I wince at his accusations. He isn’t wrong. I’m not sure which generation of kings and queens declared cross matings illegal, but it’s another thing I have been trying to change the laws on. I’m sure Colbie will continue my fight once she is crowned, and seeing the good people of the Chaos Kingdom would be a step in the right direction.
I incline my head in apology. “I will see to it that she makes time to visit King Loki.”
“Sooner rather than later,” he warns before he disappears in a flash. Titus obviously got his ability to teleport from his father. Usually, children from cross pairings favor one parent or the other. On a rare occasion, like him, they take on characteristics of both parents and are a force to be reckoned with. I believe this is probably why cross mating was prohibited. The children of such matings can be very powerful.
I grab my glass and pour another generous amount of whiskey into it before flopping back in my chair again. “Fuck, I haven’t drunk this much since my own coronation,” I mutter, taking a large sip and closing my eyes. Poor Colbie. Her reign is going to be anything but easy. I should stock the office bar for her. It seems like she’s going to need it.
ChapterSeventeen
Titus
Sifting out of Lucas’s office, I decide to follow the irate councilor and see if I can catch him scheming. I spend a lot of time hiding in the shadows of the shifter castle. I arrived earlier in the day once news of the new queen’s arrival reached Chaos Kingdom. King Loki dispatched me at once with an order to gather information. Concealed in the shadows—an ability gifted to me by my fae father—I listened in on the luncheon conversation. Learning that the queen was gifted a bond group instead of having to choose from a group of individuals was enlightening to say the least. The information about her knowing who the missing member of Watch Group One was interesting, and something I tucked into the back of my mind to address later. With the appearance of her mer mate, the final member of her bond group was revealed to me, but they still have no clue who the missing member is.
I rub the spot on my sternum where my new marking throbs beneath my skin. It takes a lot to shock me, but when that mark appeared on my chest after the wave of magic, even the clumsiest of assailants could have caught me unaware. I never expected to be gifted a mate, and I’m not really sure what to do with the revelation now. I’m one of five assassins and spies who work directly with the Chaos king.
Loki handpicked me and my brothers from the academy all Chaos children attend. A lot of half-breeds will inherit the traits of only one parent, but about thirty percent of us end up with dual powers, and learning to get a handle on them requires discipline and training. My brothers and I were five of the strongest, and Loki decided we were meant for more. He assigned four of us to each kingdom and kept one to be his internal spy master.
I’ve been Aramis’s liaison for five years. Loki has a special interest in each of the kingdoms—a task set for him by the four kingdoms’ goddesses. They knew a time of upheaval was coming and set wheels in motion to combat the unrest many years ago. Although they are supposed to give their creations free will, it hasn’t stopped them from meddling and manipulating to get the outcomes they desire, and Loki was the key to achieving their outcomes. I just hope he can be forgiven for his actions when the time comes.
I follow the agitated wolf, but when he stops to speak to the young prince, I leave, wanting to spy on the queen and her mates. I don’t know what kind of shifter she is, and I would like to give that information to my king when I return to the Chaos Kingdom to report.
I sift from the palace to the forest close by the waterfall where they were taking the queen to shift. I stay down wind so their sensitive shifter noses can’t scent me and lean against a tree, listening to their conversation. Four of Colbie’s mates are sitting under a tree not far from me, talking about heading into the human zone to find the other shifter mate. I sneak a little closer and learn that he lives in the same village as the new queen’s grandparents in a secluded cottage. A quick phone call to the king will tell me which village that is, and from there, it will be a piece of cake to find him. That’s where I’m going to head next. I want to scope out this other mate. From what they are saying, it sounds like he’s probably not going to be too happy he is the queen’s mate, even though it sounds like they have a prior relationship. I feel a little guilty not revealing myself as her final mate. The ache inside me keeps nudging me to do just that, but I owe the king my report and an explanation. I’m pretty sure he didn’t expect to lose one of his prized assassins permanently to another kingdom, but I won’t split my loyalty between her and him. I’m not sure how he’s going to take it. Hopefully he won’t decide to get rid of me, because then there will be no chance for her to become queen.
King Loki’s grandfather was a ruthless asshole who was as judgmental and biased as the former kings and queens who originally outlawed mixed races. He refused to be open to the idea of trading with the other kingdoms. Ten years ago, when Loki took the crown from him, life in the Chaos Kingdom got better. Loki negotiated trade treaties with all four kingdoms and opened our borders, allowing for other kingdoms to travel to ours to enjoy all the pleasures it has to offer, and our kingdom finally started to flourish. We’re still a dirty little secret as far as the humans knowing about us, but we like it that way. There is no place for the humans in our kingdom. If a human were to overindulge and end up on the wrong side of a supernatural, it would end in war.
