Page 8 of Reveal Me
“Do you have a problem with the king of Panthera?”
She shrugged. “He’s supposed to be my fated mate.”
My brows raised at that. She knew. But she didn’t know. She didn’t know that I was King Dion.
“You don’t want a king as a fated mate?”
“What woman wouldn’t want to marry a king?” It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t quite an insult. “I just don’t want to marry that king. No offense.”
Some taken. “Why?”
“He’s a fuck boy. No woman wants to marry the communal dick.”
Communal dick? More offense taken.
But she wasn’t wrong. I had never had any problems with sharing my dick.
“You don’t get to choose your fated mate,” I said.
“No, but you can reject him.”
Rejection? It hit me like a ton of bricks. I had never considered it. But here was my opportunity. I could tell Niamh that I was the king. She could reject me. Then I could go back to how things were… with my dick as community property.
“Well, let’s get this over with,” she said. “Take me to the castle so I can reject my fated mate, celebrate my bestie’s wedding, and then get on with my life.”
Chapter 5
Niamh
Iwalked alongside him, my steps matching his long, purposeful strides. The plants had whispered that I was just outside the boundaries of the palace. I could see it from a distance, rising like a looming titan against the horizon. The towering spires reached up like fingers grasping at the sky, their silhouettes sharp and imposing against the pale blue. But the man beside me was all I could focus on.
He had the kind of presence that made a woman notice him; solid, commanding, yet somehow calm. A guard. Or at least, I assumed that’s what he was. Who else would be patrolling this area? He was built exactly how I liked them; tall, broad-shouldered, and a quiet strength about him.
His silence was a welcome change. It wasn’t that I minded conversation, but something about his stillness made me want to know more about him, to learn what lay beneath the surface. I didn’t need to know his name. He wasn’t meant for anything more than a momentary distraction, after all.
The world around us was quiet, save for the rustling of the leaves in the breeze. I let my gaze wander, taking in the wide variety of flora around me. The plants were fascinating—especially the ones that could kill you. Some might see it as morbid, but I saw it as power. A simple touch of mine could make even the deadliest plant bloom with the most beautiful poison.
“This place has more poisonous plants than I’ve ever seen. The variety of toxins is… incredible.”
Guard boy’s gaze flicked to me, brow furrowing slightly. “You’re a fairy?” His voice was deep, smooth, with a slight roughness to it, like it hadn’t been used much in conversation. His words were clipped but not unfriendly.
I raised an eyebrow and pointed to my ears. “What gave it away?”
I smirked, wondering if he really was that dull. There was something endearing about the simplicity of the question. It made him seem... innocent, in a way. I liked that. The dumb ones were often the best in bed, weren’t they? Especially when it came to distraction.
“The plants are similar to what we have where I’m from. I can match every species, every poison with a cousin from Earth.”
“Do you like danger?”
I shrugged. I didn’t feel the need to explain myself. It wasn’t like he was going to get to know me. I had a plan, and a man like him? He was just a diversion. No need for names or unnecessary conversations.
“In the Forbidden Forest, it’s not just the plants that make it dangerous,” he went on. “It’s the beasts. There are things in here that the world hasn’t seen in centuries. Things that have adapted to the magic of this world—twisted by it, you could say. Poisonous vines that move like snakes, trees that whisperyour darkest thoughts, and monsters that would tear you apart without a second thought if you don’t respect the forest’s rules.”
“Sounds like my kind of place.”
“How did you get in there?”
“Trickery.”
