The man knew he didn’t. I always had plenty of blanket with him. Both of us continued to play our parts, neither of us wanting the other lords to know about our sexual relationship.
I unzipped one of my bags and grabbed pajamas out, a few others doing the same. I walked on quick feet to the bathroom, making sure I was the first one to use it. I did not want to enter the bathroom after one of them took a crap. The highest echelon of our society or not, their shit still stank like anyone else’s. I grinned in victory as I shut the door on Lord Otto’s face, once again beating him to a restroom.
By the time I’d exited, they’d all changed into their pajamas. I chuckled as Lord Otto rushed past me in a blur, cutting off Lord Xenon’s attempts to enter the bathroom next.
I shook my head and flopped down onto my shared bed, and muttered, “I call first dibs on the shower in the morning.”
Who knew if Master Niallan had magical pipes. The water would turn cold fast if he didn’t. No amount of vampire speed would help with six royals who liked to look good and carried more beauty products than a human sorority. I’d noticed the lords’ open luggage. They were just as anal about their perfect hair as I was.
Lord Belshazzar tilted his head on his pillow and stared at the side of my face. “Dibs won’t work with them—which you saw earlier. You have to take what you want.”
I sighed. “Master Niallan is an asshole.”
“Yes, he is.” Lord Belshazzar lifted on one arm, leaning on his elbow and peeked through the slats on the bed. He eyed the closed bathroom door. “I really have to piss. He better not be in there forever.”
I tipped my chin to the front door. “You’re a man. Go outside.” The castle was beautiful and amazing—and just as large as ours. “I think there was an exit to a courtyard a few floors down.”
His lips twitched. He still stared at the bathroom. “I was being polite, your majesty.”
I grinned, unable to hold it back. “There’s air freshener in there. Top shelf. I dug through the cabinets.” I was so, so happy I went in there first. “Thank fuck that bathroom seems to be soundproof.”
The Overlord’s lips slowly lifted into a smile. “You took a shit in there, didn’t you?”
My twinkling eyes caught his. “I deny everything, my lord.” Lord Otto hadn’t known what he’d rushed in to.
Lord Belshazzar snickered quietly. “Then you must have stunk the bathroom up bad. That poor man.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “He deserved it.”
Lord Belshazzar grunted. His gaze returned to the bathroom door. But he said, “See that portrait over there? Above the desk.”
My attention snapped to the lovely hand-painted picture of a stunning druid woman dressed in a white, flowing robe. “What about it?”
“Watch her eyes.”
“Okay.” I stared, waiting good-naturedly.
Thirty seconds later, the woman blinked.
Her lavender eyes disappeared, then reappeared.
My lips pressed into a thin line. “That’s disturbing. And a violation of privacy.”
“As you said, Master Niallan is an asshole.” With his eyes still on his prize, he tipped his head to the painting. “That’s a painting of his deceased mother. He put it in here just for me.”
The room turned silent.
The other lords’ attention snapped in our direction.
My jaw hung open. “He’s theOriginaldruid. How the fuck does he have a mother?”
Lord Belshazzar snorted. “How the fuck do you think he was born?”
“Magic.”
The Overlord shook his head, and his black hair brushed my face. His blue eyes narrowed on the bathroom door, apparently getting impatient for his turn. “Master Niallan is an egotistical shithead, who only cares about himself. Everything you know about him is a lie. He created his own story. Years passed. It became our societies’ truth.”
I blinked. “You’re saying the druid and vampire histories aren’t true? That he’s not the Original druid? That he didn’t kill the Original vampire—and obtain his vampire power that way? Those are bold statements to make, my lord.”
