But we don’t have the time to delve into this. We have a kingdom to win back, Elle to rescue, an entire people to protect from his brother. From my husband.
“We have to go,” I say lamely.
One corner of his mouth quirks up. “I’ve just been waiting on you.”
“You could have woken me up,” I retort.
“Who am I to wake a High Queen?”
I roll my eyes and push myself up, but Asmo pulls me back down and wraps his arms around me.
“Wh—” The question dies on my lips as he shifts underneath me, then rolls us both over, pinning me beneath him. My body arches into him without a thought, but then he’s gone and I swallow the protest as he stands before me, all of him on display.
All thoughts go out the window as I devour every inch of him. And I mean…every. Inch.
“If you keep looking at me like that, princess…”
I shake my head, forcing my gaze from his sculpted body. We dress quickly, my mind reeling as I mull over the news that we have to share with the remnants of my court—that Ursidae’s support comes with conditions that I’m not sure I can meet.
We carve the sigils into our stomachs and toss the key onto the bar on the way out. The town is nearly empty as we walk back to the portal location in silence, neither of us daring to attract any attention to ourselves.
Ivan wrenches the front door open the moment we step through the barrier. His eyes are wild with panic as they rove over me, then Asmo.
“What happened?” Ivan orders, the question directed at Asmo.
But I answer it. “We’re so sorry, Ivan. We’re fine. We left the Bear Court and went to grab a drink. By the time we went to leave, we couldn’t because of some curfew in place, so we had to stay overnight in an inn.”
Ivan’s expression goes from panicked to irritated, a scowl darkening his features. “You couldn’t just break the curfew? Mother, what if something had happened?”
“It wasn’t exactly that simple.” I explain the protections put in place—the wards that prevented travel, the guards roaming the streets.
He huffs a breath. “Well, probably smart of you not to test it. Last thing we need is you getting hauled into a prison cell. Been there, done that, as the kids say. Anyways.” He gestures us inside. “Come on, then.”
We step inside, and I’m fully prepared for everyone to be waiting for us, but the living room is empty. “Where’s everyone else?”
“Holly and Luca are out looking for you. Cally is asleep,” Ivan answers. He takes a seat on the sofa and stares up at us expectantly. “Well? What happened with Ursidae?”
I sigh as I settle into the armchair across from him. “Shouldn’t we wait for the others?” I ask, pointedly, looking around the empty room.
“They won’t be back for hours. Just tell me.”
“Torben refused,” Asmo says gruffly as he plops onto the couch beside Ivan.
“Well, not technically,” I object, giving Asmo a side-eye. “He promised to help us if we can get Panthera and Canis to promise their support.”
Ivan leans forward and steeples his hands together. “Tell me everything.”
I recount the entire visit, Asmo grunting in disapproval when we get to Artis’s ultimatum.
“What do we do, Ivan?” I ask. It comes out desperate. Defeated. We thought Torben would be what we needed to get back to the throne. But with his conditions, it feels like we were in a carriage—albeit, a very shoddily assembled carriage—and one of the front wheels just went flying off.
“You’re sure Canis will help?” Ivan asks.
I nod eagerly, despite the creeping doubt I have. My answer is based solely on August’s promise. Ivan runs his hand along his jaw, thumb rubbing the short stubble that’s begun to grow. “I don’t see another option,” I say. “We’ll have to visit Panthera next and hope they’ll agree to help.”
Panthera, who’s more aligned with House Serpent than any other court. The thought does not sit well with me. But we don’t have another option. We need their help if we want Ursidae’s. If we have any chance of winning this war.
Ivan and Asmo begin to discuss the logistics of our trip to Panthera, and I find myself drifting off. The surge of emotions from our visit has left me drained. My hope flared when Torben said they’d help, then was doused by the morning. Then, Asmo’s speech and everything that followed…
