Oh my god, Audrey. Liam. Fergus. The party. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been splashed over me, snuffing out any flame of arousal from the moment.
Well, notanyflame. I could still count my pulse based on the throbbing between my legs. But it was snuffed out enough for me to get a clearer head again.
The growl in Drustan’s chest turned threatening, and his massive body tensed over me as he turned toward my best friend.
Her hazel eyes were wide, her expression horrified, as Drustan lifted the bloody blade toward her, no longer hidden behind his back.
Liam and Fergus stood on either side of Audrey. Liam, wearing his constant hostile expression toward the siren prince. In contrast, Fergus only looked disappointed while standing tall with crossed arms. Like a chaperone who caught teenagers canoodling at a high school prom.
“Aud,” I gasped. As Drustan turned his body toward my friends, with his mouth pulled back in a threatening grimace, complete with the bloody cake knife raised in a defensive hold, I shoved him away from me.
He barely budged, but I still managed to bolt toward Audrey, who opened her arms for me as I ran into her.
“Are you okay?” she asked me in a whisper.
“I’m okay,” I assured her as I turned back toward the siren prince.
His eyes were on me, back to their gold color. He pushed himself off the wall and sighed, flipping the knife in his hands casually.
“Hello, old friends,” Drustan muttered.
Something sank in my gut at his words. Like a veil of manipulation was being pulled off of me.
“Explain to me,” Fergus sighed in annoyance. “How and why the Prince of Lyndoruun ended up hidden in the drapes with a human at my ball?”
As Drustan’s eyes locked on mine. A mocking tone coated his voice as he replied, “Have you seen the female, Fergus? How could I possibly resist such a creature?”
I scowled, anger boiling my blood as I stepped forward and spat, “Call me a female one more time. See what happens.”
Confusion marred Drustan’s features for a moment before a cool, uninterested expression smoothed over them. I was manipulated soeasilyby him. I understood Liam’s constant hostile energy toward Drustan. I was completely powerless against a siren like him. Had Drustan kept me tucked away fora few more seconds, I probably would have caved and gone anywhere he asked me to.
Drustan’s lips twitched before he gave his attention to Liam, who took a threatening step toward him.
“Why are you holding a bloody knife, Shaw?” Liam asked accusingly. Audrey immediately started to coat her hands over my body in a panic, before I shooed her off.
“Why don’t you ask the human,Dahl?” Drustan replied, sounding more bored than anything as he danced the blade between his fingers without cutting himself once.
Fergus turned to give me a proud smirk, then he faced Drustan again as he said, “It’s getting late, and it’s a bit of a journey back to Lydhavn.”
“That it is,” Drustan replied. “Though I am intrigued. Where have the three of you been, while you left your human companion unprotected?” I glared at him, but he didn’t react. “It almost looked as if the fae and nereid princes were conspiring with the halfling.” The threat was clear in his voice, and I balled my hands into fists as everyone stayed quiet. Drustan’s eyes fell on each one of my friends before he released a heavy sigh of exhaustion, “Hopefully, the peace our territories have been able to maintain over the decades will remain intact.”
I’m going to strangle him, I thought, picturing my hands wrapping around his neck.
Drustan’s eyes landed on me as his lips tipped up in a grin.
We’ll work our way up to that, my song. His hypnotic, warm voice rang in my mind.
I immediately gasped and took a step back, “What the fu?—”
“Don’t be delusional,” Fergus said calmly. “Why are you suddenly interested in our affairs now, instead of finding the bottom of every bottle within your reach?”
Drustan’s gaze flitted around the room behind us, as if searching for an answer.
“Time will tell.” He lifted a shoulder before stepping forward with the knife. The three of them immediately blocked Drustan from approaching me, and his red eyebrows jumped at the threatening positions all my friends took. He chuckled to himself, amused at the obvious hostility, before he twirled the knife one last time.
Drustan slowly lowered to a kneel on the ground, gently placing the weapon on the ground, before smirking at me and standing tall again.
“Until next time, Vanessa.” Drustan winked and lyskifted into thin air.
