There were two surefire ways to Cosmo’s heart: ale and Nana’s honey biscuits. Ben didn’t have the first on hand, but he had direct access to the second.
Cosmo groaned as he took his first bite, then dramatically fell back in the chair. “Heaven.”
“Gentlemen, eat up. There’s plenty for everyone.”
Ben waited for Tyson and the guards to choose a treat, then he took plates over to Taj and Koios. Koios and Iris seemed absolutely captivated by the newcomers, while Taj seemed a bit wary.
Ben was happy to have Taj with them, though. He’d know what questions to ask that Ben wouldn’t. Plus, Taj understood the fae realm and how it worked.
Hopefully, with Cosmo’s help, they’d have even more information they needed to help Koios.
He stole another glance at his patient and found Koios staring back at him with an expression he’d not seen directed at him before. For the first time, Koios looked at him like he was one of the puzzles Koios hadn’t figured out yet.
But that couldn’t be right, could it?
13
KOIOS
Koios watched Ben as he maneuvered his way around the political scene with ease. Koios didn’t know a lot about the fae world or its inhabitants, but he’d learned enough to know that Ben had given Cosmo the highest form of greeting and hospitality.
The gesture wasn’t lost on the King Consort. No, Cosmo knew whatever Ben needed from him, it was big. And there was only one possibility.
Koios wanted two things. One, to find the manticore. Ben wouldn’t bother asking Cosmo for help with that problem since King Silenus had been hunting him as well for daring to lay hands on his mate.
Which left option two, to find the valravyn. Who better to ask than the guy who was known for knowing all the bits and pieces of information others tossed aside as insignificant? Cosmo paid attention. He’d been an asset to Logan’s pack several times in the past. He’d even heard stories of Cosmo fighting side-by-side with the hellhounds and surviving to tell the tale.
Yeah, Ben knew they’d need someone with that level of information to find the valravyn, and he’d gone straight to the top. Koios shuddered a little and his heart monitor reflected his change in pulse. Ben hurried to his side.
Koios had to think fast for an excuse to explain the little blip. “I’m fine. Just got a chill.”
“I’ll get you another blanket,” Ben said. “Do you want something else to eat?”
Koios stared down at the empty plate in front of him. He didn’t even remember eating the treats in the first place. Odd. “That would be great.”
“I’m making you some tea as well. It’ll help warm you up.”
Ben brought the blanket first. He leaned over Koios as he covered him. “I know you know,” Ben whispered, “but I need to let this play out my way, okay?”
Koios nodded. “I think my sister was wrong about you. You are smarter than me.”
Ben chuckled and tucked in the blanket. “No, I’m not.”
He gave Koios another look that warmed him more than the blanket ever could before he went to make tea, get more of the baked goods, and return to Koios’s side.
Then Ben played host again, rubbing shoulders with Cosmo like the old friends they were. Funny how one little mating could move someone from regular friend to royalty. None of that mattered, though. No, Cosmo valued Ben and his family as much as the rest of their community.
The Jerricks were the true royalty in their world. They saved lives, including Cosmo’s. For that, and all the others they’d saved over the years, they would always have a place of honor in the supernatural world. Koios had heard stories about their pack, even before he’d gotten to know some of them through his connections.
They couldn’t be more opposite from Koios and his siblings. The Jerrick kids had landed on their feet, as the expression went. It would be so easy to be jealous of the different paths their lives had taken, to ask the what-ifs that so often plagued Koios.
And he had asked the question, if only to himself. What if his siblings had been the ones saved by Vaughn and Sam Jerrick? What if they’d become members of the Jerrick pack? Koios watched Ben laugh with Cosmo and his stomach flipped. The what-ifs would have ruined it all. They’d gone the paths they were meant to follow, and the result had led them here, to Koios and his own private physician who found him attractive and who’d called in royalty to get Koios the answers he sought.
Cosmo yawned and patted his stomach. He’d emptied the tray of biscuits, almost single-handedly. Sure, the others had each had a few treats, but there had been at least three dozen piled onto the tray. Now there were only crumbs.
“Everybody out,” Cosmo said. “I need to talk to Ben.”
Garzaxie was the first to protest, but a sharp glare from Cosmo cut him off. The warrior crossed his muscled arms over his chest, like that would be enough to argue with Cosmo.
