Page 198 of Psycho Beasts

Cobra lost his silent battle and burst out laughing.

“You learn something new each day,” Jess said with amazement.

Lucinda brought her hand to her mouth in shock, and Jala’s pink eyes were large as saucers.

Jax pressed his palms into his eyes and muttered something about sisters being the death of him and sending Jinx off to an intensive military school.

I shuddered at the thought of Jinx with combat skills.

“Where did you learn that?” Ascher asked the twelve-year-old, while Xerxes looked at his blades like he was debating stabbing himself through his skull.

Jinx shrugged. “I’ve been places.”

“Excuse me.” Jax growled, “What places have you been, when you’re twelve years old?”

“You know. Places.” Jinx took a delicate bite and sipped from her crystal glass.

Aran was still silent beside me, pushing her uneaten food back and forth, not reacting at all to the wild twelve-year-old spouting sex facts.

Her shoulders hunched lower as she itched mindlessly at her back.

Fuck.

Her itching made me nauseous because it was a reminder that she could never have sex without pain.

I gripped my steak knife tighter and wished I’d tortured the queen longer with my blood and made her hurt herself like she’d hurt Aran.

A loud banging noise and the sounds of Walter talking to someone in the foyer interrupted my dark thoughts.

Everyone fell silent at the butler’s uncharacteristically agitated voice.

It felt like my bleak mood had summoned danger.

“I’m going to check it out. Stay here,” Xerxes ordered as he stalked out of the room.

Xerxes’s voice was muffled, and a few minutes later, he returned to the dining room, with Walter trailing.

His olive skin was unnaturally pale, and he raked his fingers across his stubble like he was frustrated.

In his hand, he clenched a bright-red piece of paper with words on it.

Xerxes looked at Aran, and the nausea in my stomach turned into razor blades.

I tapped my foot with concern as my intuition screamed at me that what he was about to say wasn’t good.

Everyone stared at him expectantly.

“The High Court has delivered flyers to every residence in Serpentine City,” Xerxes said as he held the paper up.

My heart pounded so hard that my chest hurt.

He read, “A ruler from another realm is being held hostage in this city. They must be returned to the High Court’s embassy on Fifth Street. Emergency summons have been put in place in the city. Summon us by speaking the number of our street in Latin.”

Xerxes took a deep breath.

My stomach dropped out from beneath me, as I knew what he was going to say before he did.

“It is the rightful Queen of the Fae Realm.” He paused and said quietly, “Arabella Alis Egan.”

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