Zane and Chupey went quiet.
“Is there some sort of silent alarm? Did they know I was here and planned to claim the throne the second we stepped through the portal?”
“They didn’t,” Zane answered, mouth turned down.
“Then why’d they start the trials?”
“I told them to,” a familiar voice cut in.
I whirled around in time to watch the crowd part for Ryker. Wearing boots, leather pants, and a shirt that exposed more than it hid, he stood out even in a room full of demons. Dark energy swirled around him and licked my skin.
“You told me you had no interest in the throne and I relayed the information to the council,” he said. His gaze drifted from my face and his lips curled up. “I should’ve known you’d be a redhead.”
I took an involuntary step back to get away from the enticing feel of his power. “What are you doing here?”
He cocked his head, his dark gaze flashing. “I could ask you the same thing, princess.”
Princess? Really?
What a fucking piece of—
“You look a little flushed,” Ryker said. “Not sleeping well?”
Memories of Dream Ryker spiraled up and if I wasn’t flushed before, I definitely blushed now. Heat spread across my face and down my neck.
“You need to stay out of my dreams, charmer.”
His eyebrows rose and a slow smile spread across his face. “I have many skills, Sloane. Many. But controlling or projecting myself into someone else’s dreams isn’t one of them.”
Fuck.
He leaned in. “Tell me…how was I?”
Right. Like this wasn’t one-hundred percent embarrassing.
“You need to leave.” I raised my hand and flicked it back and forth in a shooting motion. “You’re stuffing up the place with your inflated ego.”
His lips twisted into a condescending smirk. “I’m not going anywhere. You’ll have to get used to me.”
Yeah, I didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Why’s that?”
Zane stepped in. “Because, aside from you, Ryker is the top contender for the throne, and you’ll have to travel with him to the trials.”