Page 12 of Silent Secrets

Marcos

“So?”Iaskwhen Caiden drops into the chair across from me.

“So what?”

“Don’t play coy with me, Cade. Hadley. Is she hot? She has to be, right?”

Caiden wrinkles his nose, disdain wafting off him as he stares me down. “Are you serious right now?”

“What did Marcos do now?”

I grin at the exasperation in Hunter’s voice. “C’mon, Hunt, why would you think I did anything?”

Hunter just rolls his eyes as he slumps onto the couch beside me. I grin, knowing that the big grump will not answer me because I already know the answer—I’m always annoying or pissing off my friends. But they still love me, even knowing that I do shit just to get on their nerves. I move over on the couch to give Hunter more room.

He’s a big guy, and he needs the room. While he’s only about an inch taller than my six feet, he’s seriously jacked. He spends entirely too much time in the gym, if you ask me, but the ladies seem to like the broad shoulders and the way his muscles seem to have muscles. Though I guess it could be the raven black hair, gunmetal blue eyes, and chiseled bone structure.

I can’t say for sure, seeing as I’m not into guys, but women flock to him. Not that I have a hard time with getting a girl. They love me just as much as they love Hunter. I might not be as built as my friend, but I’m no slacker either. I rarely spend time in the gym, preferring to spend my time in the dance studio.

Dance has been my companion since I was young, much to my father’s dismay and the love of my mother. My dad thinks that dance is a waste of time, seeing as I will one day be the duke of the Spring court. What he doesn’t understand is that it’s my escape, but I also know that it’s something I will never get him to understand. Once the music begins, I can lose myself in it and how my body moves.

The number of times I’ve had women ask me if my dance skills transfer to the bedroom? Talk about an easy way to pick up a girl to take home for the night. And the answer is yes, my skills do transfer to the bedroom. I’ve never left a woman unsatisfied when I kicked her out of my bed once we’re done.

“Where’s Kai?” Caiden asks, glancing at the door.

“Oh, his dad called him home for something. He said he’d be back in time for his lesson with Hadley.” I grin when Caiden pouts. “Suck it up, Cade. I’m sure he would’ve texted you if he could have. You know how his dad is.”

Hunter grunts next to me and I know he’s agreeing with me. All of our parents have high expectations of us since we will take over for them in running the courts one day, but Kai’s dad is just a fucking dick. Especially since he married his new wife a few months ago.

“I’ve got shit to do before I have to deal with the fucking princess,” Hunter growls, “so can we get on with this?”

“I don’t think she’s technically a princess—” I break off at the look Hunter sends me. Rolling my eyes, I hold my hands up in surrender. “Got it, big guy. Not important.”

Caiden doesn’t speak right away as he settles back into the chair again. I have to bite my tongue to keep from demanding that he tell us about her. Ever since my parents told me that Hadley existed—all of a week ago—she’s all that I can think about. I might be a tad obsessed, though that isn’t anything new. I’m quite good at hyper-focusing and I can’t help but wonder what she’ll be like.

A changeling? And not just any changeling—a changeling Fae queen. She won’t be like the girls from the Spring court who throw themselves at me, hoping that I’ll make them my wife. She won’t be like the women that I meet at the clubs here on Natsu from the other courts, who only want to sleep with me because it’s forbidden. I mean, she’ll obviously want to sleep with me because why wouldn’t she? But will she like me?

I shake my head at the thought. Where the hell had that come from? It doesn’t matter if she likes me or not. That’s not part of the plan. Damn, I need to focus. Turning back to Caiden, I realize that he’s been speaking while getting lost in thought.

“I told her I could get her back to L’Airid if she left now. She thought about it and for just a moment, I thought she was going to take me up on it, but she didn’t. I think she might be here to stay.”

“Unlikely,” Hunter grumbles, rubbing his hand over his chin. “She can’t be queen—she’s barely better than a mortal.”

“Isn’t that why we’re training her?” I can’t help but ask, knowing that it’s just going to piss him off.

“Do we really need to go over this again? Do you remember what our parents said?”

“Of course I remember. We’re going to do whatever is necessary to get rid of her.” I hesitate. “Though my mom said there was another way.”

“Fuck no.” Hunter shakes his head. “We’re not doing that. Just because I don’t think the best way to run her off is by bullying her like my dad wants doesn’t mean that I want her to become queen.”

I hold my tongue, glancing at Caiden. I can see the uncertainty on his face, too. We all agreed that Hadley wasn’t what Sorlphi needed, but how can we really be sure? The only one of us that has met her is Caiden and though he hasn’t said much, I think he might have liked her. If he didn’t, I’m sure that he would’ve already made that clear.

“Okay, Hunter. Whatever you say.”

Hunter glares at me once more before standing. “Fine, I’ll see you all at dinner.”

I watch him make his way back out the door of my sitting room before turning back to Caiden. “So… is she hot?”

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