Page 142 of In Rising Tides

“Facing a war with the humans won’t win us any favor with the merfolk,” he said at last. “Even less if they think Lyra is the cause. Aegir has already painted a target on her back. Then he made it worse with his list of grievances.”

Lyra’s eyes slid closed at the annoyance that reminder caused.

“We need to tighten our borders and shore up our defenses nearest the land. Caspian, Hadrian, and Caius make sure no one is caught going in and out of your territories without your knowledge, and if there are any sightings of warships, let me know at once.”

His orders were met with stiff nods, but Caius turned a bitter glare in her direction.

“It seems like a lot of enemies are coming after her and her alone?—”

Drystan’s upper lip curled back as a scowl twisted his features. In two pumps of his powerful tail, he was eye-to-eye with his brother. “Speak plainly, Caius.”

“Is it worth keeping such a creature alive when all she has brought to our kingdom is the threat of war and instability?”

Lyra blinked, and Drystan had wrapped his fist around Caius’s neck.

“Threaten my fiancée again and I will shred you to ribbons.” Drystan’s threat was not a shock to the room, but Caius’ audacity was. It wasn’t that the others hadn’t been thinking the same thing. From the looks of agreement on Caspian’s and Lir’s faces, they had been thinking the exact same thing, but no one else had dared to say it.

“Lyra is the only thing standing in the way of us and utter annihilation,brother. You’d take care to remember that the next time you open your mouth to disparage her existence.”

Lyra found a smug smile curling her lips when Caius looked in her direction.

“I am right,” she said loud enough for the entire room to hear her. “And I don’t know if I would bother saving you, Caius.”

Drystan let go of his brother’s throat with a shove and headed towards Lyra.

“Violence—” Rigel began.

“Is not allowed in this chamber,” Drystan finished for him. “I didn’t spill his blood.No rules were broken.I will see you all at the temple next week, and I am looking forward to putting this all behind us. With proof of the goddess painted clearly for you all to bear witness, I expect your allegiance to shift to Lyra.”

The wind howled a mournful sound outside his window, and the blanket had long lost its warmth. Wilder turned onto his side, watching the leaves tremble in the window, blotting out the stars in the night sky.

He inhaled deeply, catching the scent of the sea and the crisp night air. But there was something in the distance—somethingthat shouldn’t be there. He pulled himself out of bed, tugging on his trousers and boots before heading towards the front door.

“The land woke me,” Ridge said from the shadows, nearly giving Wilder a heart attack. He flinched, reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” Ridge chuckled, but Wilder sighed.

“I scented him. But I was already awake,” Wilder said, reaching for the door handle.

Ridge was hot on his trail as they made their way outside. “How did he know where to find us?”

“I’m assuming the same person who told Jordania,” Wilder grumbled. “Warick.”

He squared his shoulders, placing his hands on his hips as Baelwyn rode through the trees. His grey cloak billowed behind him like smoke.

It took a heartbeat for Wilder to realize why he couldn’t hear the horse’s hooves. Because it wasn’t a horse at all—it was a unicorn.

Wilder and Ridge stood gaping as Baelwyn rode steadily towards them. It shouldn’t be possible. Wilder hadn’t even glimpsed a unicorn and yet here was Baelwyn, riding one.

“Greetings,” Baelwyn called as the unicorn came to a halt in front of them.

Wilder stood in awe, his lips parting as a breath escaped him. It was exactly how Lyra had described it.

“Impressive,” Ridge said, his voice uncharacteristically high. “How did you manage that?”

Baelwyn grinned at the creature and stroked a hand down its long mane. “I have a way with creatures.”

He bowed his chin to the unicorn, and it cantered away, disappearing behind the wall of trees.

“What brings you here?” Wilder asked, his attention shifting from the forest to Baelwyn.