Auburn awoke the next morning to find breakfast laid out and Eli beside her. He brushed a lock of hair from her eyes as he teased a kiss over her lips.

The ship rocked beneath her, and she sucked in a breath.

“We set sail with the tide.” Eli held her close and tucked the blanket around her. “I was going to wake you so you could say goodbye to Qumaref, but Sligo didn’t want either of us on deck.”

“Everything I want is here.”

“Me, too.” Eli rolled her beneath him and made love to her.

* * *

The rumble of her stomach woke her late that morning, and Eli was still with her. She snuggled into him.

He set aside the book he’d been reading and nibbled the back of her neck. “How are you feeling?”

“Queasy,” she said.

“It’ll take a few days for you to get used to the motion.”

She didn’t tell him she’d been sick most mornings for some time. “How long until we get to Tamryn?”

“Depends on the winds and the weather, but at least six weeks.”

She smiled up at him and stroked a hand over his hard chest. “Six weeks of waking up beside you every morning with nowhere to go and nothing to do?”

“The journey back to Tamryn promises to be far more enjoyable than the trip to Qumaref was.” Eli teased his fingertips over her the swell of her breast. “But you need to eat.”

He helped her slip into a silk robe and lead her over to the table. She selected a few bland things then picked at them as her stomach rumbled in protest.

Eli squeezed her shoulders. “It’ll get better. Perhaps a walk on deck would help. I’ve heard sailors say focusing on the horizon reduces the nausea.”

Auburn finished her breakfast, dressed, and followed Eli out to the ship’s deck. Her eyes widened as excitement and fear tingled through her.

Water stretched in every direction as far as she could see. Large waves rolled along beside the ship, and the scent of the ocean filled her nose as the brisk wind snatched at her hair.

Auburn swayed as the ship rolled beneath her feet, and Eli wrapped his arms around her and drew her against him. Pausing a moment, she reveled in the bright blue sky, the fresh saltiness of the gray ocean, and the ship rocking beneath her.

She’d done it. She’d escaped Qumaref and was another step closer to seeing the vision of her son made real. Auburn couldn’t suppress the smile that stole across her lips.

Leaning back against Eli, happiness filled her. Her strong hard prince wrapped her in his arms and leaned his cheek against her hair. Heat warmed her belly, followed by something deeper, stronger and more dangerous. Her breath tangled in her throat.

She loved him. And she’d admitted it to him, though she wasn’t sure he believed her. Auburn could only imagine how many times someone had said that to him to get what they wanted. And he knew she wanted to go to Tamryn.

Once they reached Tamryn, he would marry Lady Daniella.

Sadness balled in Auburn’s stomach. She hadn’t counted on falling in love with him, hadn’t planned it, but such was the gift of the Twins. A blessing and a curse.

She would have to find her own path forward in a new and foreign country. As much as she loved him, she wanted, needed a home of her own. A family.

And she would have it even if the man she loved couldn’t give it to her. She’d come this far for her son. She wouldn’t give him up now.

Eli teased a kiss along the curve of her ear. “What’s troubling you? I thought you’d be happy to leave Qumaref.”

“I am.” Her arms tightened over his.

Leopold appeared on deck and strode over to them.

Eli pulled Auburn closer.

“Glad to see you two up and about.” Leopold nodded toward Auburn. “How’re you feeling?”

“Tired and seasick.”

Leopold frowned. “Was gonna invite you to the captain’s table for dinner. Might not be a good idea if you’re sick.”

“I take my meals in my room,” Eli said.

“You might, but Auburn is a lot nicer than you. People like her. Want to see her at dinner.”

Eli scowled. “I’m sure your metamorphosis into a social director will thrill Lady Highland. She’ll be ecstatic to have you in attendance at all of her balls.”

Leopold growled a curse.

Auburn smiled and stroked the prince’s arm. “Whatever you wish. I want to enjoy this time together.”

“Good thing Ndrek’s not here,” Leopold said. “You’d make him gag.”

Auburn laughed. “How’s he doing?”

“Likes sailing even less than you do,” Leopold said. “Threatened to throw him overboard a couple of times on the way here if he threw up on my boots.”

A grin stole across her lips. “Poor Ndrek. I imagine it was even worse on a smaller ship.”

Leopold nodded and regarded Eli. “Giving her the tour?”

“She already knows the ship.”

