King Elonhissed, casting a heated glare right at the side of my face. “Holy Fae above and below, I hate these events.” He finished off his drink and snapped his fingers at a servant, exchanging his flute for a new one.
I waited a moment, and then I stated calmly, “Don’t pull that shit again.”
“I knew it wouldn’t work.” Then King Elon murmured wistfully, “But if it had, it would have been splendid. A man can dream of the day this elf king is dead.”
I snickered in good humor, entirely entertained with the angered attention the gorgon king and I were receiving. “How many glasses of wine have you had?”
“Not nearly enough.” King Elon flicked his gaze to the sentinels in red who were stationed only a few feet away, staring daggers at us. He winked a reptilian eye at them and smiled wide—showing all of his white teeth. “If you want to have a staring contest, elves, I’m more than willing to oblige.”
Every sentry instantly stared at his chin instead of his eyes.
My laughter boomed loud and clear. “I guess they don’t like being stone hard.”
“Pity for their partners,” King Elon muttered wryly.
“Mayhap elves don’t even know what stone hard is. They look fairly scandalized, so they’ve probably never heard of anything being hammered up their ass before. Perhaps you should show them? I have heard you favor a certain guard in your kingdom.” I snapped my fingers, pretending as if I didn’t know who it was—but the danger in my voice was not subtle. “What was his name again? It is on the tip of my tongue. Raoul? Yes, I believe that is it.”
The gorgon king choked on his drink and pounded on his chest, spewing. “Now, I believe you are trying to kill me…and leave him out of this.”
With a straight face, I purred, “I’m sure the Fae wouldn’t mind.”Death this way comes…
King Elon snorted hard. “Youaretrying to get me killed.”
I smirked cruelly, stating slowly, “Only if you pull bullshit again like you did tonight. I am a patient predator. I can wait for the right moment to kill. This is not the time for games, as you well know.”
The gorgon king’s hostile eyes met mine.
I cocked my head subtly, leniently giving him a moment.
“Fine,” he snipped.
I nodded once. Issue resolved—for now.
The two queens were arriving, anyway.
Queen Alora flicked her hand at a servant, shooing them away, and marched straight toward us through the crowd, her personal guard barely keeping up behind her. Her light blue dress, of what appeared to be caster-spelled seafoam, fluttered around her body like waves in the ocean from her perturbed gait.
She halted next to us, her personal guard taking position next to ours. The merfolk queen grouched, “Good Fae. That was utterly ridiculous.”
I rubbed at my ear that was closest to her.
It would be best not to talk about royal secrets now, so as not to permit everyone in the ballroom to hear.
Queen Mikko prowled through the room, the normally subdued, sweet queen irked as well when she stopped beside King Elon—her personal guard staying close by her. “I had to put a fucking spell on my guard to get him to stop wandering about.”
Queen Alora scowled. “How many forays did you have through the art gallery?”
“Three times.” Queen Mikko’s expression instantly lightened, altering with a thrilled smile, decidedly ruining the lethal look of her barbed dress. “Minnie’s artwork is truly remarkable. She is the best artist in all five kingdoms.”
“I saw it seven times.” The Queen of Merfolk huffed. “Trust me. It gota littleoldafter the fifth time.”
I chuckled softly. “Why didn’t you stop the guard before that?” I brushed my finger against the corner of my mouth. “You’ve got a little something right there.”
Queen Alora hurriedly scrubbed her mouth, white, powdered sugar sprinkling into the air. She studiously brushed off her hands, snapping, “What? There were a few tasty treats along the way.”
“Yes. I saw that.” I’d had a few, too.
Another spike of anxiety flared inside my Fae-spark.
