Happiness filled her remaining few weeks aboard the ship. Auburn had escaped Qumaref with the man she loved. A man that loved her in return. A smile curved her lips as she realized soon she’d have her son, too. She wrapped her arms around herself as her chest swelled with happiness and love.

Turning her face towards the warm sun, Auburn sucked in a breath of crisp air tinged with the scent of salt. Dark water rolled in waves around the ship, and she found the lapping noise soothing.

A bird wheeled overhead, its screech snatched away by the wind. The bird was a sure sign they were approaching land.

Eli came to stand beside her, and she smiled up at him as the breeze teased strands of her hair.

“We’re close now, aren’t we?”

“A few more days at most.” Eli slipped an arm around her. “You’ll love Tamryn.”

“Of course I am. It’s our home.” She leaned against him, basking in his warmth and the rich masculine scent of him.

He described Aerius and the surrounding countryside again. She could hear the love in his voice and the longing. She smiled as she pulled his arm tighter around her. Home. They were going home.

Together.

She wondered what King Garrett would think of her. The Tamryn royal court. The Knights of Valor.

Not that any of them mattered. She had Eli, and soon she’d have their son. It was more than she’d ever had, and she’d fight for it. Fight to give her son the life he deserved and fight to keep the happiness she and Eli had.

She thought back to the vision of the man with the reptilian eyes and squared her shoulders. She’d take the final walk with Mor before she let the man steal all she’d worked so hard for, and if he made her walk that path, she’d take him with her.

* * *

Auburn awoke the moment the ship stopped moving under her.

Eli caught her lips with his. “As much as I want to make love to you to welcome you to Tamryn, King Garrett will know I’m home. He doesn’t like to wait.”

“Must run in the family.” She nuzzled closer, and he stroked her bare shoulder, down her arm, and over the curve of her hip.

“If it were anyone else, I’d tell him to go to Uzakiel while I welcomed you properly.”

Auburn smiled. “If your father is anything like you, I don’t think he’d take it well.”

“The king’s temper and patience is worse than mine.”

Grinning, she accepted Eli’s help out of bed. Excitement and nervousness coursed through her as she dressed and tidied her hair. She was in Tamryn. Home of the Knights of Valor. Blessed land of the Dragon God.

At long last, she was home.

She wanted the air to smell different, to feel different, and while it was colder than Qumaref, the same scent of salt and fish filled the docks.

“Ready?” Eli asked.

Auburn nodded, and he led her out of his cabin and down the gangplank.

Her eyes widened at the rows of wooden structures and the cacophony of faces, most pale like Eli. Heavier cottons and wools in browns and grays replaced the bright silks of Qumaref. The voices around her spoke Tamarian, but a version that was rougher than what her tutors had taught her.

She shivered, and Eli tightened his arms around her.

“Is it always so cold here?”

The prince touched a kiss to her temple. “It’s late summer, so it’s still warm by Aerius’s standards.”

“Summer? What’s winter like?”

“High noon is colder than a desert night.” He linked his fingers with hers and smiled. “But I promise to keep you warm.”

A shiver teased down her back, and a smile curved her lips. “Winter doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Welcome home.”

Tears sparkled in her eyes as she hugged him.

Home. She was finally home.

He held her close, stroking her hair a moment before leading her to the waiting carriages.

Though they bore no crest, the carriages were large, black, and imposing. The driver and footmen were liveried, but their livery bore no house symbol. With sharp eyes and broad shoulders, the men appeared less like servants and more like guards.

Eli handed her into one of the conveyances then sat beside her as he slid an arm around her. The prince held her close, the heat of him warming her and chasing away the wisps of fear.

She studied the strange buildings, tree-lined streets, and pale faces that watched them.

Their carriage drove away from the docks, and the other conveyances moved in beside them.

Eli squeezed her fingers. “Just a precaution.”

“A decoy. Sligo said security in Qumaref was lax, but I didn’t realize it was so rigorous in Tamryn.”

“I wish it didn’t have to be.”

“Sir Leopold told me about your mother.” He stiffened beside her, and she turned to him. “I’m sorry you lost her and sorrier you lost her the way you did. I understand why you’re so careful.”

Eli brought her hand to his lips. “My family has suffered a lot of tragedy. Fredrick’s brother was first, then my aunt. Finally, my mother. We take every possible precaution now.”

“You suspect your cousin?”

“Fredrick’s brother died as an infant, and at the time, no one thought he’d been murdered.”

“But you do now.”

Eli nodded. “His mother was poisoned less than a year later. Some said suicide after losing her son, but the Dragon Church ruled murder. They wouldn’t have done so unless they were certain.”

“So that leaves your father, your uncle, you, and Fredrick?”

Tightening his hold on her, Eli touched his lips to her temple. “Promise me you’ll avoid Fredrick. He’s a snake dressed as a gentleman.”

Snake. The vision flashed through her head again. “He worries you.”

“I’ve had a lot of time to reflect after these assassination attempts,” Eli said. “To consider what drives him.”

“What do you think?”

“It has to be the throne. The Dragon God will choose either one his children or one of mine to be the next king. Father of the king is a powerful position even if the Church chooses someone else as regent.”

“You think Fredrick killed his competition when Dracor didn’t choose him.”

Eli tightened his arm around her. “Not sure why he wants the throne as he seems to have little interest in ruling Tamryn.”

“Or ruling it well. He may exercise power like Premal rather than the sultan.”

“One of the many reasons Dracor never blessed him, and Fredrick still has no children for the Dragon God to choose.”

“Leopold said Rashalee has corrupted that branch of the family, and Dracor will let it wither and die.”

Eli shrugged. “If anyone would know, it’d be Sir Leopold.”

“What would happen if there was no Dracasan heir?”

“It’s never happened. I’m not sure what the protocol would be. I’m not sure there is protocol.”

Auburn rubbed her belly. “Let’s hope we don’t have to find out.”

Eli nodded and held her against him as he distracted her from the dark thoughts by pointing out various landmarks and telling her their history.

Auburn let him redirect her attention, but she understood the snakes in her vision.