Tortured Royals (Game of Psychos #3)

Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

~ Princess Blake ~

A short while later, all our clothes are hanging from the nearby branches to dry, and Nate, Mason, Dante, Shade, and I are lazing in the sun. Alaric hasn’t spoken a word since watching us in the pool, and he rests with his back against a tree, using one of his blades to whittle down a piece of wood he’s collected. He carves the end into a tip, and I guess he’s creating a wooden arrowhead. I ask him about it twice, but each time he only responds with a grunt.

“Yep, he’s definitely making you a wooden butt plug,” Shade comments as we theorize what it could be.

I cough, choking on my own spit. “Excuse me?” When she’d returned to the hot springs after my time with the guys, she’d squeezed details out of me, and I’d admitted how I’d been with Mason and Dante at the same time.

Reaching across, Mason rubs my back soothingly. “Are you okay, my mate?” he asks with concern.

Clearing my throat, I pat my chest with my hand. “Never better.”

“It’s probably so that next time you can take his giant cock,” Shade adds, ignoring Mason.

I narrow my eyes at where the crow is crouched in the shade. She stretches out her wings before folding them again. “And to think, I used to believe all birds were innocent creatures.”

“What can I say,” Shade replies. “The humans corrupted me.”

I frown, but I don’t comment on that. I’ve tried to ask Shade about her past on multiple occasions, but for the most part, she tells me she doesn’t remember much. Just her cage. Her other memories come in snippets, but she struggles to piece them together.

“What’s with the giant, anyway?” Shade asks, pulling me from my musings. “I swear after the battle in town, he’s gotten grumpier. I didn’t even think that was possible.”

I shake my head. “Who knows what goes on in his mind.”

I’m about to ask Alaric what he’s carving for a third time, when Prince Callan finally makes an appearance. He strides toward us, his expression weary as he stops close to where we’re relaxing.

Like Alaric, his clothes are still splattered with blood and grime.

“Nice of you to join us, brother,” Mason says, resting his arm on my side.

Prince Callan’s eyes lower, and his gaze goes to Mason’s hand before tracing over my naked body. His attention goes to the pools of water, and then to where our clothes are hanging in the trees.

“How is everything back at the township?” I ask the archangel, and he blinks, his gaze snapping to my face.

“Construction is well underway,” he replies coldly. “The town will be whole again before long.”

“Well, that’s good news, so why does he still look like he’s about to be sick?” Shade comments. “Maybe you should encourage him to have a dip. Something tells me he’d feel a whole lot better if he did.”

She’s not wrong. Now that I’m out of the water and dry, all those worries and concerns are on my shoulders again, weighing me down. The archangel could use a break, but something tells me that bathing is the last thing on his mind.

“And what are our plans from here?” Mason asks, pulling my thoughts back to our conversation. “When are we to depart for your queen?”

Nate, who had looked like he was snoozing a moment ago, stretches and props himself up on his elbows. “Yeah, ’bout that, we sure that’s a good idea?”

My brow creases, and I whirl on him. “We’ve talked about this. I need to see Queen Vespera and try to convince her to call for aid from the allied realms. If Toralyn falls, who knows which realm will be next.”

“For all we know, attacking Toralyn could be a diversion,” Nate counters.

“Toralyn is one of the strongest realms,” Dante says. “If the witches conquer this land, it will not look good. Nor will it bode well for the rest of us.”

“Whatever the reason, Nine Lives is right,” Prince Callan says harshly. “You should all go to Seral. This is my home and my problem. I can handle it.”

I gape at the archangel. “You can’t be serious. This affects all of us.”

Prince Callan clenches his jaw. “At least, if you won’t return home just yet, then all of you wait here while I go ahead to speak with the queen.” His gaze flicks to the water, and I suddenly wonder if the choice for us to be here wasn’t just about finding a safe place for us to rest. He was hoping we’d be tempted to stay here. I narrow my eyes at the archangel, irritation prickling at my temple.

“I could be wrong,” Dante muses. “But I get the feeling you don’t wish for Blake to meet your family.”

I blink rapidly. “Is that true?” I search Prince Callan’s face, but his expression is unreadable. “Is it because I’m half angel?” My walls fly up, anger simmering in my veins. There had been times when I’d wondered why the angels never tried to reach out to me. I was heir to the demon throne, after all, and a half angel.

As a child I was ridiculed for being a half-breed demon, and now I wonder if the angels feel something similar for me. Mason’s hand rests on my shoulder, and he massages my tensed muscles.

Regret flashes on Prince Callan’s face as he holds my gaze, and he blows out a breath. “It’s not that,” he says, and I visibly relax, not realizing how much the thought had bothered me until that moment.

“Then what is it?” Mason asks, his voice hard like he’s about to make Prince Callan hurt if the archangel says the wrong thing.

Prince Callan runs a hand through his golden hair, and I note how different he looks in comparison to the archangel I’d first witnessed in the ballroom. Instead of oozing confidence and arrogance, right now the male just seems…tired.

“And this is why I’ll never have to worry about bein’ the biggest dick of the group,” Nate comments with a lopsided grin.

Prince Callan glares at him.

“We’re not staying here,” I tell Prince Callan bluntly. “If you’re embarrassed of me, you’re just going to have to deal with it. Visiting the queen isn’t about you or any of us.”

“Embarrassed?” Prince Callan says incredulously. “You don’t get it. I want you to stay out here for your own safety. All of you.”

