Page 73 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

“As long as you don’t tell Orion. He might have us all flogged for showing disrespect,” teased the other male as Riordan deposited me on the ground next to him.

I was surprised when the king grunted his agreement and did not sound very impressed about it.

“What brings you and your beautiful chosen mate?” the female soldier wanted to know, and she offered me a smile when I looked at her in surprise.

“Alexander, Maya, Lucas,” Riordan named them to me before he threaded our fingers together, “this is Amira. We are here so I can show her around the school.”

I saw them all look down at our hands, and it was clear they had never seen him touch someone like that because it seemed to surprise them.

“Ah! And are you going to start with the gym where you beat the piss out of us?” asked Alexander with a playful smirk. The others all laughed again.

“Shall we give her a demonstration of your prowess?” suggested Lucas, but Maya glowered at him and shoved at his shoulder in evident disapproval.

“You only want a chance to finally win a match against him when he’s probably all out of shape. Isn’t that right, Riordan?” she guessed, and they all laughed again.

“Or perhaps you finally take someone to The Grove?” Alexander teased, and at that, they all broke out into truly riotous laughter that doubled each of them over.

There was an element of heckling to the taunting that made me a little uncertain whether it was friendly at first. Then I took notice of their tails which were making wide, fluid sweeps that told me they were being playful rather than the short,sharp twitches that indicated agitation. Even Riordan’s tail was weaving loosely, and his wings were relaxed even as he shook his head.

“Get back to your posts,” he ordered them.

The soldiers did as they were told without question, although they were still laughing and grinning back at us as they walked away. Riordan was also smiling when he looked down at me and saw I was looking at him.

“You are happy,” I said when he looked confused.

“This is my favourite place,” he admitted, tugging me with him as we approached a hidden man door in the wall next to the main gate.

We entered a breathtaking courtyard with cobblestone walkways between the trees and grassy sections where griffins lounged with books. I’d seen enough students studying at the university campus in Scarborough that I recognized it here right away. Most of them did not even take note of us walking through the garden, and those who did see us did not recognize Riordan. They merely tilted their heads and eyed his golden armour that likely designated him as a real soldier and no longer a student. Then they frowned at my back as if wondering why my wings were away. I assumed they were too young to have been in the school when Riordan was there, and they had obviously never served in the military with him.

“That is the amphitheatre where announcements are made and awards are given. But we would sometimes put on plays,” Riordan told me as he indicated a truly massive open-air venue on our right. “Just behind it is the main lecture hall and all its smaller outbuildings where much of the theory and histories of battle is taught. And this place is the library,” Riordan added, gesturing to the stunning building ahead of us that was covered in vines at the edge of a tree grove. “Entry to the lower archivesis restricted to preserve all of the oldest scrolls my people still possess from our civilization in Aeolia,” he boasted proudly.

“So haveyoubeen down there?”

“I have. I am a prince,” he reminded me with a smug grin and a casual shrug that made me laugh. He really was so much more at ease in this place that it made me almost sad thinking about how much pressure he must feel all the time everywhere else. “I will take you one day when we have more time to see it all, but it is like a whole city of books and scrolls and artefacts beneath us!” he claimed.

We passed by the library and strolled into the wooded area where the trees seemed to split the campus in half.

“This… is The Grove,” Riordan informed me with a mock seriousness, and I recognized the name from when his soldiers had been teasing us.

“And what happens in The Grove?” I asked, unable to help from smiling in response to his mischievous grin.

“The kind of things that, until I met you, I did not have much interest in,” he advised me significantly.

My brows rose in shocked realization, and I glanced around us at the serene little forest. “They do ithere?”

“It is a little more discreet at night,” he admitted.

“And how wouldyouknow?” I demanded playfully.

“I have walked through here when it’s dark on my way back to the dormitories from a play or a meeting. It takes an Imítheos only one time to know that it is best to avoid The Grove at night,” he assured me, shaking his head.

“Hmm. And did you bring me here on purpose like the soldiers suggested?” I teased him.

Riordan looked down at me as if surprised, although I was not sure why. It had seemed obvious to me after the way he told me where we had come, but perhaps such an assumption was more reflective of my own wishes.

My mate stopped walking and turned to me directly, tugging me closer until I was pressed deliciously against his broad body. Then he released my hands and reached up to cup my face, tilting my head as he lowered his head achingly slowly. His eyes traced my face as he absorbed every ounce of my anticipation and desire for him like he craved the sight of it. His thumb caressed my cheek with such reverence, his lips tracing mine as if savouring the anticipation of kissing me.

If he meant to heighten my suspense for him then it had certainly worked. By the time he finally pressed his lips fully against mine and kissed me, I was practically squirming in impatience for him. And this time was not like the chaste kiss from the city when his lips had barely touched mine. It was still languid and deliberate, as if he were cherishing every second of it, but it was so much more heated. The way his breathing deepened, his exhale hinting at a moan like I was the most incredible thing he’d ever tasted had me ready to claw off his armour.

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