Page 17 of To Bleed A Kingdom

“Did Theon eavesdrop at the door?” I snap, slapping my tankard against the rail. “No one else was in the room!”

Her lips spread into a wide, unabashed smile as she nods enthusiastically. “Of course!”

“What did your mother say?” Griffin asks.

Tearing my gaze from my nosey sister, I expel a mirthless laugh. “She threatened to strip me of my command and banish me from the palace if I ever disobeyed her again.”

“What. A. Cunt.”

“Kace!” Griffin scolds, lips slashed in a disapproving line.

“What? She is!”

“She's your queen,” I respond neutrally.

“Okay, she's Queen Cunt.” We all groan at his response and he shrugs. “What? You know it's true.”

“Yes, but you don't say it in public,” Griffin says on a sigh, weary of the fae’s foolish habit of not guarding his words.

“What's she going to do? Torture me? Kill me?” He scoffs, swigging from his ale.

“Kill? No,” Aurora replies, slowly shaking her head. “Torture and maim? Absolutely. Killing those who are only verbally opposed to her reflects poorly with the people.”

“How magnanimous of her,” Griffin states dryly.

“I’m actually surprised you all thought the Kings Council would be willing to act against Brecca,” Aurora says, bobbing her crossed legs as she leans back against the bar.

“And why would you think that?” I ask.

Drumming her nails on the rail, Aurora watches us for a long moment before placing her tankard down and clasping her hands in her lap. “The rulers on the Kings Council like to believe they’re the most powerful beings on the continent, but they’re not. The Breccans are, with their Gods Cursed and army of Soulless. They know this, you know this, everyone does,” she says as she twirls a finger, gesturing toward the patrons of the filled pub. “Yet we all act like we forced them to retreat, even though we all know we didn't. They slaughtered hundreds of us within minutes and walked away. Not because we defeated them, but because they chose to leave.” She shakes her head, scoffing. “And you wonder why they won’t pursue an enemy that could exterminate every last one of us? They won't do a godsdamn thing unless given no other choice.”

“I gave them evidence,” I remind her.

“You gave them evidence that was easily dismissed.” She pats my leg. “You need to give them facts that are irrefutable.”

I rub the scruff along my jaw, processing Aurora’s words. This task was already a difficult one to begin with, but considering this, I realize how much more complicated it is if the rulers aren’t even willing to consider the possibility of Brecca’s return.

Tossing back the rest of his pint, Kace slaps his empty tankard on the bar, the noise jarring me from my thoughts. “I'm weary of all this talk of doom and gloom. We must raise this male’s spirits!” He claps me on the back, waggling his brows. “What you need is a beautiful female to fill your bed.”

“No.” Eyeing Mona down the bar, I nod and stand, tossing a few coppers on the counter.

“Don't be like that,” he chastises, scanning the crowd. “Not many favorable options at the moment, I’ll admit,” he mumbles before his eyes light up and he whips his gaze to mine. “I know what we can do. You can join me at the brothel!”

“No,” I repeat, nudging him out of my path.

“Why not?” Tossing his arm over my shoulders, he tugs me to his side. “There’s plenty of females there willing to deal with your dour mood. If you pay them enough,” he adds unrepentantly. “Now, there's this new shapeshifter there. She can’t shift only her throat, but…” Kace’s eyes suddenly widen, his words drift off, and his jaw drops along with the arm he tossed over my shoulder. “Dear gods.”

Frowning at the awestruck fae, I search for what has rendered him speechless, but as I scan the pub, I find nothing of note. Not until I catch sight of the vision walking through the door of the pub and I freeze, stop dead in my tracks as my world, this realm, my entire existence condenses to her and her alone.

They say my mother’s beauty could rival Uriella, the Goddess of Light herself. But not my mother, not a goddess, nor any other creature can hold a candle to the female woman who just walked into the tavern. She’s breathtakingly gorgeous with long, wavy black hair; golden, sun kissed skin with high cheekbones; and a red, heart-shaped mouth that will be the object of my fantasies for as long as I take breath. Yet, what truly makes her beauty so astonishing, to forever have no equal, is the unique color of her eyes. Almond-shaped, with full, black lashes sweeping above orbs the same deep, dark shade of amethyst, they gleam even more brilliantly than the coveted violet jewel.

Trip escorts her along with three others towards the center of the dining area, but all I see is her as I peruse her muscular, yet curvy frame. I force my gaze to pass over the plump breasts contained in a brown leather vest, but my gaze stutters on its path once spotting her partially bare abdomen, imagining how I would sell my soul to lick beneath the seam of her vest to the slip of golden skin she's left exposed below. Trip pulls out a chair for her and as she seats herself, I'm unable to stifle a groan when I see the burgundy leather trousers that hug the globes of her tight ass.

I'm completely gobsmacked by the divine creature and her bewitching beauty. My heart races, my palms are sweaty, there's a ringing in my ears, and my dick has swelled to half-mast. I can't move, can't breathe, can't think. My entire being is focused on her and her alone. There’s nothing I’m not willing to do to make her mine.

“She's mine,” Kace breathes.

My palms instantly flare, glittering orange as a visceral, blinding rage previously unknown surges within me. “Don't. Touch. Her.”

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