Page 112 of The Ballad of the Vampire Prince

“I’m Rhianelle.” I don’t reveal my full name to the seadragon. Doing that to a creature of fae is plain foolish.

“I’ve capsized three ships bearing the name Rhianelle,”she muses.

They were my mother’s warships, but I don’t tell that to her either.

“Thousands of your kind have fallen because of me,”she continues recalling the horrors of the war. I’ve never been to waror to a battle, but I’ve seen the hollow eyes of the people who returned from it. They are never quite the same again.

It takes me a second to find my voice. “I’m sure my people have killed and wounded yours too. I’m sorry.”

Surprise scuttles through the seadragon’s harsh features over my apology. She keeps her knife-sharp gaze trained on me the entire time I am passing my blessing. I think Svenn is doing the same thing. I try not to look at him, but I can feel those dark eyes trailing my every movement.

I work silently under the scrutiny of two dangerous predators.

“You there! Come and be my friend!”Kiiska splashes the water and baits for Svenn to swim with her. The vampire is reluctant to leave me from his sight. But after a while, he finally succumbs to her playfulness and indulges her little game.

The seadragon speaks to me again once her daughter is occupied and out of hearing range.“I was wounded and pregnant during the battle. I gave birth shortly after it ended. Those first few months of the injury were the worst. I—I couldn’t take care of my child properly.”

Her words trail and crack in my mind.

“This little one was stuck as soon as she knew how to swim,”she says, her tone becoming quiet and heavy.“I’m a terrible mother.”

To think that Kiiska has been living in that cage for more than seventy years… It breaks my heart to even imagine it. Tears prick the corners of my eyes. I’m glad no one is looking at me. I wipe them quickly before anyone can see it.

“You couldn’t leave to reach out for help because you needed to feed the little one and give her air,” I mutter to the frigid air.

She shifts her head a little, nodding to my question.

“My family must have thought I was lost in the war. And my mate…”I swear I hear the touch of sadness and longing and in her voice.

“You’ll meet them soon,” I tell her, even though it’s not something I can promise. “I think you’re a good mother. You didn’t leave your daughter behind and stayed with her.”

Maybe I’m just imagining it, but I swear her eyes soften a little.

“I am Ksatka,”she suddenly says.

Seadragons abiding to the tradition of their fae kin would never disclose their name to a stranger.

I greet her revelation with a nod and a smile.

It takes longer than usual for Ksatka’s body to fully heal because she is malnourished. But the blessings of the Un are powerful and eternal. The three strings slowly weave to patch every broken piece, stealing her pain away.

“There, all done,” I say, cutting the remaining thread to the stitch with my teeth.

Color returns to the seadragon’s scales turning her a darker shade of blue, almost similar to the deep ocean hue.

“Are we going home, mommy?”Kiiska asks.

The seadragon nods, stretching and testing her strength in the water. My heart hurts for everything they’ve been through.

“Thank you, friend.”Air particles shuffle when Kiiska dives into the sea to sing me a song. I listen to its rhyme, memorizing the tune deep into my heart. She pops up to the surface once again, moving her tail excitedly. The day is close to its end and I know it’s time to bid them farewell.

“Goodbye, Rhianelle,”Kiiska bellows a sad melancholic melody.

“Goodbye, friend,” I say to her. I wish I can hug the baby seadragon, but she is too big.

Kiiska does an excited little flip of her tail before painstakingly reaching her head to the cliff.“Thank you for helping my mom, Svenn.”

I could have sworn Svenn’s features soften a little when he touches her muzzle. It’s an attractive look on him and I love it.