“If Azure hides here, he will not remain hidden for long,” Lyric declared when Callon finished. Her lovely face was lined with disgust. “I know well the taint of blood magic. It leaves traces for those with the sight to read. But we must tread carefully when we seek the king and queen’s input. It would not do to offend them.”
Lyric took a graceful sip of tea, eyes distant in thought. “There are those in every kingdom who crave power over principle. They will shield this snake if it profits them.” Her sharp gaze returned to Nico. “Subtlety, not force, will catch him unawares.”
Nico leaned back amongst the silken pillows and casually flipped his knife. He hadn’t even realized he’d pulled it out. “I can do subtle when the situation calls for it.” He flashed a charming grin full of sharp teeth. “But I prefer meeting threats head on.”
Lyric didn’t look convinced as she shrugged. “We shall see. For now, come and rest. On the morrow, we prepare for youraudience with the king and queen. They will aid us in drawing Azure into the open.”
“Why do we need to wait until tomorrow?” Callon’s deep voice was gruff.
Lyric clasped her hands in front of her, pulling her shoulders back and raising her chin in the air. “Because they aren’t prepared for guests. They’ve already settled in for the evening. It would be rude to ask them to arise at this hour.”
“You sure are cozy with your king and queen,” Nico toyed. “Do they give you extra points on your Spidey Discount Card for acting like their damn administrator?”
Lyric’s eyes flashed bright silver and swirled faster. “We’ve already had this discussion, if you will recall, in our last meeting. I am an ambassador for this kingdom, and I do respect the rulers. But do not think for one second I take orders from anyone other than Visata.” She straightened her collar, which wasn’t at all crooked, and sniffed. “We will meet with the king and queen tomorrow because it is the polite, respectful thing to do.”
“Meanwhile, Azure could be moving farther from our reach.” Callon clenched his teeth.
“Azure isn’t going to go farther away than absolutely necessary from the females he so desperately wants.” Lyric rose elegantly and led them from the solarium.
As she showed them to their lavish rooms, Nico’s mind turned over all she had said. Lyric was protective of the rulers of KOS, and her formal behavior was odd. She wasn’t ever that formal in their council meetings. Clearly, she knew more than she let on about the snake king’s whereabouts. Nico would need to be watchful if he wanted answers. He slid the knife back into its sheath, knowing that he would have to bottle up his restless blood … for now.
Chapter Three
Many Devious Things.
“My mind understands, but my pride? Well, she’s a fickle bitch who wants her way. Anyone else feel what I’m saying? No? Liars, all of you.” ~Lola
Lola paced the lush carpet of the suite she shared with Callon, irritation biting at her. Once again, the men had ridden off on some grand adventure while she and Maddie got left behind like helpless damsels. Okay, so itwasn’t“once again.” She and Callon hadn’t been mated long enough for there to be any “once agains” in their relationship. Perhaps she was allowing her imaginary book world to spill over into her real-life supernatural saga.
“This blows chunks,” she grumbled, fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. She felt like she needed to crawl out ofher own skin, as if it were stretched too tight across her muscles and bones.
Maddie looked up from where she lounged across an elegant chaise. “Agreed. We’re just as capable as them.” She tapped her lip and then amended. “Actually, we’re completely incapable and would probably just get in the way, and then they’d get distracted in the middle of a bloody battle, and we’d all wind up dead.”
Lola gave her a deadpan look.
“B-u-u-u-t-t-t… we can still be useful in a battle, so they shouldn’t have left us behind for any of those rational reasons. Dummies.”
Lola snorted and then waved an agitated hand. “I know I’m still new to this whole supernatural mate thing, but come on. I’m a beast now, same as Callon. Why am I not out there hunting Azure with them?”
“I … uh … I just listed some reasons, but those don’t seem good enough for you, so I’m going with ‘because men are idiots,’” Maddie suggested wryly.
Lola shot her a frustrated look. “You’re not helping.”
Maddie held up her hands innocently. “Hey, don’t get mad at me. I don’t like being sidelined either. But short of stowing away on the jet, I don’t see much we can do about it.”
Lola growled low in her throat, the sound much more lioness than human. She resumed wearing a path in the plush carpet. She’d been basically decommissioned with the whole Katy catastrophe, and now she’d been set aside for the hunt of the snake king. In her books—This isn’t a damn book, Lola. I can’t keep comparing it to a book. It’s real life, with supernatural beings. Suck it up.
Pep-talk received … and promptly ignored as her brain continued brooding. Sure, part of her understood Callon’s protectiveness. She was his newly claimed mate, after all. Butshe didn’t need cosseting like some fragile doll. Lola was a beast now. She longed to test her mettle, not languish uselessly in the mansion.
“He better not get a scratch on him,” she muttered. “Who’s gonna protect that stubborn lion if I’m not there?”
Maddie shrugged. “I bet Callon doesn’t need anyone to protect him.”
A light knock interrupted Lola’s gloomy thoughts. Glancing over, she saw Lyra poke her head in; the woman’s amber eyes were sympathetic.
“You two look ready to bite something,” the lion queen remarked, entering gracefully. “I thought I’d see if you fancied a walk to stretch your legs.”
Lola deflated slightly, touched by Lyra’s thoughtfulness. Lola sighed and motioned the older woman to join them. “I’d just really like to stretch them by running down my idiot mate and shaking some sense into him.”