My brows lift. “Nowhere is safe. Not anymore.” Okay sure, there was some kind of barrier around the valley, but who knew whether the witches would be able to break through it if they really tried.

I’m surprised then, when Prince Callan’s gaze goes to Nate, like he’s imploring the shifter to side with him. For the entire time I’ve known these two, they’ve been at each other’s throats, and now I get the undeniable feeling that I’m missing something.

“I would have thought of all beings, you would know to stay away, Nine Lives,” Prince Callan says bitterly to my shifter.

Nate shrugs. “I was proven innocent, and I can’t stop Blake if she’s determined to meet your queen. I plan to go where our mate goes. Besides, times have changed, prince.”

The archangel’s face tightens, and he runs another hand through his hair.

“Wait, what do you mean by innocent?” I ask Nate. I think about the shifter’s reputation. Nine Lives is the name he’s called throughout the realms, in reference to the nine times he’s escaped an execution sentence, due to his thieving exploits. “Let me guess, you took something from Queen Vespera in the past?”

Nate grins broadly. “Hey, I wasn’t about to exclude kingdoms and deny them the joy of my presence.”

I groan. “What did you steal?”

“I never stole anything,” he defends, mocking a hurt expression like he’s offended I would imply such a thing. “Whoever took the jewel from the treasury merely made it look like it was my fault. Some kind of annoying copycat. Timed it perfectly when they knew I would be in the realm and everythin’. The angels only figured out the truth in the weeks after they had condemned me to death. It’s lucky for them that I escaped, or they’d have my innocent death on their conscience.”

“Yes, innocent,” Prince Callan says dryly.

“Innocent in regards to that crime,” Nate says. “And anyway, the queen wouldn’t kill me now that she knows she was wrong. Besides, I’m bonded with you, gorgeous.” He winks at me. “I’m sure you wouldn’t let her take your favorite mate from you.”

“Favorite? Is that right?” Dante drawls.

I roll my eyes, but Nate’s right about one thing. There’s no way I’d let the queen take one of my mates. Still, I feel a little uneasy about letting Nate come along if he has a history with the queen.

“Is it true?” I ask Prince Callan. “Does Queen Vespera know Nate wasn’t the one who stole the jewel?”

There’s a flicker of something in Prince Callan’s eyes, but before I can question it, it’s gone.

“Yes,” the archangel replies. “She knows the shifter is innocent of that crime.”

I stare at the prince for a moment, convinced that I’m still missing something. When he doesn’t say anything more, I nod slowly. “All right. Then I guess we’ll be joining you.”

Prince Callan’s nostrils flare. “I must insist you all stay here.”

But it’s too late. I lift to my feet, plucking my clothes from the tree and pulling them on before grabbing my weapons belt. “I think we’ve waited long enough. I’m not staying in this valley when your realm is at war, and Seral could be next. Now, are you coming or not?”

Prince Callan still looks like he wants to argue, but he doesn’t.

Shade flaps her wings, flying over and landing on my shoulder, her claws cutting through my flimsy shirt and scratching against my shoulder. “Uh, Blake, what do you even know about the angel queen? Because for once, I get the feeling Prince Callan isn’t just trying to be an ass. What if this is a bad idea?”

“Then it wouldn’t be my first one,” I reply. “We can’t stay here, Shade.”

Realizing that I’m going whether he wants me to or not, Prince Callan waits while everyone dresses, and then he begins leading us from the valley, his long strides taking us away from the hot springs.

Shade’s last question circles in my mind, and as we walk, I wrack my brain trying to recall all that I know about the angel monarch. Unfortunately, it isn’t much. “I’ve heard Queen Vespera is a cunning and ruthless ruler,” I say to Shade. “It’s said she has a weapon that keeps everyone in line. A powerful angel who follows her every command without question.”

“A powerful angel?” Shade asks. “What can they do?”

“I have no idea. It’s a secret known only to angelkind.” And that doesn’t include me.

“Then maybe you should ask your archangel mate?” she suggests.

I purse my lips, eyeing Prince Callan’s back as he stalks at the head of our group. He doesn’t look like he’s in a talkative mood. “I’ll ask as we get closer,” I tell her.

“Okay, so do you know anything else about her?”

I step over a fallen log. “Only that the queen is also known for her elaborate parties and has a deep love of intricate performances.” I shrug. “That’s about all I’ve got.”

“Performances? You mean, like she enjoys the theatre?”

“I’m not exactly sure. Queen Vespera doesn’t visit Seral frequently, and whenever she has visited, I’ve been busy elsewhere. But I do remember a time when a group of hand-selected demons practiced tirelessly for months in preparation for a performance directed for the angel queen.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad,” Shade muses, perking up a little.

Nate comes closer on my left side, moving a branch that’s at my height level so I don’t have to duck under it.

“He might be a prick, but Queen Vespera is a real piece of work,” the shifter says, indicating with his head to Prince Callan. “We’ll need to keep our wits about us when we’re around her.”

“We will, or you will?” I ask, recalling what he’d said about being sentenced to death.

“We will,” he confirms. “She had me imprisoned for days, and it was the first time in my life that I wondered whether I might not be able to find a way out.”

Turning my head to the side, I eye my shifter. “And how did you escape? They say she has a weapon. An angel under her control who wields immense power.”

Nate frowns, and his gaze focuses on Prince Callan again. “You’d better ask him that one. I might steal treasures, but I don’t share secrets. Not unless they’re mine to tell.”

Facing forward again, I think about this and continue following my archangel.