“Finally!” Queen Mikko huffed softly, shutting the door behind her. “Do youknowhow many streets are in this city, King Athon? It is ridiculous. I got lost at least a dozen times.”
The King of Shifters finished messing with his pants and relaxed back in his chair. He responded dryly, “Yes, I am fairly positive I know my own streets.”
How his dick was still hard was beyond me.
I turned my head to the side and kept it that way, not breathing anywhere near his problematic lower region.
King Traevon said, “Now that we are all here, let us get this meeting started, as I’m sure we’d all love to be in our own beds soon.”
“Yes,” King Elon hissed. “Whyexactly are we here?”
“The Fae,” King Athon replied. “King Traevon has had two sightings in his kingdom. I’ve had one. And the Fae attacked his people for food. We think they may be runaways from Fairy.”
“You can add my kingdom to the list,” Queen Alora grumbled darkly. “My people caught them fishing in my ocean and barely made it away alive. The Fae didn’t respond favorably when asked to leave.”
King Elon said thoughtfully, “I’ve had no sightings so far in the Gorgon Kingdom.”
“None in the Caster Kingdom, either,” Queen Mikko added in her soft, elegant voice. “But why would so many be running away at the same time? A Fae doesn’t cross over but every thousand years or so.”
The five rulers grew silent in thought.
I kept breathing to the side, my eyes sliding shut in exhaustion. If I weren’t careful, I would fall asleep right here on the uncomfortable rock floor.
Finally, King Traevon responded, “I think the only way we would know their reasoning is if we questioned one. So far, the odds of that are not likely, not with their hostility toward us.”
“What if we captured one?” Queen Mikko probed.
My eyes bulged out of my head.
Iwouldn’t want to be the one capturing an irate Fae.
“We aren’t at that point yet,” Queen Alora corrected her. “That would be a last resort if they don’t settle down.”
King Athon grunted and drummed his thumbs on the edge of his desk. He pressed the issue, disbelief in his brutal, shifter tone. “What should we do in the meanwhile? Warn our people that if a Fae approaches, they should throw food at them and run away? They wouldn’t know what the fuck was going on—just like us.”
“For now, that might be best,” King Elon hissed slowly. “We’ll tell them we’ll give them answers as soon as we can. On this issue, I believe transparency is our best option. It will keep them safe, even if we’ll appear as though we’re slacking off in our duties.”
“Agreed,” Queen Alora immediately stated.
“Disagree. I think we should capture one,” Father argued.
“Disagree. I am with King Traevon,” Queen Mikko stated. “The faster we capture one of the Fae, the quicker we’ll understand why they are here and how to handle them.”
I turned my head and peeked up at the shifter king.
King Athon ground his teeth together while he debated his choice. He eventually scrubbed his hands over his face, and then he grumbled one word, “Agreed.”
“That is fucking great,” King Traevon spewed—incredulity laced his tone. “You truly believe your fight-loving people will be well-suited to take the passive route until the Fae decide they want to play nice? When in the Fairy have the Fae ever played nice?”
King Athon bared his blunt teeth. “The fastest way to keep my people safe is to show them how to protect themselves. That is what I will focus on first.”
King Traevon barked, “The fastest way to keep your people safe is to figure out why we are having this issue in the first place! There may bemorehostile Fae headed to our realm. Have you not thought of that?”
If I could speak up, I would say they were both right.
I poked the shifter king in his left shin.
The shifter king’s opened mouth, ready for a rebuttal, snapped shut. He tipped his head down and rubbed at the back of his neck—looking right at me, his expression not altering to indicate he was staring at anyone.
