Page 96 of The Dragon's Gambit

She smiled and nodded her head. “Thank you. I think fun time will be on hold for a little bit. You three decide what it is we’re going to do.”

Reiya slowly walked to the bedroom and shut the door behind her. She saw Lee leaning against the wall, quietly staring at her. Whether this was the right or wrong decision, it was something she needed to do. She needed to know how he felt. It wouldn’t be fair if she didn’t ask him. She walked up to him and took his hand.

“Lee.” She looked into his blue pools and smiled. “There is something on my mind, and I haven’t told you about it because, well, I wasn’t sure if I would need to go through with it, and I didn’t want you to stop me if I did. But honestly, it’s bothering me not talking to you about it, which is probably why you could tell I was keeping something from you.” She had started rambling a bit, and Lee reached up and gently cupped her cheek. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

“I guess I didn’t want you to get mad or try to stop me,” she whispered quietly.

Lee let out a sharp sigh. “So, it is dangerous, then.” His head fell back, eyes squeezing shut as a groan escaped his throat.Breathe,he commanded himself. Listen first, react later. The last thing he wanted was for her to hide things from him because she feared his response. He'd promised himself to be more understanding, more receptive to her thoughts. Yet when her safety hung in the balance ...

“I mean, yes and no. It has been dangerous, but it shouldn’t be as dangerous to me.” Reiya bit her bottom lip and watched Lee open his eyes to look back at hers. “I guess I should start at the beginning, back when I had my vision. I heard a voice then, too. At first, I thought maybe it was my great-grandmother, but now Grandpa Sage and I think it was the Moon Goddess.”

“The Sage is in on this too?” Lee growled out in annoyance.

“I left Xander out, though.” She gave Lee a sheepish grin and then cleared her throat. “The voice …” She took in a deep breath. This next part would give everything away. “The voice said for me to find the Ocean’s Tear.”Yep, that did it.Darkness instantly flooded his eyes. She watched his lips curl back into a snarl and he growled angrily.

“You. Were. Going. To. Go. Get. The. Ocean’s. Tear?”

She listened as he enunciated each word and struggled to hold in his anger.

“I don’t know. Maybe, if I have to.” She bit her bottom lip as she heard him let out a dark chuckle.

“The game you played, when you asked me about immortality ... you were fishing for my thoughts because of the Ocean’s Tear. Sneaky.”

“It wasn’t fair, though. A game is hypothetical. It isn’t your real thoughts. That’s why I’ve been struggling. How could I possibly take away your immortality just so we can be together? That wouldn’t be fair. How could I make a big decision like linking our lives together on my own?”

Lee’s eyes softened and he held her face gently between his hands. “That’s not the problem here. A mortal life with you is all I could ever ask for. I don’t need eternity. I need you. My life will end when yours does, whether I’m immortal or not.” He leaned his head against hers. “If my life could end when yours ends, it would be a blessing. I don’t want to live in a world where you’re not part of it.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “But the Ocean’s Tear … it’s a trap, baby. And I don’t know what that damn Moon Goddess is up to.”

“Why is it a trap?”

“No one has ever returned from trying to retrieve it. Everyone who has gone for it has died. It’s nothing more than a trap from a jilted goddess. If she can’t be happy, then no one else can be, either.”

“Is the Ocean’s Tear not what they say it is?”Was it actually real?

“It is. It’s just impossible to get.” Lee brushed his lips against her forehead again.

“Is it, though? I’m not just a mere mortal, Lee. If it’s in the Merrow Queen’s hands, then I have a chance. She is technically one of MY subjects. She is a marine fairy.”

“She’s vicious. She would never give it to you. Reiya, push this from your mind. It really isn’t an option.” He did not want her embarking on a fool’s quest where she had no hope in succeeding.

“She is no match for me. I can at least speak to her with no ill will.”

“I can’t go where she is. She stays in a barrier where deities can’t go. This is why we can’t get the tear for ourselves. I can’t go there with you. I couldn’t protect you there.”

“I don’t need you to protect me, Lee. I’m not going right now. But at least think of it as an option. Don’t take it off the table. Because I would do anything and risk anything to be able to live freely with you. Do you not feel the same?” Reiya listened to his agitated breath.

“I can’t lose you, Reiya.”

“Right, and I can’t lose you either. I won’t live with you locked away somewhere. We can’t keep this secret forever. I need you, Lee. I can’t survive without you.”

He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. “I’m going to convince the others so you don’t have to worry about this, okay?”

Reiya smiled. “Okay, but if you aren’t able to, I’m going to choke the Merrow Queen until she coughs up the tear.” She gave a super sweet smile that made Lee chuckle.

“No more talk of the Ocean’s Tear then, promise?” Lee gazed at her lovingly.

“Promise. But if you fail, this fairy princess is raising hell. You really are overthinking all of this. The Merrow Queen killed other mortals, but I will be the first fairy princess asking for it. She won’t kill me. She could refuse me, but she wouldn’t kill me. I’m the one she needs to worry about, not the other way around. I’m being underestimated here.” Reiya sighed and rolled her eyes.

“I prefer to underestimate you. Then you’ll never be at risk.”