Page 7 of Happily Ever Crowned (Underworld Royals 1)

“What?” He finally cracked an eye open. “You admitted yourself that I kicked your ass recently. Doesn’t leave a man all that warm and fuzzy about sending his best friend off to battle.”

“You did not kick my ass.”

“You bled out all over the mat,” he reminded me.

“We need to work on your definition of blood, G.” Except, in this case, he wasn’t exactly wrong.

“They had to replace the flooring,” he continued. “And you passed out.”

“Because you sliced open my abdomen with a dirty blade, you prick.” And it had hurt like a motherfucker. Took two days to heal, too, even with my immortality.

“You told me to give you my all.”

“And you certainly did.”

“And I kicked your ass,” he added.

I shook my head. “After I handed you your ass the day before. And the day before that. Oh, and the day—”

“If all you two are going to do is bicker all night, I’ll take my advice elsewhere,” Lux murmured, her expression one of amusement, not annoyance.

“Are you going to advise him not to go to Caluçon tomorrow?” Grigory wondered aloud, knowing full well his words were useless.

“It’s time, Grigory,” she returned, her voice hardening just the slightest bit.

“Here we go,” he replied, covering his eyes with a muscular forearm. “The prophecy says,” he began in a high-pitched tone.

I chuckled. “Don’t mind him. He’s just trying to figure out how to survive without me.”

His responding grunt neither confirmed nor denied my comment, but we both knew the truth. We’d grown up together, had learned to fight alongside each other, and had spent most of our youth causing his mother all sorts of problems. But duty always hung over our heads.

Grigory would be crowned King of Noxia in the next few years.

And me, well, I had a crown to win back from a wicked king with a deadly streak.

“You’re ready,” Lux informed me, her voice soft but sure. She pulled a box from some mysterious pocket in her wispy skirts and set it on the table beside my empty glass. “This is what I came to give you. It belonged to your father, and I think he’d consider you finally ready to wear it.”

I sat up, intrigued. “And you’ve kept it this entire time?”

She lifted one delicate shoulder. “He trusted me with your life and guidance. I’ve raised you accordingly.”

“Much to my chagrin,” Grigory grumbled half-heartedly.

“Is this behavior because I wouldn’t let you bring those humans down for a drink?” she asked, arching one shapely brow at her son. It didn’t matter that she was half his size; lethal energy oozed from her pores, darkening her gaze to black orbs and designating her as the queen of this kingdom.

Until he ascended, she would be his better.

Even if he didn’t want to admit it.

“Grigory is just upset that he has to miss out on all the fun,” I told her, grinning at my oldest friend.

The big man sat up, humor lacking in his expression. “Send me with him, Mother.”

“It’s not your fight,” she replied before I had a chance.

“The fuck it’s not. His family sent him here for a reason.”

“And that reason has been fulfilled. He’s ready, Grigory.” She stared him down, some sort of mental battle of wills happening between them.

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