Chapter 41

~Kamari~

I liked sneaking a peak at my husband's, and I hadn't seen Nye in a while. He lounged up in a tree, his leg swinging to and fro. I walked towards him, then grabbed it, giggling as he still turned his leg.

"Hm, it's been a while since you've pestered me," he says, but I can tell his face has a smile. Nye sat up and gazed down at me with warmth in his eyes, "Is there a reason for this delightful interruption?"

I bat my eyes, "Maybe." Nye smiles down at me but says nothing. I slid off his leg to the ground, "I may just be bored and wanted to see you. There's no harm in that." I rock on my heels. Nye chuckles darkly, "Oh, you always mean harm, darling; you aren't known for following our rules."

I pucker my lips to the side. As much as I tried to be good at it, I failed multiple times; I sighed, "Maybe if I locked myself away in the tower, I wouldn't be tempted." I sit on a boulder, gazing up at him; he smirks, "So you come to see me out of temptation?" I look towards the ground, feeling an ache in my chest, "I can't help when I miss someone," I admit. I hear Nye's soft thud as he lands on the ground; he walks towards me, stopping a few feet from me. 

"It's very tricky with you being a shade, darling. They're known for their passionate behavior. Whether it be protecting something or loving it."

 I sigh softly. Now that I thought about it, it made sense, but my mother kept it all a secret. She never told me anything about being a Shade. What I had learned so far was from my mates. And even they couldn't know everything. It was the part of me I yearned to understand.

"Aneth is strong enough for us to go home. But I'm not sure what we'll be getting into." Whatever it was, I was more than willing to fight for it. Besides, it was my Kingdom. "Ryuu may be a man in human form, but my whelp has much to learn before he sits upon the throne. I love him, but he is a Dragon first, and I'm not so sure he understands the way of humans as you do. Until then, the Kingdom has me, and I plan on ruling for a while."

Nye smirks down at me, "I agree. Ryuu is quite weak compared to us." Nye kneels before me, "So, when would you like to leave?"

"I wanted to go today once Aneth gets back." I smile at him. Nye's gaze wanders to my lower abdomen. "Have you felt anything?" 

"No. But I haven't bled since. If your puppy is there, I thank Kadea; he's not starting a war like Ryuu." Nye's eyes brightened at my reply. He kneels before me, his hands lying on my lower abdomen; the heat of his hands makes me shiver."Those who take to the skies grow slower; you may feel something soon." 

I lay my hands on top of Nyes. "I plan to Sire most of your Whelps," he says, making me grin. Oh, are you going to get sneaky like me? Stolen kisses in the night."

Nye chuckles, "I would, for selfish reasons. But, I'd rather earn it." I place my forehead against him, "Haven't I told you you earned me?" Nye takes my hand and starts to guide me down the cleavage of his chest and, in a husky voice, says, "Don't deny me the foreplay." 

As I open my mouth to speak, I hear something break the water's surface, and I see Ryuu with something in his hands. A smile cracks my serious demeanor, and I run towards him, but as I get closer, I notice the tension in his body, his other hand clenched. "Ryuu? What's wrong?"

Ryuu throws something on the sand," They kill the innocent," He says through his teeth. Nye comes up behind me, and when I see the figure on the ground, I recognize it. I grabbed it," He finished it."

Nye takes it from me; his brows twitch, his lips pressed thin. "They burned boy alive, Nye," Ryuu says, and my eyes instantly water," Oh goddess," my hands cover my mouth, and I shake my head, "Why in Kadea's hell would Browen burn a child?!" The anger and sorrow spill out of me. I look at Nye, and he glares at the toy Dragon."You trust your witch so much, yet she does nothing to stop this." His voice is edged.

"Why would you think she would let this happen?! If she could stop it, she would have"I defend.

"Why else would Ryuu return to Nivilla? He saw her." The grit in Nye's voice takes me by surprise. And I notice his eyes tremble as he looks at the toy. "Nye," I place a hand on his arm, "It's not your fault."

Nye drops the toy," Do what you will with it," he snarls, but his voice aches. I look back to Ryuu, whose hands are clenched. Aneth's roar thunders in the skies and soars down from above, still in his natural form; when he lands, he takes up most of the shoreline."Aneth." I race towards him and caress his head," We need to go back; it's terrible." Behind me, I hear Nye shifting; I glance back to his icy eyes. "Ryu and Koa can't fly. One of you will have to carry us on your back."

Nye let out a monstrous roar and couldn't help but feel unsettled by it; suddenly, he took off into the skies. "Shit–Aneth! Hurry!" With Ryuu behind me, I climb Aneth's back," Wait, Where's Koa."

"Behind you." I whip my head around to see Koa behind Ryuu, "You've never been in the skies; hold on tight." I smile at him, and as Aneth launches into the sky, the force of the wind holds back my breath; I lean forward with my head down, catching my breath. Aneth roars as if he is calling out to someone, and when I look ahead, I see Nye; he is farther out, and below, I can see Nivillia. I misjudged the speed of Aneth and Nye, but the sight of a barren kingdom ripped me to my core. Aneth lands outside the Kingdom's grounds, and I slide off, but Nye is nowhere to be seen. 

"Where did he go?" My frustration makes me head for the Kingdom without thinking, and Aneth grabs my hand, "Nye is angry; he is in the Kingdom." My heart skips a beat. Aneth reads my mind and runs towards the kingdom gates, which, to my surprise, aren't guarded. And when I enter, a deep pain goes through my body like a shockwave and makes me drop to my knees. "Mother," Ryuu comes to my aid. I held my hand. "The land, it hurts," but I knew why; it was Veldon. I felt his sorrow and anger that his lineage disgraced his lands. I was more determined than ever to fix it; I wouldn't let anyone take what belonged to me.

"I'm fine," I get up, "Let's find him before Javall does."