“Talbot would kill you,” Callon pointed out.
Nico shook his head. “He’dtry. That doesn’t mean he’d succeed.”
“What am I missing?”
“What aren’t you missing, Rose, is the better question,” Lex said with a smirk.
Rose folded her arms in front of her. “I’m notthatoblivious.”
“You kind of are.” The brunette smiled.
“Regardless of your state of alertness, we need to get going before the silkies decide they want us caught in their web.” Nicopulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Wolfgang, the King of Chaos. Seconds later, he got confirmation. “Okay, I’ve got a jet to take Rose to New Orleans,” he said to the group. “I’ll call Talbot on the way.” Nico looked at Rose. “This isn’t goodbye to your friends. You’re not a prisoner.”
“I know.” She sniffed.
The girls all gathered around and hugged her. They asked about phone numbers and made her promise to text as soon as she landed.
“I’ll be in touch once she’s settled,” Nico told Callon, Roan, and Bane.
“We’ll be heading back to the KOC,” Roan replied. “Maddie texted me. They’ve met with the demon, and apparently Katy’s little protector, Otto, is joining them. They leave in the morning. Callon’s going to lose his mind if he doesn’t get to accompany his mate to confront the voodoo priestess, and possibly Azure. Just head there when you’re done.”
Nico nodded and then marched off to one of the two SUVs. He quickly shot off a text to Lyric.Thanks for the vehicle.
Three dots appeared and then her response.I knew you’d figure out there was one that didn’t fit in with the others. And I knew you’d do the right thing.
“Let’s go, Rosebud.” He pulled the passenger door open for her.
As she got in, she shot him a glare. “Never call me that again.”
Nico winked at her before he shut the door. “Why are all the good ones taken?” he muttered under his breath.
As he put the vehicle in drive, he considered that their task here was done, but the real work had just begun. Ferreting out Azure’s allies would not be easy, even if the silkies rebuffed them. Dark days loomed ahead.
But Nico had survived worse odds. As long as he had the open road ahead and allies at his side, he would face whateverchaos came. The future remained theirs to shape, no matter how dire it now seemed. After all, storms always passed. And tomorrow’s dawn unfailingly held renewed promise. Onward to the next adventure, which at the moment consisted of a reluctantanimusthat was about to become a queen to a kingdom on the verge of ruin.
Damn. And he thought his task was difficult.
Chapter Six
Tough Little Thing.
“Snakes. There are ten damn kingdoms, and I get the snake one. Why couldn’t it have been the Mouse Kingdom, or Butterfly Kingdom, or something that doesn’t slither and have scales? Any place where I don’t have to keep an antidote on hand in case I get bitten.” ~Rose
Rose peered out the small window of the luxurious private jet and watched the clouds drift by far below. She still couldn’t quite believe everything that had happened in the last few days. Her life as ananimushad become routine, even ordinary, if you will. After five years of living with the arachnids, she’d accepted her fate. She was content to remain in their gilded cage forever and never have someone to love or be loved by in return.
And now… Now she was apparently the destined mate of the new snake king and en route to rule at his side. She inwardly snorted. Rose had never ruled anything. She preferred to stay to herself and people watch. People did funny things when they thought no one was watching.
“Enjoying the view?” a gravelly voice asked.
Rose turned to see Nico leaning casually against the cabin wall, watching her with a smile crinkling the corners of his intense, silver eyes. They fit in well with all the silver piercings on his face and ears.
“Just trying to wrap my head around everything. It’s not every day you find out you’re destined to be mated to a king, who also happens to be a shapeshifting snake. It’s kind of … a lot.”
Nico chuckled. “No, that’s not a common occurrence. But then, not every day does a kingdom find its fated leader and lady in the same era.” He gave an exaggerated bow. “Truly, the tattoo on your skin proves you are meant for this, Rose. I know it seems unbelievable.”
Rose glanced down at the shimmering emerald snake coiled around her upper arm, apparently the match to one adorning the future king. When Jaxine, the arachnid tattoo artist, had done Rose’s tattoo, she hadn’t acted like she had seen it before.
“I’m twenty-four years old. I don’t have a college degree. I have very little employment history. I’ve never even been in a serious relationship, and yet, you expect me to basically get married and run a supernatural society.” Her tone grew more agitated. Rose shook her head. “I’m no queen, Nico. I’m just a girl from northern California who happened to walk into the wrong herbal tea shop at the wrong time.”
