CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
~ Gwynnore ~
KING BELSHAZZAR KNOCKED on my father’s office door and then placed his hands behind his back. His sardonic expression flashed my way, and he mumbled softly, “You really didn’t need to come.”
I sneered down my nose at him. “Bite me.”
My soul mate’s eyes warmed. He purred, “With pleasure.”
Lord Cato swung open his door. “There will be no biting right now.” His grin was pure evil aimed at my soul mate. “So come on in.”
I maneuvered around the king to put their staring contest to an end, walking straight to a chair in front of my father’s desk. “Have you decided which bone you want to have removed?”
“No, I haven’t. A lot came up in the past four hours.” Lord Cato took his seat behind his desk. “But I’m sure your dear soul mate has the perfect bone he’d like to chew on.”
King Belshazzar shut the office door and came to stand at the side of his desk. He placed his hands in his pant pockets, responding, “Your middle finger?”
Lord Cato chuckled. “Pass.”
“A clavicle?”
“Hard pass.”
“Femur?”
“Just get to the bone you actually want.”
My soul mate’s lips curved up on the edges. He drawled, “A rib.”
“That wasn’t a question.”
“No, it was not.” Bel tipped his head to Lord Cato’s chest. “It’s large enough for whatever they need it for, and if I slice it right, it’ll grow back in time.”
His lips thinned into two sharp lines. “That sounds rather painful.”
“I’m excellent with torture. I’ll make sure it doesn’t reach that point.”
“How very reassuring.” Lord Cato cleared his throat and examined my eyes with his shrewd gaze. “You’ll want to leave the room for this, darling.”
I stiffened my spine. “I’m not going anywhere.”
King Belshazzar pivoted to face me. His tone was patient and soft. “I won’t hurt him any more than necessary—”
“Do not try to work me over,” I growled, cutting off his bullshit. “Do what you came in here for. We only have fifteen minutes before their meeting in the royal cavern.”
My father stood and shrugged out of his suit jacket. As he removed his tie, he shook his head at me. “You really should step outside for this. Stay by the door if you wish, but you shouldn’t see it.”
“Again. I’m not going anywhere.”
His shirt dropped onto the table. “Then the trash can is right beside you.” My father smiled—it wasn’t nice. “I planned for your stubbornness. You got that from me if you were wondering.”
I sniffed. “Actually, I already knew that. I did extensive research on all the lords many years ago.”
“Raise your arm and hold it there.” Belshazzar strolled behind the desk, rolling his shirt sleeves up to his forearms—sans suit jacket for this meeting. He bent and placed a bracing hand on my father’s raised shoulder, holding him in place. His claws extended from his free hand right over the ribcage. “Do not move. I’ll make this fast, but don’t move, or it won’t grow back.”
“I know this already—”
I didn’t even see my mate’s hand move. One second it was clean, and the next, it was covered in blood and gripping a white bone.
