His sword was still out in front of him, the tip a few inches from Violet’s navel. My best friend was watching me, her face drawn, eyes dropping at the corners. She looked exhausted, her voice low as she said: “Well, Ari made a new royal decree that I couldn’t cloak myself in the royal house, so naturally I had to come disobey her just to shake her day up a little.”
I shook my head at the magic born. “My day is well shaken, thank you very much. Is that all you came for? To scare me and nearly get stabbed by Blaine?”
Violet nodded. “Pretty much. Anyways, I actually have some work to get to, so ... see you tonight at the thing. Bye.” Then just like that she vanished.
“The thing?” I asked, and everyone shared a look that made it immediately clear they were keeping some information from me.
My wolf rumbled in my chest; still no one answered. Letting out a deep breath, I pushed my beast down inside. I knew they wouldn’t keep anything too serious from me, and for now I had neither the time nor the energy to beat it out of them, so I let it go. Probably Calista planning a poker night, or some other gambling-style activity.
I shooed everyone out of the room. Monica and the rest of my guard just chuckled as they went. Blaine was the last one left, and it didn’t look like he was leaving just yet.
He quirked his lips into a wry grin. “You know, Princess, if I’m checking your apartment for intruders and I yell … you’re supposed to run.”
“Never!” I didn’t even hesitate in my response. Our eyes were locked on each other, strong electricity charging the air, a spark I’d never noticed before.
I cleared my throat, stepping back so I could sit on the bed and take my shoes off. “Thanks for looking out for me … I’m just going to take a bath now before my dinner plans.”
Blaine’s green eyes shot through with darkness for a brief moment, before he lowered his head into a half-bow nod. “Right, I’ll just be outside keeping guard.”
As he left the room, I had to smile again at Violet taking him by surprise like that. She was such a pain, but she was my pain and I wouldn’t change her for anything. Blaine too. I was blessed to have such amazing friends.
Discarding my clothes, I strode into the private bathroom, which was literally the size of my old apartment. Stepping under the warm water, multiple shower heads directed spray at me from all sides. One perk of being queen was the best shower in the world.
Closing my eyes, trying to relax, I couldn’t stop the multitude of thoughts crashing through my mind. The most prominent was of a giant, dark-haired, amber-eyed shifter. Kade had said he was going away for a few days, and a huge part of me wanted to know where he was. Why was it so difficult to keep my mind off of him? I should be stronger than this. I should be able to control myself. The fact that I couldn’t was a bad sign. A very bad sign indeed.
That night, I dressed semi-casual in skinny jeans, gray suede ankle boots, and a red silk sleeveless top. My guess of a poker night was definitely out – Monica had told me to dress for a night out on the town. Her advice had my body thrumming with excitement. I hadn’t been out in forever, pretty much under lock and key since the Summit.
There was a knock at my door and I had no idea what to expect. When I opened it, I was taken aback by the three handsome shifters awaiting me. Victor, Ben, and Blaine looked stylish and magnetic, each wearing regular civilian clothes, dark wash jeans and nice button-up shirts. Their hair was styled and they were all freshly shaven.
Blaine offered his arm and I took it.
“My, my, what a lucky girl I am,” I said.
Ben winked as Victor grinned and said, “We’re the lucky ones.”
“So, are you going to tell me where we are going?”
Blaine just held on to my arm and shook his head. “Then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
As he turned to leave the room, I noticed a glint of steel sticking out of Ben’s back pocket. Ben was known for having peculiar weapons; he and Violet often stayed up late designing them. He’d craft the steel in his workshop and the magic born would infuse them with magic. He’d had more than one shifter try to buy a blade from him, but he was very selective about who got one. I had three; they were kept in a box that had been specially constructed for them.
As we walked down the halls, I whispered to Ben. “What’s your latest creation?” I gestured to his pocket.
His grin was pure excitement as he pulled out a small and menacing-looking half-circular blade with four round holes on the underside. When he slipped his fingers into the holes, I realized it was some sort of sharp-bladed brass knuckles.
“Holy crap,” I breathed, and Ben laughed.
“I also have a serrated wire in my boot – can behead a man in seconds,” he said, all casual-like as we reached the elevator.
Of course he did. I winked. “I’ll stick close to you tonight, then.”
Blaine let my arm go as we entered the elevator. As the doors rolled close I had to work hard not to bounce on the spot. I hadn’t been this excited in a long time. Were we actually leaving the royal home? And if so, where were we going? The anticipation was killing me.
Chapter Five
A whole new world.
Twenty minutes later, as my private car pulled up in front of a plain-looking brownstone on the Upper-Westside, I had half an answer. There was no one around, and despite hearing muffled music, I didn’t see any cool raging clubs.
I looked at my guys. “What’s this? Some house party?” Maybe the boys knew some shifters who lived here and we were doing a poker night?