“Been cooped up here too long already.” Leopold squinted at the horizon. “Even on a big ship like this, boredom sets in fast.”

“Perhaps Prince Eli could loan you one of his books.”

“I’ll take you up on that,” Leopold said. “Just not one with all those swirls instead of letters. And I still expect you to practice with me once you get your sea legs.”

“I look forward to it.”

“No you don’t.”

Auburn smiled. “I’ll get you a book.”

Choosing each step with care, she returned to Eli’s cabin. As she walked inside, the ship rolled beneath her feet, and she caught the edge of the table to keep from falling. She waited out another bout of nausea, and Auburn hoped she wouldn’t be sick the entire time they were at sea. She wanted to enjoy her last weeks with Eli.

The thought made her chest ache, but she composed herself and eased over to the bookshelf. Perusing the small library, she selected a book on the history of Qumaref, one on horses, and a crime novel.

As she headed back towards the door, the motion of the ship and her own rebellious stomach had her clutching a large trunk to keep her balance. Taking a few deep breaths, she waited for the nausea to pass then pushed against the side of the trunk to stand. A hidden compartment slid open revealing a Tamarian coin.

She lifted the coin and peered at the image of Eli etched into its surface.

Her eyes unfocused, seeing the coin but also past it. Eli’s hair lengthened and curled on the coin. His face morphed from the hard planes she knew to rounded cheeks and puffy lips. His eyes transformed from their brilliant blue to flat black discs, cold and reptilian. Anger and greed contorted the face, then darkness engulfed it.

Sucking in a breath, her hands shook as she studied the darkness more closely and realized thousands of snakes writhed in the shadows, their bodies twisting and coiling over and around each other as they devoured the dragon crest of Tamryn.

She swallowed a scream, threw the coin back into the compartment, and shoved it closed.

After several long, deep breaths, she steadied herself. Her hands still shook as she pushed herself back to her feet.

She didn’t understand the vision.

It wasn’t Eli. It couldn’t be Eli.

He may marry Daniella to secure his political plans, but he wanted to save Tamryn. Protect it.

She stared at the books in her hand and the ones still arranged by title and subject on the shelves. They told of a man with wide and varied interests. An intelligent man and a driven one. A man who loved his country and his people. Who had spent much of his life in service to them.

He was not hiding in the shadows waiting to strike. Waiting to kill. Waiting to take what was not his and destroy Tamryn.

She knew him better than that.

So what did the vision mean?

Her visions warned her, helped protect her. Guided her.

Auburn rubbed a hand over her belly. The fatigue. The sickness. Had she been with the sultan, they’d be rejoicing at the news. But Prince Eli had been adamant about not being permitted to give her a child.

She wasn’t sure what he’d do if he discovered her secret. If she ruined plans he’d spent his whole life crafting.

Her fists balled at her side, and she straightened her spine. She would not lose her son, not even to the man she loved. She had plotted just as long as Eli had. Maybe longer. She would not back down now.

Auburn swallowed hard as she regarded the trunk.

Steadying her thoughts, she considered the vision again. The shifting face. The snakes. The dragon crest. The vision was a warning, but she didn’t know what it meant.

Not yet.

She clutched the books and returned to Eli and Leopold. She then handed the volumes to the Knight.

“Thanks.” Leopold peered down at the titles and raised a steel-colored brow. “Interesting choices.”

“I thought you’d like them. You can learn a lot about a man by what he reads.”

“Some truth in that, I suppose.” Leopold turned from Auburn to Eli. “You let her get lots of rest. Sleep’ll help. Time’ll help more. Reading’ll make it worse. I’ll have a couple chairs brought out. She gets bad, have her sit in one and watch the horizon.”

“Thank you, Sir Leopold.” Auburn studied the Knight. Perhaps she could tell him the vision, see what he thought of it. But then she’d have to confess her condition, and she wasn’t ready to do that.

“Keeping Ndrek away from you for now. One of you gets sick, you’ll set off the other.”

“I’m taking her back to rest.” Eli touched his lips to her temple. “I’ll read to her and practice my Elven.”

A smile curved her lips and emotion bloomed in her chest. “I’d like that.”

Eli nodded to Leopold and helped Auburn back to their cabin. Once he had her tucked into bed beside him, he selected a book written in Elven, and he was still reading to her when she fell asleep.