“Rime.” I shove the heel of my palm into his cheek again, twisting myself beneath him to shove him away like the bad fucking boy that he is. “Go lie down. Get. Shoo. Go hump a pillow or something.”
Long tangled locks of my brown hair are fanned over my face, my body arching, my fingers slipping over Rime’s eye and temple to try to get a grip on this weird situation.
And then it gets worse.
The enormous white door swings open, and Queen Ellise glides into the room with all the grace in the world. All that grace in front of a disaster of the graceless couple tangled up in front of her.
We look like a pile of something a shameless pet left behind for her to find in the middle of the floor.
“Good morning,” I say breathlessly, still pinned beneath the shifter, still lying like a complete mess slopped on the floor.
“Rime, sweetheart, let her go.” Ellise doesn’t even glance at the two of us lying at her feet when she passes by to stride toward the head of the long table.
Rime releases me in an instant, his narrowed eyes shifting over my body. Everything about us is confusing and strange now. I purse my lips when I stand, skimming and tangling my fingers in my hair to try to find some form of a professional appearance.
I had a plan for how my meeting with the Solstice Queen was going to go, and wrestling with an out-of-his-mind shifter was not on the agenda.
The yellow skirt I have on is now crooked and tangled around my hips, and I straighten it discreetly as I walk back to my side of the table.
I look presentable.
Ish.
“Please be seated.” Ellise smiles a sweet and delicate smile at me as she takes her seat with perfect posture. A glittering white crown rests against her hair, nearly matching the color of her locks, but her mossy-green eyes remind me of her son.
Not Rime, but Linden.
I left Linden and his father in Warf when they found out my dirty little secret. For the first time in my life, I hope I’m found by the two men who are probably hunting me.
I hope they find me before Ellise destroys everything I care about as well as two of the strongest kingdoms in the world.
But that’s where my plan comes into play.
Rime sits like a good fucking boy, and I stand there still staring at the beast and man that I don’t actually recognize. When his gaze drifts to me, I slowly sit. He watches me curiously, his brow hooding over his gaze like the aggression within him is on standby, ready and waiting.
“Thank you for joining me this morning,” she says. As if she didn’t send a demon down after me to haul me up here for this morning’s delightful meeting.
It’s curious that Rime snuck in to see me before his master did.
His master.I barely suppress a groan.
“Thank you for inviting me.” The sweetness in my voice is something I’ve never even heard before, and Rime growls at the offensive kindness in my tone.
I feel the same way, boy, I feel the same way.
I don’t dare look at him.
Ellise’s eyes shine with a smile while she studies me for a moment, checking my motives, as she should. She’s holding me and my mate here in her fucking quest for mage domination.
I’m here because Rime is here. And I’m also here because I know she’ll never let me leave. She’s been an unseen a part of my life for years. I’ll never just get to walk away. She wants my magic.
So I’ll give it to her.
For now.
“I’m pleased with how far you’ve come, Arlow. I’m going to need you to go a bit further, though.”
My smile physically hurts my face, but I widen it to keep from screaming or laughing or both.
