Page 21 of Tortured Royals

Nate gives us a lop-sided smile. “Yeah, I’m feelin’ it. And I don’t have a single regret.”

Prince Callan let’s out a frustrated noise, and he leads us further into the ballroom. We stop beside a giant stone pillar, sheltered from the queen’s view.

“So what now?” I ask the prince. “I’m guessing Queen Vespera doesn’t really intend to keep her promise once this party is over.”

Prince Callan stares at me. “If you realize that, then why are you here?”

“Why areyouhere?” I counter. “It’s obvious you hold no love for your queen.”Or the other way around.

“Love?” The archangel’s top lip curls. “I’m here because I don’t have a choice.”

I frown. “Then help me understand.”

His gaze connects with mine, and the golden flecks in his eyes brighten. For a moment, I think he’s going to explain. For a moment, I think I’ll finally get an answer to his strange behavior, but then the music of the harp grows louder, and he turns his head, distracted. A trio of singers step up to the side of the harp, and the music changes, the tone darkening as they harmonise an eerie tune. The angels around the room start to move, forming a circle around the mass of white cloud in the middle of the space. They dance and sway in time to the music, and the white cloud grows bigger, doubling in size like it’s a living being.

Prince Callan’s expression flattens.

“What is it?” I ask.

“A demonstration,” he replies coldly.

Nate curses.

I look between them, an uneasy feeling spreading through me. “What kind of demonstration?”

The music stops abruptly, and we all move to peer around the pillar as the queen lifts to her feet, the fabric of her long white gown pooling on the floor. Her face is hard set as she looks across the ballroom, weapons strapped to her like she’s about to walk onto a battlefield rather than attend a party.

She lifts her hands into the air. “Gather, my angels,” she calls out, “for tonight, we celebrate a victory at the town of Sailyn! Once again, we have shown the witches that angels do not fall, and we shall remain victorious, uncowed by them!”

The crowd erupts into applause, and Queen Vespera beams at them, her pearly teeth reflecting the light. “And what better way to celebrate than by enacting justice on another who has wronged us?”

There’s more applause, but when I peer around the room, none of the angels are smiling.

“Did I not say I had a badfeeling?”Shade grumbles.“It’s still not too late to leave, right?”

“We knew this might happen,”I say grimly.“The queen is known for torturing her enemies at her parties. We just need to keep our heads down.”

Mason moves closer to me and glares at Prince Callan. “What is this?”

I grind my teeth, wishing I had my weapons, and my mates all tense.

Prince Callan steps to the side, and it takes me a moment to realize why.He’s shielding me from the queen’s view.

It’s a noble thought, but I’m not prepared to hide from this.

“Keep quiet,” Prince Callan orders us quietly. “We’ll watch her have her fun, and we’ll only stay at the party long enough to fulfill our obligation.”

The cloud in the middle of the room continues to swell, and then the queen flicks her hands, and the mass stops growing. The music stops, and moaning fills the air. It’s the same couple we were listening to earlier when we were in the queen’s office, except when it gets to the same place where the recording was cut off, this time it continues.

“And what could be so important that you need to leave right now?”the female implores again, and a feeling of dread winds through me as the conversation continues.

“Oh crap, it’s the bad porno recording again,”Shade squawks in my head, but I quiet her so I can listen.

“I-It’s nothing,”the male replies, uncertain.

“Nothing?”the female replies, and I can practically imagine her pouting from the tone of her voice.

Everyone in the ballroom remains silent, all of us listening as the recording continues.

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