“But you are still the Lady of the Lake,” Hart checks.
“I doubt she’s morphed into the Lady of the Leather,” Malachi adds with a sly smile. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“My concern,” Gwyneth cuts in, “is Poseidon and his legendary temper. The history books are littered with stories of his wrath for perceived slights.”
“I could just spank him,” I declare. “I doubt he will be a problem.”
Gwyneth shakes her head as Theo’s chest shakes with suppressed laughter. “He might be all into,” she waves her hand up and down, encompassing my body, “whatever this is. But he is, at his core, an arrogant Idol with an ego the size of the ocean. You humiliated and stole from him.”
“One stupid male ruler problem at a time,” I advise. “He’s not at the top of our list, and he’s not beating down our door. We can send the mirror man to check up on him periodically and report back.”
I shove a piece of cheese and sausage in my mouth, and my eyes widen. Wow, that is like a sausage party in my mouth. Malachi snorts.
“I’ve been thinking,” I say after I swallow. “Did you speak with your father? He no longer has the sword, and I’m curious what effect that is having.”
“His rule was already beginning to slip,” Nash says, leaning forward on his knees. “Now it’s falling away fast. The people are seeing the rotten core of his soul and are turning away from him as their leader.”
Gwyneth sighs. “Meaning the narrative is gearing up to force the issue and make a knight worthy to become the new king.”
“But that involves a dead dragon and a dead Lady,” I grumble.
“Neither of which is happening,” Nash adds. Glad we agree on that.
“He’s ignited a realm-wide search for his dagger,” Malachi says with a grin. “But few people care. They are glad his reign is loosening.”
“What happens if he yields the throne, but no one has taken possession of the sword?” I ask.
“If we could truly resist, then I guess our kingdom would descend into lawless chaos.”
That doesn’t sound healthy.
“I’ll be resisting,” Hart mutters with a side-eye at me. I don’t miss the double meaning, but I doubt his sincerity.
“Now that you’re back, we can concentrate on untangling you from this legend,” Gwyneth says. “Before, I had to divide my attention between rescuing you and figuring out how to release you from being the Lady of the Lake.”
“There are enough of us to split the tasks up,” Nash says with a nod. “Gwyneth, you seem to have a handle on Poseidon. You are in charge of research and tasking the mirror man with his spying job. Hart can liaise with our contacts at the castle and keep watch on where our father is looking for the sword.
“Theo, you are in charge of security. I am not enjoying how many people in power are targeting Daphne, directly or indirectly. But your beast has the power to beat most things.”
“And what about me?” I ask.
Nash’s lips lift in a slow smile, and my heart thrashes in my chest.Oh Idols, help me. Or don’t—because I’m certain I will enjoy the brand of darkness in his gaze.
A shiver runs down my spine. “You’re cold?” Theo asks as he pulls me against his chest. He runs hotter than the rest of them, and his heat warms me through. But that’s not why I’m shivering. It’s the wicked look of determination in Nash’s eyes that calls to my soul. I wink at him.
Bring it on, Nash Stirling. I dance with chaos and steal from Idols—I am ready for your darkness. You don’t scare me.
Chapter
Eleven
After Gwyneth mutters words of love, followed by a threat of disowning me as a sister, she scurries off into the depths of the library, leaving me with the brothers and an allergy-ridden mirror man.
“Where are my capons?” I won’t forgive them if they ate them. Hamish and Eugene deserve a life of clucking contentment, right after I check if those eggs they enjoy leaving around are for our consumption, or if we’d been accidentally stealing them all along because of the language barrier.
Malachi rolls his eyes toward Hart. “They have taken up residence in Hart’s room.”
My gaze swings in Hart’s direction. What an odd choice for my capons. “And you are okay with that?”
