Page 5 of Changed

I had thought I tasted the woman's foul essence, and Martina confirmed it. So, we at least knew that Ruya's information was likely correct.

Yukio turned in the front passenger seat so I could see his face as he spoke. "The preserve is full of lesser fae, mostly beings who are more animal than person. Some of them don't mind the emperor's comings and goings. But some of them have more awareness and reason—and they would be very happy to get rid of the unnatural disturbance in their environment. They won't interfere."

I nodded.

Then, because I couldn't help myself, I flicked my forked tongue out to lick my bottom lip. The pixie immediately seized up and turned to face front. I suppressed a laugh. By all that was holy, he really was afraid of snakes. What a silly fear. Especially for someone who followed a dragon alpha.

Martina jabbed me with an elbow, clearly predicting my thoughts, and I resisted the urge to shift to naga form. "We'll go over everything once we get back home," she informed me. "Robin likes to meet with everyone and get every perspective before we come to any conclusions."

I nodded. Wise. I supposed the dragon wasn't a terrible princess, if she took time to listen to her court.

I met Sanka's eyes in the rearview mirror, and was struck with a strange and unsettling feeling. It reminded me of the look I'd share with my cousin growing up, when we were deviling my younger sister. Yukio turned away from all of us to look out the window, his body language sharp and waspish. Martina shook her head and rolled her eyes at the lot of us, like a big sister pretending to be above her brothers' shenanigans. And… for one strange, dizzying moment, I almost felt at home.

Chapter 3

Ruya

Itook my place at the kitchen table as the others filed into the room and got comfortable. A soft thud told me someone had set something down in front of me, and I was greeted with the tantalizing scent of Yukio's hot chocolate. "Thank you," I murmured to whoever had brought the gift, reaching out to find the warm mug and bring it to my lips.

Decadent, creamy chocolate with a warming bite of spice burst on my tongue and I sighed in pleasure. My life might seem somewhat strange to an outsider. There was definitely an air of uncertainty and risk that hovered over us all as our princess drew the court closer to the moment of her revenge and the inevitable fallout that would incur. But that didn't stop me from feeling like the luckiest woman alive.

A warm hand touched my back in response to my words, rubbing light circles between my shoulder blades. Of course, Cicley spoke directly to my mind as he took the seat beside me.

A soft, haughty meow warned me a second before my cat friend, Lily, jumped up into my lap. I grinned at her tirade. While everyone else probably just heard mews and chirps, I understood everything she said, thanks to my strange magic. "The meeting can start now," she said as she settled into a sitting position in my lap, "now that I am here to preside over things."

Someone else nudged my elbow on the side not occupied by Cicely, and I pulled my arm back, only to hear the unmistakable sound of a plate sliding across the table. "Ginger cookies," Martina informed me, a smile in her voice. She took my hand and gave it a squeeze before guiding it to the plate.

Lily chirped, and I opened my mouth to translate, but another faint click told me Martina had placed another plate on the table. "And one for the cat."

Lily let out a little sneezing chuff sound. "Tell our subject she may refer to me as Queen Cat."

I laughed. "The Queen part was implied," I informed the cat with all the seriousness I could muster. "I'm sure."

Sometimes it was surreal how much my life had changed. Like a strange dream I was afraid would vanish when I woke up. Once upon a time, I had been locked up in a tower in a pocket world. The Order of the Triple Moon had kept me for my powers, using me to heal the people they chose so they could make alliances. They had kept me far away from animals once they realized I could speak with them. They kept me secluded from others, cut off from the outside world. They had cut my hair and nails down to nothing, selling pieces of me on the black market for spell components. The woman in charge had called herself The Mother, and she had sold me the lie that she was my actual mother.

For most of my life, I thought that was my purpose—to be a secluded priestess who only lived to serve the order—and I thought those people were my family. I thought that was how I was supposed to be treated, that it was normal. The way the rebel court treated me now was still slightly disorienting sometimes. It was strange to realize how drastically my situation had changed. And how wonderful it felt when I let myself accept the fact that this was how a family should treat those they loved.

Once they got past their initial suspicion, Robin's court went above and beyond every day to make me feel special, treasured, doted upon. It had been hard to accept at first, but now I soaked it up hungrily and basked in the warmth their attention brought. The warmth I had been missing all my life.

"Good evening, Ruya," Josh said from beside and slightly behind me. I turned in my chair to smile in his general direction and he chuckled. "You look beautiful today. You're practically glowing." He took my hand and kissed the back before adding. "It suits you."

Someone made an exasperated noise, but I ignored it. "Thank you, Josh," I said happily. "It's all due to the company I keep these days."

The human patted my shoulder and moved away, probably afraid to push his luck any further.

Things had gotten slightly less strained between Josha and Sadavir and the others since I stole my new friends from the syndicate's vampire coven, but there was still some friction between the newcomers and the rest of Robin's loyal court.

And on the heels of that thought, Sadavir arrived and proved me right. Most of the friendly chatter and banter around me quieted as the alpha naga prince entered the room. I couldn't see them, of course, but I imagined everyone was probably giving him wary looks. Either that or pretending to ignore him while watching him out of the side of their eyes. For the longest time, this court had one dominant alpha. Robin ruled them, and she was a force to be reckoned with. Martina willingly fell in line with the others even though she was an alpha herself, not wanting the burden of leadership after all she had been through. But Sadavir upset all of that, his power and his allure something that the instincts of the alphas and betas around me hated in their carefully balanced group.

And that was before taking into account that my strange omega urges insisted that both Sadavir and Robin were my potential true mates.

I really had upset Robin's tight-knit court. But I couldn't find it in me to feel bad about that. Josh and Sadavir had needed me—needed us. And I would never regret that. Even if it did occasionally make things awkward. Big, warm hands squeezed my shoulders, massaging and comforting as Sadavir's overwhelming alpha aura washed over me, beckoning, offering the promise of steady, unconditional love and devotion. I couldn't hold back the little sigh that escaped my lips as I let my head drop back, my eyes fluttering closed in pleasure.

I hadn't been intimate with Sadavir since we returned home from the vampire coven. Merely hugging him or kissing him was enough to set off all of my overprotective fellow court members, and I didn't want to cause a fight. But I wanted him. By the goddess and all the magic in all the realms, they had all better work out their differences soon. Because I knew Sadavir was mine, just the same way I knew Robin was mine. I was becoming more confident in asserting myself every day, and that led to only one conclusion. The alphas were going to have to learn how to share.

A soft, deep chuckle told me that Sadavir had some sense of what I was thinking. Maybe he could scent my arousal in the air. I wasn't near my heat right now, but I had learned that hiding these things was impossible in a room full of shifters.

Robin's fiery dragon aura entered the room, and I felt Sadavir stiffen. To his credit, he didn't growl or issue a challenge, but he was slow to remove his hands from my shoulders, dragging his fingers over the exposed skin at my collar in a sensual slide that promised we weren't finished. I smelled smoke and I rolled my eyes.

---