The other men took a step back.
“You have precisely five minutes to leave my palace or I will release the beast inside me who is currently roaring to be freed. And, just so there is no miscommunication between us, I have no sexual interest in you either.”
“I . . . are you asking me to leave?”
I leaned forward and said, “No, he's telling you to run.”
As if to confirm it, the King growled.
The Shanba lord spun on his heels and fled. I watched his antlers bobbing above the crowd as he made a beeline for the exit, feeling a deep satisfaction at the sight. Once he was gone, I glanced at the King, intending to shoot him a secret smile, but wound up doing a double-take. I expected to find him smirking. He was not. His look was hot, but I, unlike the Shanba, knew better than to misinterpret it. That heat was not sexual, it was pure rage.
King Tarocvar didn't bother to make excuses to the group he'd been speaking to. He just stalked away, leaving me and Ren to hurry after him.