Page 12 of Tortured Royals

Lifting from the water, I go to grab my clothes, but Dante wraps his arms around me, not letting me go. “And where do you think you’re going?” he drawls.

My lips twist. “I need to wash my clothes. There’s no point bathing if our clothes are still covered in blood.”

“And what makes you think you have to do that?” Dante asks.

I frown, wondering if my demon is confused, but as Mason reaches my clothes and sets about the task of washing them, I realize what my demon is getting at.

“Rest, my mate. It is our duty to take care of you,” my centaur shifter says with a smile as I gape at him.

“See,” Dante says smugly. “He wants to do it.”

I smirk, knowing full well Dante wasn’t going to. “And what aboutyourclothes,” I point out, indicating to where his bloodied clothes are in a heap on the bank.

“All in good time,” he murmurs by the side of my head. “For now, just let me enjoy you.”

Chapter

Six

~ Princess Blake ~

Ashort while later, all our clothes are hanging from the nearby branches to dry, and Nate, Mason, Dante, Shade, and I are lazing in the sun. Alaric hasn’t spoken a word since watching us in the pool, and he rests with his back against a tree, using one of his blades to whittle down a piece of wood he’s collected. He carves the end into a tip, and I guess he’s creating a wooden arrowhead. I ask him about it twice, but each time he only responds with a grunt.

“Yep, he’s definitely making you a wooden butt plug,”Shade comments as we theorize what it could be.

I cough, choking on my own spit.“Excuse me?”When she’d returned to the hot springs after my time with the guys, she’d squeezed details out of me, and I’d admitted how I’d been with Mason and Dante at the same time.

Reaching across, Mason rubs my back soothingly. “Are you okay, my mate?” he asks with concern.

Clearing my throat, I pat my chest with my hand. “Never better.”

“It’s probably so that next time you can take his giant cock,”Shade adds, ignoring Mason.

I narrow my eyes at where the crow is crouched in the shade. She stretches out her wings before folding them again.“And to think, I used to believe all birds were innocent creatures.”

“What can I say,”Shade replies.“The humans corrupted me.”

I frown, but I don’t comment on that. I’ve tried to ask Shade about her past on multiple occasions, but for the most part, she tells me she doesn’t remember much. Just her cage. Her other memories come in snippets, but she struggles to piece them together.

“What’s with the giant, anyway?”Shade asks, pulling me from my musings.“I swear after the battle in town, he’s gotten grumpier. I didn’t even think that was possible.”

I shake my head.“Who knows what goes on in his mind.”

I’m about to ask Alaric what he’s carving for a third time, when Prince Callan finally makes an appearance. He strides toward us, his expression weary as he stops close to where we’re relaxing.

Like Alaric, his clothes are still splattered with blood and grime.

“Nice of you to join us, brother,” Mason says, resting his arm on my side.

Prince Callan’s eyes lower, and his gaze goes to Mason’s hand before tracing over my naked body. His attention goes to the pools of water, and then to where our clothes are hanging in the trees.

“How is everything back at the township?” I ask the archangel, and he blinks, his gaze snapping to my face.

“Construction is well underway,” he replies coldly. “The town will be whole again before long.”

“Well, that’s good news, so why does he still look like he’s about to be sick?”Shade comments.“Maybe you should encourage him to have a dip. Something tells me he’d feel a whole lot better if he did.”

She’s not wrong. Now that I’m out of the water and dry, all those worries and concerns are on my shoulders again, weighing me down. The archangel could use a break, but something tells me that bathing is the last thing on his mind.

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