Chapter Twenty-Eight

My mate returned to me victorious!

During his absence, I had fought insanity—insanity brought on by flashbacks of the Eye's invasion and my separation from Aras. I couldn't go after him. I had to stay behind and train the soldiers. I had to play the part of the King. I had to fucking glue the pieces of my mind back together. In some ways, it was good that Aras wasn't there to see my moments of frozen bafflement or stark fear. Or, worst of all, the times I sat, rocking myself and slapping my head. There were only so many times I could cry assassin.

But Aras had returned at last. He had sent a messenger ahead to warn me of his imminent arrival with that fucking Neraky pirate. If he hadn't been so valuable, I would have strangled that little prick.

In his missive, Aras reported that he had sent a couple of his sailors into the underwater city of Shasenai to abduct the new duke. The city was covered in a magic dome and full of air, so the Hulfrin only had to find a way down to it. I assumed sailors would have a water amulet or something like that for just such a purpose. Maybe they hired water folk to transport them. Aras didn't offer the information, and I didn't care.

Whatever route they took to Shasenai, the men had been successful. They had captured the Sea King's mate and brought him to me. Soon, King Vaxarion would arrive, if he wasn't at the docks already. No, he couldn't be there. The Eye would have called to me the moment she was free of the water.

In that report, Aras said the Sea King had come after his mate immediately, but a claw at the Neraky's throat had held the King off. Aras told King Vaxarion that the only exchange he'd make would be Zixin—that was the pirate's name—for Ensarena's Eye. And the Sea King had left to fetch it.

I knew it! All that crap about me burning the world down if I possessed the Eye didn't matter when his mate was in danger. It wouldn't matter to me either. That's why I'd been so certain that King Vaxarion would make the trade.

“Soon,” I murmured to myself. “Soon, I'll have my mate.”

And then he appeared. My handsome mate in his captain's uniform, his dark hair swept back to show off the stripes on his forehead. His ice-blue stare shot to me, and my hands clenched on the armrests of my tiger throne, right over the paws that curled at the ends. The throne was ridiculously large, dwarfing even me, with a life-sized tiger poised on its hind legs to form the back. The beast loomed over me, forelegs extended above my head. It was meant to be menacing, but the pirate didn't look cowed when Aras led him to stand before the royal dais. He looked annoyed.

And that annoyed me.

“Hello, Duke Zixin,” I drawled.

The man was just as beautiful as I remembered, with a stripe of purple hair down the center of his head that he wore in a braid. The shaved sides of his head were tattooed with images of sea life on the left and land life on the right. He had blue eyes like my mate, but his were iridescent, gleaming as all Neraky eyes did. He had gold hoop earrings in his left ear but was dressed in fine clothing of silk and velvet. His mate had been looking after him. It galled me that I hadn't been doing the same with Aras.

“Hello, Your Majesty.” Zixin bowed to me.

“You're so polite now.” I got up and strode down the dais steps, my annoyance growing. Even his bow looked sassy. I took his chin in my hand and looked him over. “It looks as if mating a king gave you manners. Civility by injection.”

The pirate went still and silent. Finally, he showed some wisdom.

I ran my thumb along his jaw. “I'd call King Vaxarion a lucky man if I wasn't the one currently in possession of you.”

I don't know why I said that. Something inside me didn't like the way Aras had looked at me when he walked in. That same something whispered that my mate had been away from me for too long, with an ex-lover aboard his ship. Maybe Aras had missed his little submissive cabin boy. Maybe I was going crazy. I almost laughed at the thought. Crazy? Who, me? But then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aras glaring at me. Keeping my stare locked on Zixin, I grinned. I did love it when my mate got jealous.

“Well, now I know why King Vaxarion was so protective of you from the start. He had found his mate. What terrible timing for him. But brilliant timing for me.” I let go of the pirate to look at Aras. “And well done, Captain. You didn't bring me the Eye, but this will do.”

“My pleasure, Your Majesty.” Aras bowed.

“You will, of course, stay and continue to guard Zixin until the exchange is made.” Again, I don't know why I said it or why I was acting like this. Of course, he would stay. If he tried to leave, I'd hunt him down and chain him to my bed. Maybe to my wrist. Maybe this was all for Zixin's benefit. Who knows what I was thinking then? My mind was still recovering from going gooey.

Aras's lips twitched. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Good. We must treat our guest well,” I said. “See to it that he remains unharmed.”

“I will.”

“And I will prepare for a royal visit.” I looked Zixin over again. “So pretty. What a shame that I didn't get to sample you before you mated.”

Aras's growl didn't surprise me. No, it pleased me. Greatly. But I hid my grin. Just barely. I think the pirate might have seen a little lip twitch. No matter. It wasn't as if Zixin would tattle on me.

“After you see him settled, come to my apartments, Captain,” I said to Aras. “I need to speak with you.” Then I left the throne room. I had to get out of there before I started laughing. Dear Gods, what the fuck was wrong with me? The Eye was finally in reach and I was back to behaving like an asshole.