Chapter 14
Chapter
Fourteen
~ Princess Blake ~
I blink my eyes open blearily, wondering if I’m still dreaming. I’m cocooned in warmth, the scents of my mates all around me, and I swear I haven’t slept that deeply in my entire life. Alaric has me tucked up right against him, one hand braced under his head, and I’ve never seen him look so peaceful. Mason is on my other side with Dante’s arm draped across his waist, and Nate is behind Alaric.
It’s only then that I realize Prince Callan is gone. The thought that he’d left us, that he might have changed his mind about everything makes my stomach drop. I sit there for a moment when I hear a faint clanging coming from down the hallway. Carefully wiggling from Alaric’s hold, I slide from the mattress and silently grab one of the daggers I had hidden under the mattress on one of my previous stays here.
I’m quiet as I make my way down the hallway, and as I reach the entrance to the common room, I grip the hilt of my dagger tighter. There aren’t many who know the location of this house. “Callan?” I peer around the corner and freeze.
The archangel prince turns at the sound of my voice. He’s shirtless, wearing only his pants, and instead of his hair being slicked back in its usual style, the golden strands are tousled, sticking out in all directions. He smiles, holding a frypan in one hand and a spatula in another. “Good morning, angel.” The greeting is like a smooth caress, and I stand there gaping. My mouth instantly waters, and I’m not sure if it’s because he looks like a domesticated god right now, or if it’s due to whatever he’s cooking.
“Uh, you might want to close your mouth before you start drooling,” Shade chuckles in my head, and I notice she’s perched on the edge of the kitchen island.
“Speak for yourself, perv,” I shoot back, knowing full well why she’s there.
“What?” she replies innocently. “I thought you’d appreciate me keeping an eye on your mate. And speaking of, I’m guessing this is his way of trying to make amends?”
Shade turns her head, and I follow her gaze to the dining table which is laden with food. Much of it is prepared using the stock I had kept in cool storage, but it’s obvious Prince Callan must have gone hunting and foraging in the surrounding forest. My gaze roves over the spiced venison, fried mushrooms, herb salad, and a number of other dishes that I would have no clue how to make myself. There’s a selection of freshly baked bread rolls, and my brows lift. “How long have you been preparing this?”
He walks to the table, flipping the eggs from his pan onto an empty plate and placing the frypan back on the stove. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I found him in here about three hours ago,” Shade comments. “Who knows how long he was up before that.”
I’m still gaping when firm arms wrap around me from behind, and Nate squeezes me before planting a kiss on my cheek. “Mmmm, what’s smellin’ so good?” He scans the room, and when he spots the spread, he grins widely. “Well, damn, Callan, you have been holdin’ out on us.”
Pulling me along, Nate gracefully slides into a chair at the table and drags me onto his lap.
Dante, Alaric, and Mason, come down the hallway, and Dante brushes his fingers against my cheek before taking a seat opposite me. “Sleep well, princess?”
Before I can answer, Alaric drops into the seat on my right. He grabs me from Nate’s lap, pulling me onto him instead.
Mason shakes his head at the possessive assassin, and Shade gushes in my mind. “Hold on, what’d I miss? Because that’s not the grumpy Alaric I know.”
I smile. “Let’s just say, my assassin has finally come around.” I wiggle on Alaric’s lap trying to get comfortable, and he grunts, growing hard beneath me. Oops.
I can practically feel Shade pouting in my mind. “What? You guys are too cute! This is so unfair. I need my own harem of sexy men.”
“I’m sure your bird mate is out there somewhere,” I assure her.
“Yes, but I don’t want one mate. I swear, if I was human ? —”
“If you were human, I never would have rescued you from the human realm,” I interject. “And I’m pretty sure humans only have one mate.”
“Actually, they have husbands, not mates, and there are some who choose more than one partner,” Shade corrects, and then she squeals in my head.
“What, what is it?” I snap, surprised at her outburst.
“He’s trying to feed you, girl. That is next level adorable.”
I frown, but when Alaric lifts a forkful of venison up to my lips I realize what she’s going on about.
I make an unimpressed face. “Okay, being carried around is one thing, but this is too much.”
Alaric doesn’t lower the fork. “You wanted me to treat you like my mate, so eat, enchantress.”
“And I will,” I say forcefully. “But I can feed myself.”
“I’m sure he knows you can, princess,” Dante drawls, “but if you don’t start eating something soon, I’m going to be tempted to feed you something else, and we wouldn’t want all the archangel’s hard work to go to waste.”
