11. Rivvac

RIVVAC

Istumbled out of the room where the Sirens had held me hostage and leaned against the wall. I couldn’t believe they had brought me to my parent’s home and were doing what they had to me.

Didn’t my parents know what was happening? Why hadn’t they come to my aid? And why would they leave me to my fate with those female demons?

The answer was as obvious as it was unsurprising:

My mother used to be one of those creatures. And when I say she used to be one of them, it only meant she wasn’t one right now. It was said that no Siren ever truly stopped being a Sister. When the call came, they all responded, their allegiance belonging to their Sisters before even their own blood.

I leaned against the wall and shook my head of the powerful emotions that had coursed through me, as if I had been channeling the universe itself.

It had been love, I knew, pure and untempered love. The kind of truth few of the Ulsen ever experienced. Now I knew what it truly meant to be a fated mate.

I could see it so clearly it formed into a single person.

Mia.

And she was in danger, having been kidnapped by Wyre in the hopes of getting his stolen treasure back.

I didn’t know just how deeply the Sirens’ tendrils had been buried into his heart and soul but I could depend on it being deep enough.

Although with someone like Wyre, it was always tough to break through the thick skull of greed that creatures of his ilk had always sported over the years.

I shoved myself off the wall, stumbled, gathered my strength, and then turned and headed down the hallway that I thought—even with my senses off-kilter—was the way toward the garage.

“There you are!” Flara said, grasping my hand and tugging me to a stop. “We have to go to my father so you can ask him for permission to marry me!”

“Marry you?” I said, perplexed.

“Of course. Now that you have plenty of money coming in—and will have even more coming now that the smuggling route has opened up, there’s no reason we can’t be together!”

I frowned, trying to think through the fog. “You know about the smuggling?”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course I do! Who do you think suggested for Abrev to offer you the deal in the first place?”

“You?”

“Of course me! I saw how hard you were working to earn money and figured you needed a little help. So, I dispatched him to you!”

“You don’t have any problem with me smuggling goods into the Empire?”

She shrugged her slender shoulders. “Why would I? So long as it means you’re rich and we can be together, that’s all that matters, isn’t it? Now come on! We need to hurry—”

“Woah, woah,” I said, holding up a hand. “I tried to make as much money as I could, even though it wasn’t always the… best method.”

“Who cares?” Flara said. “You’re going to be rich!” She wove her arm through mine. “And that means we can be together!”

I pulled her off me. She didn’t have crazy makeup or wear feathers in her hair but she was every bit a Siren as those I had just defeated in the suite.

“No matter how much I earn, it’s never going to be enough for you is it?” I said.

Flara twirled her hair around her finger. “A girl should never settle, Rivvac. Don’t you know that by now? If you want me, you’re going to have to work for me.”

And there it was.

I might have offered Mia a deal—one she had accepted to become my mating partner for the week, but that was in exchange for a farm—a farm, really, that she already owned.

She didn’t ask for monthly payments, ongoing into the future without end, didn’t ask for anything… except the thing that would bring her the most happiness in all the galaxy.

She didn’t need a dowry to marry, didn’t need a fortune and jewels. She just needed a home.

And me.

She needed me.

Just as I needed her.

Flara’s expression brightened as if she had just thought of something and reached over to take me by the hand.

“Come on,” she said. “Your Steyatt is almost over. If we hurry, I can settle your cravings one last time in case you’re afraid of losing control. We wouldn’t want that to happen at our wedding now, would we?”

She moved forward to lead me away but I remained standing where I was. “Marry?”

“Yes, silly,” she said. “That’s what all this has been about, hasn’t it? Earning money, so you’re rich enough to have me? Well,” she said, drawing up close to me and running a finger along my jawline, “you’ve well and truly earned me. Come with me, and I’ll show you what you’ve been dreaming of for the past thirty years…”

She yanked on my hand once more but I again didn’t budge an inch.

She ran her eyes over me, sensing something amiss. The fact that even she could sense it meant it must have been pretty clear on my face.

“No,” I said.

She blinked rapidly as if I had spat in her face. “No?”

“No,” I said, grinning like a fool. “No!”

I burst out laughing, and Flara released my hand and took a step back. “You’ve lost your mind!” she said.

