“How?” Theo asks as he folds his arms.
Malachi snorts. “She tried to mount him.”
“Without permission,” the centaur snaps.
“Someone help her,” Gwyneth demands.
Charming pushes her against the wall and turns his back. “Stay here, my love. I shall help her.”
Malachi reaches to grab my hand as I make another sweep across the floor. At least the fur cloak is protecting my back. “Just stay still, and I’ll?—”
The centaur whips his head up and butts Charming in the ass. “Ow! Dammit!” Charming stumbles into Gwyneth, clutching his butt cheeks.
The genie hovers near the ceiling, throwing some kind of snack in his mouth. “Wow. This is... something.”
Sir Sweeps-A-Lot, eager to be helpful, zips forward and starts aggressively sweeping my dangling leg.
“Why is this your solution?” I shriek as my precarious position worsens.
“I think he believes you need to be swept off,” Theo says, looking far too amused.
“Stop helping,” I beg.
The genie chuckles. “Best entertainment I’ve had this annus.”
“Fix it!” I demand, still dangling upside down.
“Oh, I would, but, you know, that would require a wish.” He waggles his eyebrows. “And I seem to recall someone saying that wouldn’t be happening.”
I scowl. “This is not the time for a lesson in magical stubbornness.”
“Fine, fine.” He sighs dramatically and flicks his fingers. For a moment, nothing happens. Then, a soft gust of wind blows through the stable and untangles my foot with invisible fingers. “There,” he says smugly as I fall into Nash’s arms. “That one was free,again.”
“You’d think I’d be the one getting the hugs after being dragged along the floor,” Hart grumbles as Nash sets me down.
The centaur shakes out his mane, glaring at me like I personally offended his ancestors. “If you ever touch me again, I will launch you into the nearest river.”
I raise my hands in surrender. “Noted.”
Theo claps a hand on my shoulder. “That was deeply embarrassing for you.”
I groan, rubbing my sore limbs. “No orgasms for you.” Theo’s mouth falls open.
“I tried to help,” Hart reminds me.
I turn in Nash’s arms and give Hart a hard kiss. “And you shall be rewarded.”
A bellowed roar erupts behind us, the queen’s screams echoing in its wake.
“I didn’t imagine Eron turning into a giant lion?” I check. There was a lot going on, so I may have recalled it incorrectly.
“Nope,” Theo answers. “Definitely a lion.”
The centaur clears his throat, his glare still fixed on me. “As much as I loathe the circumstances of our meeting, I was expecting you.”
My eyes narrow at him. “Expecting me? You mean this was all planned? Because if it was, I have several complaints.”
He ignores my tone and continues, “The Grimm brothers sent me. They knew you’d make it here eventually, and they instructed me to bring you to them.”
