He starts laughing, but quickly covers it with a cough when I glare at him.
Everyone in the fucking kingdom loves it when my mate makes a fool of me. I’ve been serving and protecting theseungrateful assholes for years, and not one of them is on my side. They’ve known me my whole life, yet they cheer for Hazel.
So what if I terrorized the elders by pulling pranks on them growing up? I was a kid. And I’m still their motherfucking king. But I won’t complain because it warms my heart when they choose my prickly mate over me.
“Coming to the training grounds? Nevaeh’s teaching Skye something new today.” Khatri doesn’t wait for an answer, already heading out.
When Nevaeh told me she wanted Khatri’s daughter as her future Warriorhead, I knew she’d made the right call. Khatri has been a loyal friend and confidant for more than a decade, and I’ve watched him instill those values in his daughter.
I can’t wait to see what it’s like when our daughters run the kingdom. It’s been proven throughout supernatural history that female leaders birth prosperous kingdoms.
I hurry after Khatri, rolling my sleeves to my elbows, exposing the markings gifted to me at my coronation by the Sisters of Fate. The black ink swirling across my skin is a reminder that the throne I sit on and the power I wield were only given to meafterI had proved that I was worthy.
I’ve been the Horseman of Death for nearly two decades, and I still have to glare at people to stop bowing every time I step out of my castle. Yes, it’s extremely awkward for me, but I hate it because it makes people vulnerable in a way I don’t want them to feel around me. They shouldn’t have to prove their loyalty, so I won’t act like a tyrant and make their lives hard.
The kings before me might have reveled in that kind of submission, but it makes my skin crawl.
Khatri and I walk side by side until we reach a crowd of parents lurking outside the training field. Hazel doesn’t let them in because all they do is hover over their kids and throw around opinions on things they know nothing about.
That’s why the parents resort to climbing trees to watch their kids train, desperate to see if they have what it takes to become warriors and carry their family name higher.
I’m on my mate’s side when it comes to protecting our kids, so I clear my throat loud enough to announce my presence. A hush falls around us before a demon who was barely balancing himself on a thin branch slips and lands flat on his back with a thud. The others scramble before Hazel hears the commotion and comes to set them straight.
The demon at my feet groans, but the moment he notices my shadow, he springs up and runs, muttering apologies under his breath.
Khatri laughs before leaving me to find his daughter. I drop onto a wooden bench in the shade and lean back, watching the chaos from a distance.
I have a million things to do, and my Head Reaper will be ready to bite my head off the second I step into her office later, but every Wednesday, I carve out time to watch the kids duel and get a glimpse of the future we’re building.
I spot my mate first, and a smile immediately pulls at my lips. I know it annoys her when I grin at her like an idiot, but it’s not my fault. One look at her and I lose all my brain cells.
Earlier, I didn’t get a chance to notice what she was wearing because I was busy trying not to get stabbed, but maybe that was for the best. Hazel stands tall in a fitted black full-sleeve top and loose cargo pants, somehow looking even taller and leaner.
Fates, she’s perfect.
Hazel claps twice, and the kids immediately form a perfect circle around her. You’d expect a training session for teens to be a mess of wild kids running around, but every single one of those hellions is focused on my mate, watching with rapt attention.
Unlike with me, Hazel reins in her sass for the kids. She’s still a little mean and rolls her eyes every ten seconds, but there’s a softness to her, careful in the way she speaks to them.
It’s amazing to see her standing smack down in the middle of chaos and looking completely at home. Every time I start to think I’ll never break through the walls around her heart, I come here and watch her teach these kids with so much patience, a serene expression on her face, and remember why it’s worth trying.
Hazel hides behind her sass, acts like nothing touches her, but here, surrounded by kids who worship the ground she walks on, the tension in her shoulders loosens, and sheactuallysmiles.
I almost feel bad for the boy who loses and drops his sword, but my mate is already turning his disappointment into determination. She’s good at that.
Once Hazel talks him out of feeling sorry for himself, he looks at her like he’s waiting for something more. Hazel sighs like he just asked for a piece of her soul, and before I can lock the moment in my memory, she pats his head twice.
It’s awkward, but the kid looks at her like she hung the moon. Actually…, they look at her the same way.
I’ll admit I was suspicious about how the moody siren would fare with the kids when Anxo first mentioned it, but they love their grumpy trainer.
“Hey, stalker.”
As soon as I hear my daughter’s voice, I’m on my feet and pulling her into a hug. “There’s my precious little troublemaker.”
She pulls back, cupping my face. “You trimmed your beard!”
“Don’t pretend like you didn’t bully me into it.”
