorted into frustration, she lifted her palms upward and said, "Don't fight it."

Realization hit me too late. Something cold shot from her palms and I was frozen seconds later. I struggled against her invisible restraints, laughing humorlessly under my breath. "Amara, you have two seconds to let me out of here," I whispered.

Amara picked up the box and put it back on the shelf. "I need to speak with your father. You're not going to lose your rightful position as King because of this."

"He'll put you in jail," I hissed. "Let me out, now."

"No," she said, sternly. "I don't think he'll be able to move to put me anywhere. I can handle a pompous asshole, Dorran. I'm not afraid of him. I'm afraid that you'll resent me for pulling you away from your destiny."

Her heartache radiated through me. The sadness on her face hurt my dragon. "I will not resent you—,"

"You don't know that," she said, her voice rising. "I'll be back. The guards just left to go search for us. Keep quiet. I'll be back."

I tried to reach out and grab the back of her t-shirt, but I couldn't budge from the restraints. I listened as she slipped from her old window and her soft footsteps hit against the roof.

"Dammit, Little Mouse," I mumbled, resting my head against the wall behind me. If I hadn't been so mad I would have laughed.

I sent a silent prayer up that my dad didn't do anything stupid, and Amara didn't hurt him too bad.