“Why?” Stella called after her. She wasn’t asking for Teddy’s sake so much as her own.
Grace turned back, looking warily from Stella to the garden outside the sitting-room window. Grace was a talented earth witch. Perhaps she felt Stella’s magic bursting to escape her body.
She met Stella’s gaze. “I’m willing to risk it because if I have to choose between losing him and losing myself, I will always choose myself.”
Stella watched her friend leave.
All epic love stories required adversity. Arden would come back to her and they would be stronger for it.
14
TEDDY
The last place Teddy wanted to be after the day he’d had was in a crowded bar, trying to blend in with the drunk patrons while he was sober.
Every muscle in his body ached. Even his hardest training paled in comparison to fighting for his life while trying to avoid drowning. Now all he wanted was the quiet of his guest room at Olney Castle.
The Poison Vixen was not the kind of bar that Teddy would have picked. He would have preferred somewhere quiet with a good whiskey selection. That was why Nathan never let him choose their celebratory spots.
Nathan always insisted on the loudest, most boisterous pubs with the best music and the most beautiful women—two of whom were perched on either side of him, hanging on his every word.
The fiddle music kicked up again and Teddy sighed, leaning back in his chair.
“Have another drink. For the love of the gods, man, you almost died today,” Nathan said, waving over a barmaid.
The woman leaned over the table, her breasts nearly tumbling out of her obscenely low-cut dress.
“Another round for my two lovely companions and whatever thathandsome fellow over there wants,” Nathan said, nodding to Teddy. He slipped the barmaid a tip, and she tucked it into her ample cleavage as she ambled away.
Teddy wrinkled his nose. He really shouldn’t be here.
Nathan caught the look on his face and sighed. He turned to the women beside him. “I’m sorry, ladies. I know I promised more tales of my bravery in battle, but I’m afraid I have some business with His Grace that requires private discussion. We appreciate your discretion, and we’re sure you won’t let anyone else know that the prince is here.”
Teddy fought not to roll his eyes when Nathan looked at him for confirmation. This was an old game that Nathan loved to play with women in pubs.
Teddy waved a hand half-heartedly. “Yes, Nathan is a very valuable asset to the crown and I’m afraid he’s privy to things that aren’t for a lady’s ears.”
The blonde woman who had been practically sitting on Nathan’s lap leaned over and whispered something in his ear. He nodded, and she rose to her feet and flitted back to the bar with her friends.
“She seemsnice. What’d she have to say?” Teddy asked, sipping his ale.
“She just told me where and when I could find her later if I wanted to blow off some steam from working so hard. Says she also knows how to work hard,” Nathan said, a shit-eating grin on his face. He glanced around the bustling room. “Speaking of later—where is Jalen? He said he would meet us, but it’s getting late. What could he possibly be doing that’s more important than this?”
Teddy couldn’t help but laugh at Nathan. He was so ridiculous, and for a man who wasn’t royalty, he’d certainly mastered the ethos of thinking of himself as the center of the universe.
A figure darted out of the crowd toward their table so quickly that Teddy’s hand went to the dagger on his belt.
The cloaked figure set a glass down on the table and shoved back her hood, revealing neatly braided black hair and golden eyes just like Teddy’s.
“Alex, what are you doing here?” Teddy snapped, releasing the hand from his dagger.
She grinned and winked at him as she poured herself a glass of his whiskey. “Jumpy tonight, brother. I don’t blame you after the day you’ve had.”
Nathan held up his glass to clink with hers and waved at her leather armor. “Alexandra, you look gorgeous and ready for a fight. I’d say I wouldn’t want to run into you in a dark alley, but that would be a lie.”
“Nathan, save the flirting for someone you have a snowflake’s chance in an Olney summer with. If I wanted a medium-dicking from a lazy lay, I could probably pick, oh, I don’t know—” Alexandra looked around the room. “Any man in this bar.”
Teddy rubbed a hand over his face. “Can you not speak that way when I’m sitting right here? Both of you.”