Movement in the pond draws my eyes, and I find a polar bear swimming toward the bank, followed by a white tiger. That’s the white-haired pierced asshole of the group and the prince. I’ve always kept an eye on Watch Team One since all of them live in the palace. They don’t know about me, but I know everything there is to know about them, and I can admit they are perfect mates for the queen. They are a powerful bond group with their mixture of animals. Even the new addition of the merman is a benefit. He is a fierce fighter and well respected in General Bryson’s army, despite his usually sneered at designation.
Another white tiger follows them out, and I watch as it moves closer. “Finally,” the wolf shifter calls, sounding exasperated. I wonder how long they’ve been in the cave and what they were doing back there. The queen’s a tiger? Huh, I hadn’t expected that she would be the same as the previous king, though there is no denying that a tiger is a strong predator and a good animal for a royal to have.
The dragon says something, but a gust of wind blows the words away from me. I consider trying to creep closer to hear better, but I don’t want them to catch sight of me. The bear and tiger shift and climb out, and I get my answer as to what they were doing behind the waterfall. Liam’s neck has a shiny new scar on it from a mating bite. It looks like he was mauled, and so does one of his butt cheeks, which I see when he pulls on the shorts one of the others tosses at him. My gaze drifts to the prince, but he doesn’t have any mating marks on him yet. That’s interesting.
There’s a sudden flash of purple magic, and I blink, stunned speechless, when Colbie emerges from the wave of magic as a huge, eight-headed fucking beast that towers above her mates, her blue body still in the water. Holy shit. My heart races as I take in the sight before me. The queen is a multi-shifter, and one of her forms is the legendary, hard to kill hydra. I bet Lucas would laugh his head off if he could see me now. He kept that one close to his chest. I wonder if he was going to tell me or let me find out when it became common knowledge to the kingdom.
She swims around the pool, and I’m amazed at her elegance in the water, which is nothing short of spectacular. Finally, she lumbers out of the pond, and it turns into a beautiful fucking disaster. She stumbles and falls, crashing down into a tree not far from where I’m hiding, sending branches flying. I stifle a yelp and duck deeper in the trees as her mates hurry to help her, the dragon suggesting she attempt to change size. I don’t wait around to find out if she can or not. I don’t want anyone to find me spying on them. I will meet them when they visit the Chaos Kingdom as requested. I’m sure Lucas will see to it that the king’s demand is passed onto them. By then, I will be ready to take my place by her side.
I sift to the neutral zone. I want to check out the cafe the queen used to run before she was marked. It’s late in the afternoon, and there aren’t a lot of customers in it when I enter. I overheard her mates talking about her grandparents being here to run it, and they are worried that her mother, who is a real piece of work, will cause trouble for them and the queen, so I’ll do my thing and pretend to be a nosy shifter to gather more information. I allow an illusion to wash over me, hiding my black assassin leathers and cape, showing an image of a casual tourist in a pair of jeans and a cozy sweater. There is plenty of snow close to the rift, but it isn’t quite cold enough here yet, although it won’t be long.
I pull open the door to the bakery and head in. A couple sits in one of the booths, and a small family sits at another table, but the rest of the bakery is quiet. There’s an older human gentleman behind the counter drying a couple of mugs, and he looks up as I walk in and smiles.
“Are you here to dine in or take away?” he asks pleasantly.
“I could eat,” I tell him, and he nods to the seating area. “Grab a table, and I’ll bring you a menu. You’re just in time, we’re about to close up the kitchen.”
I follow his instructions, and before long, he is standing at the table with a menu in hand. “Can I get you something to drink?” he asks, placing the menu on the table.
“How about a coffee with a couple of those cute marshmallows floating in it?” I ask, having heard all about the cute gimmick the queen has going on in here.
“Sure thing. Any particular critter?” the man asks.
“Surprise me,” I tell him, and he gives me a wink and heads back to the counter. I hear the coffee machine grind beans and the hiss of the steam as he heats the milk. I look over the menu and decide on a grilled cheese sandwich and soup. The family gets up to leave, and the gentleman calls something . A few moments later, an older human woman bustles out to clear the table. She stops when she sees me and smiles.
“Hello there, sorry about the wait. We let the other staff go home early today. Are you ready to order?”
“What’s the soup of the day?” I ask her.
“Tomato and basil, and I have to say it’s delicious, even if it’s my own recipe.” She chuckles, and I place my order. “Won’t be too long,” she promises and hurries to clear the plates off the table the family left behind before returning to the kitchen.
The couple gets up and leaves as the gentleman returns to the table. “I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before,” I comment casually to the man. “Are you new to the neutral zone?”
