Luka nodded. “Yes. So … I will have to kill him first.”
Oh, God, help us.This rescue mission just went from hard to impossible.
“Ready?” Liv stepped up and shook her cleavage in my face.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, and stepped out of the tuk-tuk as we assembled our crew. There was no time to fill everyone in on the new plan, they would just have to watch it all unfold live.
Awesome.
Luka linked arms with me and we led the group around the side gate, where guests were pouring in by the tens and twenties. We funneled through the entrance and I took in the scene before me.
Holy crap, it was five times as big as the event we were here for last time: more seats, bigger fighting ring, and a huge crowd packing the place from fence to fence. It seemed like the type of event you would have in an arena, but something told me the king liked to make thishisthing, something he hosted at his house so he could be sure to take all the credit.
We moved through the crowd with our group. The ten vampires that Luka had brought split up with their “feeders” to visit the bar and other areas, while we went in search of the king to present Liv to him. His date. Whom he apparently didn’t even care about.
Now I was regretting my skintight black ball gown with peekaboo cutouts.
“Mr. and Mrs. Drake!” Carmen’s singsong voice trilled behind us.
We spun and gave her a bright smile. I tried not to envision her screwing Tink and talking about how the king wanted to kill my husband-to-be.
“King Constantine will be so happy to see you! Follow me.” She expertly wove through the crowd and then we came upon an animal type pen. It had chicken wire and long wooden boards, but instead of animals behind the fence there were … people.
Slaves.
My hand clamped down so hard on Luka that he instinctively yanked away in pain.
‘Sorry,’I muttered, trying not to look annoyed, because King Constantine was about to turn around.
The king spun and I pulled the corners of my mouth up into the biggest fake smile I could muster given the situation.
He beamed at us. “Oh, how lovely, my special guests have arrived!” He shook Luka’s hand and then moved to me, letting his eyes roam slowly over my body, taking my hand and kissing it. “You look delightful, Aspen,” he purred.
‘I’m going to kill him slowly,’Luka growled.
“This is Liv!” I blurted out, spinning around to make room for my bestie to move forward. Liv looked nervous but also sexy as hell. The king’s eyes glittered as he pulled her hand up and toward his lips. “Lovely Liv. We are well met.”
She giggled and I ran my gaze over the trolls and werewolves in the giant pen. “Milika!” I blurted when I recognized the troll.
The king looked at me, perplexed. “You know someone in there?”
Shit.
“That’s the one I told you about, darling.” I yanked on Luka’s right arm. “Can I please have her? She was such a help getting me ready for the dinner party last time.”
Luka rolled with my acting. “Ahh, yes.” He turned to the king, who had understanding in his eyes. “Can you sell me that troll? Aspen really needs a better lady’s maid.”
The king looked at me with a sparkle in his eye. “What Aspen wants, Aspen gets.” He winked.
‘I’m going to cut his tongue out,’Luka said through our bond while still fake smiling.
“Let me pay you for her of course.” Luka went to reach for money and the king waved him off.
“It’s a wedding gift,” he said, and signaled for Carmen to release Milika.
“Thank you so much!” I squealed, hoping Luka knew I was being fake. The way Luka’s muscles pulled taut reminded me of a cheetah about to pounce on its prey.
After Carmen gathered Milika, the troll kept her eyes on the ground as she approached the king and I.
