Page 17 of Forsaken Royals

Arden frowned, cupping her mug with both hands. The collar of her robe fell open just enough for me to see the curve of one of her perky breasts. “You saved those kids.”

“We did.”

“Why?”

“Why?” I snorted. “Why wouldn’t we? They’re kids.”

“But you…” She crossed the bedroom and went into the living room, where the coffee machine was. “It just didn’t seem like something you three would do. Especially going to rescue them yourselves with all the military and enforcers you have.”

I shrugged, leaning in the doorway between the two rooms. My eyes followed the length of her legs as she bent over to get some creamer from the small fridge. My cock stirred. That robe had seemed like a good idea before, but that was before I saw her in it. Its hem rode dangerously high. Was she even wearing panties?

She stood up straight again, allowing me to think.

“We do it a lot. We’re more powerful than all of them combined,” I said. The coffee smelled good, even coming from the tiny machine. “Make me a cup of coffee, would you?”

Arden hesitated, glaring at me. Still, she poured me a mug, since she was there anyway. I levitated it out of her hands with a simple spell, so I didn’t have to move from my spot.

“If you’re so powerful, why have all this security at all?” she asked.

“We have to turn our backs sometimes.” I shrugged, taking a sip. “Better to have backup and not need it than not have it when you need it. Plus, there are fae like you who try to pull one over on us.”

She huffed, hiding her mouth with her mug.

“Speaking of pulling one over.” I pushed off the wall and approached her. This time, she stood her ground, tilting her head back to look me in the eye. I wasn’t seeing things—her pupils dilated when she looked at me. If I dipped my hand into the opening of her robe, would her nipples be hard? “Tell me where the artifact is.”

She looked away, but I took her jaw in my hand as gently as I could and forced her to look at me again. Her pulse pounded under my fingers, her rapid heartbeat almost syncing with mine.

Something had shifted in her mind last night after she saw us saving those kids, but was it enough to get her to speak? I ran my hand down her neck, warming it just enough for her to feel the difference when I gripped her. She tried to move, but I held her in place. The fear in her eyes clashed with the scent of her arousal that was perfuming the air around us.

“I’m serious, Arden,” I added. “You feel this heat from my hand? I can make it ten times worse. Leave hand-shaped burns all over your pretty skin. All over it. On your throat. Your breasts. Your ass and thighs. I could brand you any way I wanted.”

The combination of her arousal and fear made me hard in an instant.

The door to the living room opened, making Arden jump. It was Flint and Lex. They killed the mood just as quickly as it had fallen over the room.

“I see you got a head start,” Flint said, his tone dry.

“Barely.” I let go of Arden, and she released a shuddering breath. “Weren’t you going to tell me the truth before these two barged in?”

Arden sank down onto the couch and sighed.

“Fine,” she mumbled. “I gave it to the Moon Oracle, and I don’t know what she did with it after.”

“Fuck.” I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to rein in my irritation.

A sudden breeze brushed against me from Lex, who looked me up and down. I’d heated the surrounding air by mistake. Usually, I had more control over my element than that, but this piece of news pushed me a little too far.

“You seriously gave it to her?” Flint asked, looking just as annoyed as I felt.

“Yes. She’s the one who asked me to get it.” Arden looked down at her lap. “I seriously don’t know what she did with it. She might still have it, but I don’t know where she is. She changes up her location a lot so no one can find her.”

I looked at Lex and Flint. We were fucked beyond what we even dreamed of if the Moon Oracle figured out how to use it. We’d battled her for the past thirty years, and she had never been able to get the upper hand. But with some more power, she had a shot.

Couldn’t Arden have just sold it on the black market or something? This search for the artifact had gotten a lot more complicated.

“Well? Now what?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

Chapter12

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