Page 103 of Gilded Curses

Sahira beamed as she held out her hand, and Elsa took it. “Family is always welcome in Dragonia,” Sahira assured her.

A sheen of tears filled Elsa’s eyes before she blinked them away. “I can’t wait to see my new home.”

Orin opened a portal to the human realm. From there, they’d locate the open portal into Dragonia and travel on.

Like Elsa, he couldn’t wait to go home.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX

When they emerged into Dragonia, the guards and dragons overseeing the open portals barely acknowledged their arrival. Then the realization of who they were sank in, and they all did double takes. A murmur ran through the guards and spread across the realm until the merchants stopped shouting their wares, and a hush settled over the kingdom.

Dragonia was much as he remembered it, except there was more of a chill in the air and patches of snow-covered sections of the ground. Snow blanketed the mountains in the distance, and plumes of warm air flowed from the dragons circling in the sky.

In the distance, the golden turrets of the palace glinted in the morning sun, but at least these weren’t gilded turrets flecked with gold. Still, Orin’s lip curled at the sight of that gold. It would take him a while not to hate the color… if he ever stopped hating it.

After the disbelief of their arrival wore off, the immortals they’d worked with to defeat the Lord rushed over to greet them and shake their hands. Some of them gawked when they noticed Orin’s missing hand.

None of them stopped to talk, but they exchanged greetings while determinedly continuing toward the palace. Orin wanted to see his family, learn if Brokk had gotten free, and get away from all the attention.

He also sought a safe place to sit and relax with Sahira. None of them had slept well in months. They were finally home, and he would bask in the security of their freedom.

He kept his arm locked around Sahira’s waist as they made their way up the hill toward the palace. A trail of stunned immortals hovered around them, but some ran ahead to spread the word of their return to those inside.

They were a couple of hundred feet away from the main gate when Del ran out from beneath the portico and sprinted down the hill toward them. He moved so fast that Orin barely saw him before he skidded to a stop in front of Sahira.

His pale blond hair was tussled and sweaty as his bright blue eyes ran over Sahira. Cole had given him a red sun medallion that allowed him to walk in the day; it glistened in the sun as it hung against his chest.

“It’s true!” Heedless of the blood still coating her, Del wrapped his arms around his sister and pulled her forward. “It’s true.”

The last two words were barely more than a whisper as Del closed his eyes and squeezed her. Sahira fell against her brother and clung to him while small sobs shook her.

“Where have you been?” Del asked. “We’ve been looking all over for you. I was…. I was….” His voice broke. “I was so worried.”

“To Hell. We’ve been to Hell,” Sahira answered. “But we’re home now and not going anywhere again.”

When Del’s gaze shifted to him over Sahira’s shoulder, Orin smiled and gave a little wave of his fingers. The vampire, who had never been his biggest fan, scowled at him, which only widened Orin’s grin. Del was going to hate what was coming next.

When the siblings finally parted, they held each other’s arms as they examined one another. “Are you okay?” Del inquired.

“I am now,” Sahira said.

“Come, let’s get you cleaned up and some food. We can talk about it all afterward.”

When Del tried to pull Sahira further away from him, Orin stepped closer and slid his arm around her waist. Del frowned at him as Orin drew her against his side. “She’s not going anywhere without me.”

Sahira gently elbowed him in the stomach as she wrung her hands together and eyed her brother. He regretted instigating Del; she was far more nervous about this than he’d anticipated.

“It will be okay,” he assured her.

When she looked at him, he hated the distress in her eyes. They were free and safe; she should be rejoicing, not scared of rejection or whatever wrath might unleash from her brother.

He turned to glower at Del. If the man did anything to upset her further, he’d tear the vamp’s arm off and beat him bloody with it.

Sahira rested her hand on her brother’s arm as she leaned closer to him. “We’ll tell you everything, but we really want to relax somewhere safe. It’s been so long since that was possible.”

Some of Del’s shock wore off, and his fingers enclosed hers. “Of course.”

Her brother didn’t release her hand as he fell in to walk on Sahira’s other side. “Del, this is Elsa. She’s going to live with us from now on. Elsa, this is my brother, Del,” Sahira introduced.