But I would behave since he had…taken care of me…in hisbizarreshifter way. If we were to coexist together as unlawful soul mates, I needed to keep learning about his people and how his brutal mind worked.
So I stepped aside, away from the doorway, and stayed quiet when Queen Alora finally deigned to enter the royal conference room, her multi-hued ponytail swishing back and forth from her aggravated gait. The merfolk queen looked ready to slash out at anyone, her nostrils flared in fury and her fists clenched, barely restraining herself when she stopped next to the other rulers.
Only when the discussion began did I breathe easily in the brutal wake of her entrance—her innocent seahorse pajamas, be Fae damned.
Iwatched.
I observed how King Athondominatedtheir attention.
I studied when he allowed others to speak. And, yes, heallowedthem to talk by quieting himself and genuinely listening to what they said. He controlled the beast inside himself with hardened grit, thinking clearly with a sharp and cunning mind—only King Traevon’s skills evenly matched his during their dialogue.
My brows rose on my forehead when it became evident that King Athon was the ultimate predator—and enemy. I shuddered inside his sweater and ate the last piece of my dried jerky. It was extremely fortunate that Father was still alive. I would not be able to stand toe to toe politically with the King of Shifters.
I was not at that level yet in my life.
Yes, I must continue tolearn. I would be the best queen to my people that I could be. I would do right by them, and that meant I needed to be able to handle King Athon inside this powerful room. Knowledge was the key to my people’s wellbeing.
The room silenced when the shifter king finished speaking, the rulers having finally gotten to the point of why they were rudely roused from their slumber.
“Essentially, what you are saying is that we have not only the giants awakening to worry about but also another problem lurking in the shadows,” Queen Mikko deduced correctly in her soft voice. The brown mist of her eyes swirled in menacing circles, and her gaze narrowed in calculation. Her tone held no fear as she stated clearly, “It is the Fae. I think we all know this by now.”
Hmm. The caster queen was brave.
“From all that we know so far, I would agree with you.” King Athon lifted one black eyebrow. “There is something else, too.”
My pointed ears perked up. I pushed off against the glass wall, coming to attention. He hadn’t mentioned anything else to me.
He paced in front of us, left to right, his solid-black eyes holding mine for a moment too long—perceptive eyes. He stopped in the very center of the room, right in the middle of the circle of desks.
He pointed a single finger up at the ceiling, explaining gruffly, “It’s all about the castle in the middle.”
Motherfucker.He had figured it out, too.
While the other four rulers tilted their heads back to examine the ceiling, their whole focus upward, the King of Shifters flicked his gaze in my direction. He smirked in cruel delight at my aggravated glower, and ticked his lifted, pointed finger back and forth in the air, a silent reprimand for trying to hide something from him.
I was caught—Fae damned arrogant shifter.
He lowered his hand and turned his regard back to the rulers, his haughty expression erased. “As you can see, the stained glass takes the shape of the castle.”
Queen Alora griped in her high tone, “I do not see it.”
“Cross your eyes,” King Athon instructed at the same time that I mouthed, “Cross your eyes.”
Father scratched at his chin, tilting his head while he regarded the ceiling. “That is fascinating. The color shining out from the windows is blue.”
No kingdom’s color in this realm was blue.
Red, orange, yellow, green, and purple.
But no blue.
“What do you suppose that means?” King Elon hissed, his voice rolling over my flesh like snakes slithering. I cringed as he continued, “All of our kingdoms’ colors make up the outside of the castle.”
King Traevon lowered his gaze from the ceiling. “What do you think it signifies, King Athon?”
“I am not sure of that,” King Athon responded briefly, grudgingly accepting that his foe had the upper hand on this topic with his next words. “But since your soul mate is the renowned artist, I thought you might be able to tell us.”
“Hmm.” Father peered over his shoulder at me. “What do you believe she would say, my heir?”
