He slowed by half a step.
“No.”
“Yes,” I said again, and because my hands had opinions, I fumbled along my tunic until my fingers found the lace on the side. I tugged it free and held it up between us triumphantly. “See, I can make you royal.”
“Alexandra,” he said, and the use of my full name hit like a cold splash of water, except the water was warm and the drug laughed in my bloodstream. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to knight you,” I announced.
He went still and replied firmly, “No, you are not.”
“Yes,” I said, as though we were negotiating a treaty, then leaned back in his arms as far as I could manage and tapped the lace against his shoulder like it was a sword. “I hereby pronounce you… Sir Handsome of House Smells Nice.”
There was a beat of silence that felt unreal, like the forest itself paused to process the audacity. Then Theron’s chest shook, and he laughed properly, the sound breaking loose like it had been held back for centuries. I grinned up at him, delighted with myself, delighted with the fact that I had made the terrifying king laugh like a normal man.
“You are insane,” he said, still laughing.
“And you… are welcome,” I replied, closing my eyes for a second because even the act of being pleased with myself was exhausting.
The main part of the camp came into view slowly, not all at once but in fragments. Flickers of orange firelight caught between tree trunks. The outline of tents like dark shark teeth against the ground. The scent hit me next, smoke and leather, metal and earth, and that same warm, savory smell I had smelled earlier, that made my stomach rumble even though I was still floating somewhere between giggling and dazed.
Theron didn’t slow. If anything, his hold tightened subtly as we passed the outermost line of guards. His presence changed the air the way weather changed before a storm, the soldiers knowing his authority and adjusting accordingly. Heads turned in our direction, silhouettes rising in half-alert movements. Hands hovering near weapons before stopping as quickly as they started, because no one moved against him, not even on instinct.
I blinked at the nearest soldier, who looked very much like he had been minding his own business until a king returned from the woods carrying a mortal girl like she was a stolen treasure.
“Oh,” I whispered, leaning closer to Theron’s neck again. “They’re staring.”
“Yes,” he replied in a tone that suggested this was the most obvious thing in existence,
“Because you are in my arms.”
I considered that, then nodded solemnly, as if this made perfect sense.
“I’m a very carriable person,” I announced.
His chest rose, a breath that might have been a laugh if he had allowed it, and he stepped forward again, moving deeper into camp. I could feel eyes following us, not just soldiers now, but servants too. Figures slipping between tents and supplies, and even half-asleep men who lifted their heads blearily and then went very still as they realized who was walking past.
It should have made me embarrassed. Instead, it made me feel like I was the main character in a very strange play, and the worst part was that my brain found that delightful.
“Do I look royal?” I asked him.
“You look,” he said, pausing as if he were searching for the right word, “Compromised.”
I gasped, offended, then laughed, the sound bubbling out of me.
“That’s a rude way to say pretty,” I told him, and he finally let out a low chuckle that vibrated against my cheek.
“You are pretty,” he conceded. “You are also going to be a problem.”
“Good,” I murmured happily. “I like being problems.”
And wasn’t that the truth, because right in front of us was…
Aster storming from his tent.
The sound of Aster's hooves striking the packed earth made me bob my head to the beat, but as his eyes locked on me, their intensity made me stop.
His face was tense with panic, his jaw clenched so hard I could see the strain in the muscle. He looked as though he had woken from sleep and gone straight into war. The moment he saw me safe, his expression changed, and his shoulders sagged ever so slightly. The tension in his body gave way to relief. In a blink, he shrank, bones and muscles reshaping, skin smoothing, until his Minotaur form gave way to human Aster. His hair was tousled, and his chest bare. Wow, he was hot too. Jesus, there was no way I was making it through this night without self-combusting.