“Maybe. But not before I lost my heart. All this time, I’ve been trying to earn the money to be rich enough for you, and the whole time, I should have been asking if you were rich enough for me.”

Flara raised her chin into the air and sniffed. “I’m from one of the wealthiest families in the empire—”

“Not that kind of rich, you dolt! Don’t you even know that there are riches beyond money and jewels and palaces?”

She looked at me like I was insane.

“The real riches are in here,” I said, pressing my hand to my chest. “In how we think and feel… and love.”

“Love? But you love me. Don’t you?” She searched my eyes but she would never find what she wanted to see there.

“I thought I did,” I admitted. “I’ve been dreaming of being with you my entire life. You always held me back, making me believe I was never good enough for you. But there was one person who accepted me for who I am, for what I am, and no, not as a prince.”

Flara just looked at me, her expression lost. “But… we’re fated mates.”

I snorted and kept myself from chuckling at the thought that Flara could ever be anything other than a momentary distraction. Despite the years I had spent pursuing her, it really was a momentary blip in time compared to the infinite scale of love and destiny I felt for Mia. And now that I thought about it, I always had.

I shook my head and placed my hand on her shoulder. A touch that in the past would have garnered a distinct shiver of pleasure throughout my scales but now produced nothing.

“Flara,” I said, “what we had was not what fated mates feel. It is a pinprick in the vastness of the oceans of love and longing. You will always occupy a corner of my heart as a close and valued friend… but I realize now that you will never be anything more than that.”

I pulled my hand away and Flara’s hand lashed out, snapping around my arm. “Don’t go!” For the first time in my entire life of knowing her, I saw just how desperate she was to maintain whatever emotions I once had for her. “We can go to your suite now! Right now! I’ll give you everything you’ve ever wanted, everything you’ve ever desired. Please. Just love me.”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but I cannot. I love another, and she needs me. I wish you happiness with whomever you choose to be with in the future, but it will not be me.”

I turned and marched down the hall, leaving her in my wake. I didn’t look back. I would do her the honor of not giving her hope that I might change my mind.

I was, and always would be, lost to her.

I had spoken with no anger, no hostility. It was not her fault how I now felt, how she had never declared her love for me the same way I had for her.

But now it was over.

I had a fuzzy golden light of love shining brightly in my heart illuminating the shadows and dark recesses, knowing that nothing in those shadows could ever harm me so long as I had Mia beside me.

I strode with stronger strides and wouldn’t stop until I found my Mia. And I would have no mercy for any creature that came between her, my fated mate, and I.

* * *

I considered takingthe same nondescript ship Mia had suggested before and decided against it. For one, it was slower than the souped-up powerhouses that the newer models could boast, and the faster I could get to Mia, the better.

Second, there was no reason for me to conceal the fact I was a Royal any longer. I didn’t need to hide the fact I carried the Royal Family’s seal and power with me. Anyone who challenged me would not only be facing me but the full honor and power of the throne itself.

Wyre would know what he was dealing with when I met him, and would have to accept responsibility for the fall-out that ensued.

What deal he had worked out with the Sirens, I didn’t know, but whatever advantage I could put on my side, I wouldn’t hesitate to use.

I descended into the atmosphere at breakneck speed, far faster than anything the old hunk of junk I had used to get here could ever have handled.

The shuttle screamed as I descended, its outer hull rapidly heating up and then cooling down a moment later. I knew what the ship was capable of and intended on pushing it to its absolute limit.

I came to the thick copse of trees fast and blasted past them. I wouldn’t creep into old Wyre’s home this time.

I brought the ship down onto his broad flat outer yard. I scanned the shack and saw the figures inside in the thermal imaging displays.

The large, dark-skinned lizard stood at the window, peering out at me. All my attention was on the smaller figure curled up on the floor, her heat signature hot and glowing almost bright red on the monitor.

I growled and slapped my hand on the hatch door release valve. The door hissed and opened. I ducked down to get outside as fast as I could.

I had no plan, no idea of how I should approach the shack, and I didn’t need one. With the way I was feeling, nothing could stop me.

I marched toward the front door and slammed my fist against it. “Open up! Now!”