My cheeks heat as Dante’s midnight blue gaze holds mine. The only empty seat is next to him on the other side of the table, and he slides it closer to him like he’s making me a promise, one that is all too tempting. But he’s right about not wanting to waste all the delicious warm food.
I force myself to ignore his seductive stare and look over at Prince Callan who’s now seated a few chairs from me. “This is amazing,” I tell him, and before I can close my mouth, Alaric has shoved a forkful of food in there.
I glare at the assassin, but I’m soon distracted as layers of flavor explode on my tongue. Merciful Lady. My eyes shoot wide with surprise.
Nate’s chest rumbles as he swallows his own forkful, and gives the archangel a lopsided grin. “Definitely holdin’ out on us, brother.”
I don’t complain as Alaric continues to feed me, but then I slip from his lap and make my way over to my seat, because there’s no way I’m not getting my own plate. Dante watches me with a hawkish gaze, but he doesn’t pounce on me like he’d teased, though his tail does wrap possessively around my leg, pinning me to the chair.
Shade goes straight for the bowl of seeds and nuts that’s on one side of the table, clearly left there for her. There’s also a large selection of prepared fruit. “Mmmm….have I mentioned that I love this archangel?”
“Actually, I’m pretty sure you were anti-Prince Callan the last time we discussed him. You’re swayed that easily then, huh?”
“I’m just saying, I could get used to this,” Shade says. “Besides, don’t pretend you weren’t easily won over as well. I heard all of you last night.”
I can’t really argue with that, and the others don’t say much as we devour the food. It’s only when we’ve eaten our fill, that I realize all eyes are on me again.
Dante is the first one to speak. “So princess, now that we’re home, where do we go from here?”
“I’d like to know that, too,” Shade chimes in. “What have the crows been telling you?”
My stomach churns. Even now I can feel them—my crows spread throughout the city. It wouldn’t take much for me to connect with each of them and find out what they know, but I shudder, remembering what happened to the birds in Toralyn. Logically, I know Princess Mirelle isn’t here, and that I don’t have to worry about her fire harming them, but I still can’t bring myself to command them. Not yet.
I clear my throat. “We need to find out what’s happening in the city,” I say aloud, ignoring Shade’s question. “When I left, there was already evidence that at least one of the demon clans has been working with the witches, and we need to find out who else is involved and what the plans are. Clearly the witches have their hands in a lot of pies, and we need to figure out how this all pieces together before it’s too late.”
“And why aren’t we headin’ to the castle?” Nate asks, popping another mushroom into his mouth and moaning.
“Yes, would the king not be expecting you, my mate?” Mason asks.
“I’m sure he is,” I say slowly. “But the thing is…” I go on to tell them all about the secret vault. I don’t explain how to access it, but I tell them all about the forbidden door and the power I can sense on the other side. I also tell them about how Dante was attacked when he was disguised as Kai. “So you see, I’m not willing to risk taking any of you to the castle just yet. At least, not until we’ve bonded.” I pause. “That is…if everyone’s interested in bonding?” I’m not sure why I feel so hesitant to ask. All of my mates have now shown that they’re committed to me, but it’s one thing to share our bodies, and it’s another thing entirely to bond yourself to others for eternity.
Everyone’s silent for a moment, and it’s not until Mason reaches out, linking his fingers with mine, that I realize how tense I am. Lifting my hand, Mason kisses my fingers, and I let out a long breath.
“I want nothing more than to seal the bond between us, my mate,” Mason murmurs, and my heart pounds.
Dante’s tail tightens on my leg. “Of course, princess. How could I want anything else?”
Nate grins at me and winks. “Let’s do this.”
Prince Callan nods his head. “Anything for my Ahalian Touizda. If she’ll have me.”
I peer at Alaric last, and he stares back at me, his grey eyes unreadable. “What do you think, assassin? Want to bond with the enemy?”
He sets down the fork he had been gripping tightly. “You were never my enemy, Blake. I see that now.” His voice is gruff and raw, and bumps prickle over my skin.
“Well, damn,” Shade says, hopping from one foot to the other. “Do you guys need a minute?”
“It’s settled then,” Dante says. “We’re finally all agreed that we’ll bond.”
My heart races even faster as my mates all keep their attention on me. I’m not sure why I’m nervous about this. Finding my mates and bonding has been my goal since Dad announced his retirement. I need the power boost if I’m going to be able to keep the demons in line, let alone keep on top of this witch problem, but it suddenly all feels like too much pressure.
I swallow thickly. “Looks like it.”