I was pretty sure he wanted to strangle me.
His strong fingers kept twitching just so…
King Traevon sucked in a big breath and turned to assess the threat. “Please try to calm yourself, King Athon. It is not something the shifters discuss with other kingdoms, and the taboo subject is not written in any books.”
My head tilted at that. Were the shifters ashamed they didn’t know? I guess I could understand that. If a ruler disappeared—and no one had an answer for where they were—it would be seen as a weakness. A black hole in their protective ruling. It could be exploited and done again, in their minds, if they didn’t figure it out first.
“Youknew!” King Athon bellowed.
I flinched back a step.
He was even more upset than I’d thought.
King Traevon nodded like the shifter king was tugging on his last nerve, irritating the Fae shit out of him. “Of course, I did. My father warned me not to speak of it when I was young.”
“You told your heir, right? Like all rulers do? Iknowthey do.” King Athon fisted his hands, his enormous muscles bulging in his arms. “And she never fucking mentioned it.”
Ireallydidn’t like him verbally attacking my king.
It wasn’t warranted in the least.
I lifted a pointed finger into the air, stating primly, “Actually, my king never told me about this tragic part of your people’s history. But seeing as my youth was isolated and away from shifters, that is understandable. I’m sure he would have explained it eventually now that I am more involved in royal affairs.”
“Quite so,” King Traevon murmured.
King Athon bared his teeth at me and leaned forward, ready to attack. “Was it a filthy elf that killed him? Is that how you know? Is it whispered about in the dark alleys of Sugar Cove with secret pride?”
I ground my teeth together, his vehemence biting. I threw my hands up in the air, and snapped, “I will tell you if you calm the Fairy down, you stupid beast!”
“Iama beast, but I’m not anywhere near stupid.” The King of Shifters took a menacing step toward me.
Blue Louie and Father slid between us, glancing back and forth at our furious, flushed faces. King Athon and I were ready to knock each other the Fae fuck out. I really wanted to punch his crotch first—that wasstillbulging. Honestly, how in the realm was he still hard? What was wrong with this shifter? He was such a disgusting brute!
Blue Louie griped deeply, “It is not your death day.”
Father patted at the air. “This is getting out of hand. Let us all calm down.”
“Here, here,” Queen Mikko whispered.
King Elon hissed, “I suggest you speak quickly, Princess Trixie, and tell King Athon what you know.”
“Very quickly.” Queen Alora ran her fingers through her multi-hued ponytail, draping her beautiful locks over her left shoulder and casting a warning glance in my direction.
I sneered at my blasted soul mate. “It wasn’t an elf that killed the original shifter. It was a dragon.”
Queen Mikko’s head jerked back at my words. Pity crinkled the edges of her misty eyes. “All of this fighting over a fabled creature from children’s books? Surely you know they are not real.”
King Athon’s beast snarled, the tiger furious. “This is not humorous, Princess Trixie. I do not appreciate being toyed with and teased on this subject. There is a reason rulers warn their heir not to speak of it.He was our original and was taken from us.Are you such a heartless elven cunt that you don’t understand that?”
“That is enough, King Athon. Do not cross a line you cannot come back from,” King Traevon snapped sharply. Then he speared his emerald gaze on mine. “Trixie, explain yourself. I know you would not be making fun right now on such a delicate subject.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and lifted my nose into the air, glaring at all of them. “Grandmother Isabella told me a tale once—of the original shifter who was killed by the dragon. The dragon is Fae, not a fabled creature. The dragons in our children’s books are based off of history, fictionalized into what people now think is make-believe. Fairy, there is even a dragon in the stained glass of High Pointe. I saw it in the bathroom. Why would the Fae put that there if dragons aren’t real? Have they read our children’s books? I think not.”
King Athon took a slow step back and mimicked my pose, crossing his arms over his bare chest. His lower jaw seesawed back and forth in aggravation, his solid-black eyes staring over my head in dark thought. His fingers dug into his biceps in the tense quiet surrounding us, fury still coiled in his body.
Eventually, he rumbled, “Tell me this tale.”
His penetrating gaze slid to mine, capturing my eyes.
