“Are you out of your mind, Ada?” Nikolas yelled as he stormed towards her, sword drawn.
Matthias stood up tall and reached for the blade at his hip. Adalia noted the movement, and placed herself between the two huge males, hands held up. “Nikolas, stop before you do something you’ll regret.”
Nevermind his, the regret Adalia had thought about mere minutes ago came flooding in and her brain scurried for a convincing explanation to offer Nikolas why the prince of the dark world was in her company.
Nikolas halted and stared Matthias down, fury pouring from his face.
“Now, before you rip everyone’s heads off, let me make some introductions.” Adalia said gently. “Nik . . . this is Matthias, Prince of Oscuro. Matthias . . . this is my brother Nikolas.”
The two men didn’t move or speak.
A nervous Shiloh stepped forwards and offered her hand to Matthias. “Hello, I’m Shiloh. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Matthias’s brow rose at her comment as he reached for Shiloh’s hand and gently shook it. Adalia shot daggers at her friend, heat rising in her cheeks once again.
“You’ve got some talking to do, sis,” Nikolas growled.
“I’ll explain everything to you later, Nik, but for now I’m taking him to the king, whether or not you like it.”
Her brother still hadn’t taken his eyes off Matthias.
“Nik!” Adalia spoke a little louder.
Nikolas snapped his head towards her. “I do not know what’s got into you, but I don’t like it. Where is the level-headed sister that always does the right thing?”
Adalia nodded. “She’s still here Nik, you don’t know the situation, so just trust me, okay? I’ll tell you everything soon, but first I need to go to the king.”
Her brother slowly retreated to his horse, and Adalia walked off to gather hers. “There aren’t enough horses, and I don’t want you to be mistaken as the enemy by a Lightner soldier, so you’ll have to ride with me. I’m sure Bones can keep up.”
Nikolas eyeballed them, but didn’t comment as Adalia swung up into the saddle of her horse—Matthias followed after. Thewarmth from his body slowly seeped through her leathers and seared her skin. His scent—purely him—invaded her senses, and she sunk back into the saddle in response. Matthias leaned down and gently whispered in her ear, his warm breath brushing against it. “Be careful, little dove, or I might think you like me.”
Adalia sucked in her breath and sat up straight, trying to put some distance between her and the prince, but her efforts were futile, especially when he pulled her closer by wrapping his arms around her waist and held on tightly.
No other words were spoken as they all turned their horses towards the centre of The Grey, back towards the Gate at the Lucius Veil.
It took them a decent amount of time to reach it. Adalia was nervous that the guards might feel threatened at the sight of Matthias, but was pleasantly surprised when none questioned her. They simply stared instead. And could she blame them? It wasn’t everyday you saw a man with cheekbones like Matthias or deep black velvet-looking wings. They stepped through the Gate and headed to the stables with a large white wolf in tow.
Adalia thanked Blue once again for always having fresh horses ready and waiting, grinning to herself as she watched the boy’s eyes grow large at the dark one hovering beside her.
“Blue, this is Matthias. Matthias . . . this is Blue.” Adalia smiled as she introduced them.
“Hello sir,” Blue’s voice trembled.
The prince nodded at the boy and smiled.
Adalia was very aware that Matthias was totally out of his element right now and was probably finding it hard to digest everything, so she didn’t linger at the stables. She couldn’t blame him. He was standing on enemy ground. Not that she saw herself as the enemy, but surely he would disagree?
Maybe offering him sanctuary in Lucius had been the wrong thing to do. Would the king scold her for bringing him here? Her urge to protect him could be the very thing that puts him in further danger. Too many questions needed answers, but none of them were going to find her while she stood in the stable.
The other matter that would eventually need discussing was their . . . moment.
Though, perhaps there was nothing left to say. Debt repaid. But Adalia could still feel his lips upon hers like a phantom kiss. Her wings twitched, and she cleared her throat, dismissing the vivid image from her mind.
“Shall we?” She looked at the prince before motioning towards the huge, white, glistening castle in the near distance. “He will be waiting for us.”
Chapter Twelve
The luciuskingdom
