Chapter Thirty-Two

We found the Lu-Ken a few hours later. The trip was both surprisingly fast and excruciatingly long. When I spotted the bottom of the hull, looming above us like a whale, I went limp with relief. And then we were rising out of the water, a stream of it coming with us, and Vax shifted into his man form to place us both upon the main deck. The rest of his guards had caught up with us along the way, so shortly after Vax and I landed on deck, we were surrounded by twelve more naked Sea Dragons.

"It's me!" I called out even as the crew scurried to defend themselves. "Stand down!"

"Stand down!" Teng repeated as he ran down the steps from the poop deck. "Zix!"

I shoved Vaxarion's clothes at him just before Teng embraced me. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?" Teng stepped back.

Around us, the crew drew closer, warily watching the Sea Dragons get dressed (some of them watching with more interest than others).

"I told King Vaxarion about our haul," I said.

Teng's eyes widened. "Oh? Are you an interested buyer, Your Majesty?"

"I'm interested in protecting my mate's family."

Teng froze.

"Did he say mate?" one of the crew asked.

"Do Sea Dragons have mates?"

"Karadas gave the Sea Dragons mating magic," I said loudly. "I'm his mate. Which makes all of you very fucking lucky bastards. Because now you have King Vaxarion's protection."

"You're his mate?" Teng asked me.

"Yes," Vaxarion answered for me. "And you're his father, are you not?"

Teng lifted his chin. "I am."

"Then you're my family too. If you need payment for the Eye, I will provide it. But we cannot allow it to fall into the hands of a Land Dragon. Serai will not survive that."

"Serai?"

"Imagine a Land Dragon in possession of the Goddess's Fire? Pure Fire Magic. Even if they were honorable, the power is not meant for one of them. It's why the stone was hidden in the sea. It seduces its master and makes them believe they're a god too. And no good comes of it. The last Land Dragon to possess Ensarena's Eye incinerated an entire city. Fortunately, he burned himself to ash along with everything else."

"Dragons are immune to fire," Teng said.

"Not the Eye's fire. Not at the level it was channeled. And that bitch goddess didn't care that her magic had fallen into the hands of one of her children. She didn't stop him."

"Maybe allowing him to burn to ash was her way of stopping him," I said.

Vax grimaced. "Perhaps. But if so, that is nearly as bad as doing nothing. That Eye belongs with the Sea Dragons where it will be safe. Only we can ensure that no Land Dragon gets its claws on such power."

Teng considered this. "But that also means a Land Dragon would pay immensely for it."

"Teng!" I snapped.

He grinned at me. "I'm just teasing, kid. Come with me, Your Majesty. We can talk about suitable recompense. I'll give you the family discount."

I snorted and rolled my eyes but just before we reached the door, a roar echoed above us. I spun to see a crimson dragon on the horizon closing in fast.

Vax narrowed his eyes at the dragon and grinned. "It appears there's no time for negotiations."