Page 11 of Reveal Me
I noticed the view outside the window. The lush gardens, the distant horizon, the dark expanse of the Forbidden Forest. Something about that wild, untamed place drew me. It called to me, as if it were a part of me I couldn’t ignore.
But even the thought of that forest, so fitting for me, didn’t seem like a reason to give in to the king’s advances. It was a dangerous thing to desire a man who would never respect my heart. But if I could have a place like this, if I could rest my head on pillows as soft as clouds, maybe... maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe.
“Niamh!”
Stella encircled me in her arms. I face-planted into her ample chest. Stella was all curves, and being here on Panthera was doing her curves justice. She brought me to a sitting room that reminded me of her apartment back home. Stella had a love of recliners and had had a few made for her comfort. We sat with our feet up and drinks in hand.
“Spill, girlfriend. Tell me everything that’s been going on in the Crossroads.”
“Tori’s still stuck on Tartarus with her hottie. I’m not sure when she’ll be back—if she’ll be back. Kendall and I were supposed to meet at the All Hallow’s Ball, but I... well, got sucked into a portal instead.”
Stella leaned forward, a sharp look in her eyes. “Why do you think Vaelora did that? Send you through the portal?”
I’d wondered the same thing, especially since Vaelora was known to be a matchmaker, someone who sought out fated pairs. She must have known that my fated mate was here on Panthera. But I wasn’t ready to tell Stella that.
“Maybe she sensed how much I missed you.”
“Or maybe she thinks your fated mate is here on Panthera. That would be amazing! Then we could both stay here.”
“You know I have commitment issues.”
“You’ve been with me for years.”
“Because of what you do to my split ends.”
“You do need a touch-up.”
I laughed, but I gave Stella my back so she could tend to my hair. The familiarity of Stella’s magic washed over me. I didn’t bother to ask her what she was doing. The girl was pure magic when it came to a makeover.
“Tell me about Oz. When do I get to meet him in the flesh?”
Stella did just that. She told me all about the man she was in love with. I listened, oohing and ahhing at the appropriate places in the love story. But she didn’t have my full attention.
My eyes were fixed on a portrait on the wall. The man in the painting was striking. Tall, with dark eyes that pierced right through me like he could see me beyond the paint. His features were sharp and feline. His hair was golden, flowing in a way that reminded me of something wild, untamed. He looked like a man who could command armies, and yet there was something haunting about him, something familiar in the intensity of his gaze. He looked like the guard who had escorted me out of the forest. The one who had turned down my offer of a quick fuck in the forest.
“Who is that?”
Stella’s eyes followed mine to the painting. “That’s my cousin. King Dion.”
I stared at the portrait, my pulse quickening. It couldn’t be. Could it?
No, it definitely looked like the guard. But he hadn’t said he was a guard. He said he worked for the king.
Of course he would say that. It’s what a fuck boy looking to fuck would say. Except he hadn’t fucked me. He’d turned down my offer.
Why? What kind of game was he playing?
And then I remembered what I’d said. I’d told him who I was. I’d told him what I planned to do when I met the king.
He’d rejected me the moment he knew who I was. Not only that—he’d accused me of being the female equivalent of a fuck boy. But that was only because I thought he was someone else. I bet if he hadn’t known who I was, he would’ve taken me up on my offer.
An idea struck. A stroke of genius that would prove who had the most fuckery going on in this ill-fated match.
“Stella, can you make a few more changes?”
Chapter 8
Dion
