Page 125 of The Keeper of the Kingdoms

His fingers plunged deeper into my hair and he held me to him as if he couldn’t stand so much as a breath between us.

“I love you too.”

I felt his lips curl against mine.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“For what?”

“For bringing me here. And not just to make me trust you. Thank you for sharing your home with me. It’s making me see you so much clearer.”

“I’m just happy there are no more secrets,” he replied.

Pulling away. I rose up enough to back away, and he reached to pull me back.

“Where are you going?” he pouted.

I smiled down at him. “Wasn’t there some suggestion of me owing you an apology with my tongue?” I smirked and skimmed my fingers down to the top of his pants.

“Goddess save me,” he whispered.

FORTY-SEVEN

JAXUS

“Did we need this much secrecy?” Emrys pulled back his hood, revealing his salt and pepper hair pulled back into a low tie at the nape of his neck.

“We did.” I kept my voice solemn. “If anything I say is too much for you, I beg you to remain silent on the subject as my friend. I need you to swear it to me before we go on.”

“I owe you my life. You can ask anything of me.” Emrys held up his hand. “And beyond that, I think you are right when it comes to the elders driving us to extinction with their unwillingness to aid the Twelve Kingdoms. Being the last remaining alive is still only prolonging disaster.”

I accepted his hand and pulled him into my chest in an embrace. “I trust you with my life.”

“And I you, soul brother.” Emrys squeezed my shoulder.

We put our foreheads together before breaking apart.

I felt Kiera smile from her place in the shadows. I raised a hand, commanding the others to reveal themselves.

My brother stood next to Kiera, and Faolan, Emrys’ eldest son, leaned against a tree.

Emrys’ eyes widened in shock. “I see we are in good company.”

Faolan flashed a crooked grin. “The elders would exile me if they could. Might as well exile myself.” He shoved off the tree, nodding his head to his father. “If you tell me to go home, I will tell you to go to the Goddess.”

“I would expect nothing less.” Emrys glanced between his son and me. “Do you want to leave with Jaxus?”

“Yes. There is no place for me here. And they’ll eventually kill me if I stay.”

Emrys frowned, but he didn’t disagree.

“What are they talking about?” Kiera asked silently.

“Our elders will euthanize dragons who refuse to conform to our way of life. We don’t believe in imprisonment. It’s torture.”

Kiera gasped audibly. Everyone looked at her.

“Barbaric, ain’t it?” Faolan grinned, cocky as always. “I deserve it. I’ve been spouting anarchist ideals since I could speak and undermining the elders’ authority since I was old enough to get anyone to listen to me. I’ve created a fair amount of unrest, and I’ll only do more. I can’t live here any longer. I’d prefer they kill me if I can’t get out.”