Standing guard just a few feet away, I watch as Martha and Birdie drink sweet tea. Something darkens the sky. A big dark cloud, but then the sky gets bigger and darker and that cloud, is not a cloud because a dragon lands in front of me.
I rush the beast, my gun drawn, but then I freeze when I see the goddess sitting astride the animal. She is beautiful. Her blonde hair, her big blue eyes, her pale creamy skin. She’s like no woman I have ever seen before.
SYLVI
Quest moves quickly through the sky, his gigantic wings flapping as he makes his way toward the desert land of Devilrise. I have never been this far before, I have never been out of Wolfjour Ail before to be utterly honest.
I’m surprised that Aaric allowed me to even go on this mission, probably only because Quest is my guide and protector. No man or beast would dare to challenge a dragon. Not anywhere on this earth.
Quest begins to dip down closer to the red desert and I close my eyes, inhaling the scent of the new world around me. It smells like a mixture between dirt and freedom. I can not only smell, but I can even feel the freedom as it flows throughout my entire body.
We land soon. Quest announces in my head. I practically squeal in delight, then I decide that I need to be serious. I am here as an ambassador for Aaric and Liv, I am not here on vacation. Clearing my throat, I wipe the smile from my face and press my lips together.
Quest sinks farther down before he glides and then finally lands in front of a house. It’s nothing like the homes we have, but it’s big and obviously the leader of the country’s home, the exact man that I’m looking for.
When Quest lands, I watch as a group of men run toward me, their weapons drawn and pointed directly at me. Arching a brow, I don’t say a single word, at least not yet.
Slowly, I slide down from Quest, patting his back a few times before I make my way toward the handsome stranger in the center whose weapon is unwavering as he watches me.
“I am Sylvi, sister to King Aaric, the Sea King. I come with his permission to speak to Birdie and her husband, the ruler of the frontier,” I call out.
A woman rushes forward. She has dark hair piled on her head and her blue eyes widen as she focuses on me. She stares at me in amazement, her lips parted before she speaks.
“I am Birdie, you know Liv?” she squeals.
This is Liv’s sister. She looks nothing like Liv, and I realize that the prophecy must be real. This is not pretend, it is not fake, this is real and these women have been sent here by the gods themselves.
“I do. I am her sister-in-law. I must speak to you and your husband.”
Flicking my eyes toward the sexy stranger with his weapon pointed straight at me, I try not to smile in his direction. He’s beautiful. I had the affection of a beautiful man once, and it did not work out in my favor. Shaking my head, I shift my gaze back to Birdie.
I watch as another handsome man appears. He has longer hair, green eyes, and stands directly beside Birdie.
“You would like to speak to us?” he asks.
My lips twitch into a small smile and I nod. “I would. It concerns the prophecy and the future,” I explain.
The handsome stranger with his weapon pointed at me takes a step forward, he wraps his hand around my elbow and jerks me toward him. I pull my arm away from him, but his grip is too firm. Without a word, he practically drags me toward the house, and I let him.
I let him because I want to know more about him.
Chapter One
SYLVI
Jeremiah watches me. I should go home, but there is something keeping me here and I know that it’s him. The way that he makes me feel when he watches me, I’m not sure that I’ve ever felt it before in my life and that makes me feel guilty.
I should not want him. I should not desire him, but I do. Shifting my gaze from Birdie, I look over her shoulder and my eyes connect with his. My cheeks heat as his eyes meet mine. He’s so handsome, beautifully rugged.
“He is single,” Birdie whispers.
Jerking my head, I shift my gaze from Jeremiah to her. “What?” I ask, looking down to my lap.
“Jeremiah, he isn’t married, he’s single.”
I think about the last man that I had in my life who wasn’t married, the man that I wanted to marry. My heart aches at the thought of him, at the loss of him, but I cannot bring him back and I know that he is celebrating with the warriors and gods right now, not worried over me, he is in a kingdom of the likes that I cannot even imagine.
“I am the sister to a king. My brother will choose my husband.”
Birdie presses her lips together and shakes her head once. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
With a snort, I lift my gaze to meet hers. “It does not matter. I attempted a love match once and it did not work out in my favor. My brother will choose for me a man that he sees fit to marry me, at a time that is of his choosing.”
Birdie leans back, her palm pressing against her belly as her eyes search mine. Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, her gaze searching my own for far too long. Like her sister, Liv, she sees far too much.
“It seems as though you have loved and lost and you’re ready to give up. That makes me sad, because
