Page 10 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

Tears stung my eyes and the back of my throat ached from attempting to hold back an emotional response to being looked at like I was gum on the bottom of a shoe. Ornella tried to warn me, and I had thought I was prepared for it, but the hostility was overwhelming. His mother’s look of disappointment washauntingwhich I supposed was why Riordan said not to strive for the esteem of these people. It didn’t even seem attainable for someone like me.

Riordan was positively vibrating with fury next to me, and his voice was uncharacteristically rough while he was admonishing everyone, but it was still comforting. It was strange that his temper would make me feel so safe when aggression had only ever frightened me before.

Rhea tried to reason with him, but although his voice softened with his sister, Riordan remained firm until she eventually curtsied.

The king turned to me, his wings lifting abruptly to block the others, and Orion moved in response to lift his right behind me with his back to us. I felt Riordan erect a shield around usto protect our words so it was almost like being alone as he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a tight squeeze.

“Are you alright?”

“I will be,” I mumbled into his shirt, closing my eyes to soak up his proximity while I was able to.

“Rhea will take you to your room so you can have a hot bath and relax.”

“Where areyougoing?” I asked, leaning back to look up at him in concern.

“I need to know what is going on with our defenses so we can begin to determine what the Autumn Prince wants with our people. So we can get Ornella back,” he said.

“Now?” I verified.

“I do not like that intruders have been able to infiltrate our borders so often without consequence. And the sooner I remind this court who I am, the sooner they will accept my authority and your place at my side,” Riordan added.

I looked up at him in surprise with this last response. “And who are you to them?” I asked, genuinely curious what he meant by that statement.

“The General of Kórinthos,” Riordan answered with a crooked smile and a shrug of one shoulder.

“So, you’re not taking Orion’s advice then and plan on waving your sword at everyone,” I teased him. I tried to force a smile to my face in spite of my reluctance to be left alone in this unkind place without him.

Riordan did not buy my attempts for a moment, and he leaned forward to press a lingering kiss on my forehead.

“I am not good at etiquette, I am good at war, so that is how I must make you safe,” he reassured me.

I understood his reasoning, even if I was not sure how I felt about it, but it was his home. These were his people. He understood them better than I ever could, so I merely nodded inagreement. I was tempted to ask him to take me with him, not only because I didn’t want to leave his side, but because I was genuinely curious to see him in action. But I was sure that my presence would only complicate things for him. No doubt the others would be distrustful of a perceived enemy in their midst while discussing their defenses. And the idea of hiding from their harsh scrutiny in a hot bath for a little while was just too appealing for me to resist. Perhaps that made me a coward, but I didn’t have the energy to care just then.

“You’ll tell me what you learn about what might have happened to Nell?” I verified, and Riordan nodded.

“Of course. I hope you will join me for these debriefs in the near future, but for now, I want you settled.”

“Okay,” I agreed.

“I will send Ares and Orion with you. Orion and I can communicate over a distance, so you can keep in contact with me through him,” he offered.

I saw Orion’s wings begin tensing on either side of us. Not because he could hear our words through the shield Riordan had erected, but because he could probably hear them right through his bond with his king.

“Just take Orion with you. I’ve had enough dirty looks thrown my way for today, and he seems to dislike me the most out of everyone,” I pointed out.

Riordan’s jaw tightened, and his eyes hardened.

“They are all ignorant and entitled. I am sorry for their behaviour. They will learn better. And Orion is obstinate, probably even more stubborn than I am, but he will come to care for you. I am confident of that,” he told me.

Orion did not react this time, so I assumed that he had either schooled himself or Riordan shut him out. I would need to watch that connection of theirs if I wanted to have any privacy from Orion.

“Well. I am not going to hold my breath,” I admitted. Riordan might know his friend, but he seemed completely unaware of how the other male really felt for him, and it complicated things. I could tell him, of course, but I was sure Orion would hate me even more than he already did if I blew up their friendship with that kind of knowledge.

Riordan tipped my chin with his thumb and forefinger to meet my eyes, and I was helplessly distracted by how gorgeous my intended mate was. It seemed insane that he wanted me, someone hisskiáand family disapproved of, when he could probably have his pick of women.

But hedidwant me. I trusted that now after the way he defended me to all of them. And I trusted he would find a way to make me safe and comfortable here too.

“I will take Orion with me as you wish,” he conceded, his golden eyes dropping briefly down to my lips. “I will come to you after my meeting, and we can eat together. We will talk about everything then,” he assured me.

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