Tortured Royals (Game of Psychos #3)

Chapter 16

Chapter

Sixteen

~ Dante ~

T he little crow chats constantly in my head as she flies back to Blake’s house in the forest, with Luna and Noah following her in Noah’s car. It’s strange listening to the bird who has zero filter, but I feel honored I’m able to share this with Blake. I’d always suspected the princess could speak to the birds rather than simply command them, but I hadn’t expected the crow to be such a mouthy little thing.

It’s not long before Noah’s car pulls up out the front of the house. The rumbling of the engine shuts off, and there’s a knock at the door. Mason answers it, and Shade flies into the sitting room, perching on Blake’s shoulder.

Noah and Luna stride into the room, the pair of them wary. Luna’s auburn hair is a mess, and she looks as though she hasn’t slept in days. Noah doesn’t look much better with ruffled hair and a weary expression. They both keep their gazes trained on Blake, not having spotted me yet as Alaric is somewhat blocking my view.

“Thanks for coming,” Blake says with a smile. “And thanks for fetching them,” she says to Shade.

“Don’t mention it,” the bird replies.

“Of course, your highness,” Luna says, placing her fist to her chest and bowing low before she straightens. I think of the message Shade had delivered to them. The small piece of rolled up parchment had simply said they were to be escorted to the princess immediately. It hadn’t said anything about me.

I step out from behind the giant, and my friends immediately spot me.

Luna lets out a noise of surprise. “You asshole!” she blurts, momentarily forgetting about Blake. Launching at me, she crushes me in a hug.

“We thought you were fucking dead,” Noah says, whacking me hard on the back.

Then, remembering where they are, they both stare uncertainly at Blake.

Noah clears his throat like he’s about to apologize, but my mate grins. “It’s all right.” Her tone is casual, but her gaze lingers on Luna for a little too long, and my pants tighten at the possessiveness in my mate’s eyes.

Getting the hint, Luna takes a step back. “Hold on,” my friend says slowly, clearly picking up on the power coming from us. Her eyes snap wider. “You’re bonded?”

I smirk, and despite the fact I’m happy to see my friends, a part of me wishes I was alone with my mate and my bond brothers. If only so we could make Blake scream again.

“Sure are,” Nate says, baring his teeth in a smile that isn’t exactly friendly.

Luna is still gaping, and it takes her a moment to digest the news. She stares at Blake, and then the five of us. “Wait…you’re all bonded? Damn, the power coming from you is making me shiver.” She makes a show of looking at the goosebumps on her arm.

“Guess it’s a good thing Dante likes to share,” Noah jokes, and my tail flicks out, lashing his leg.

He curses, and his face pales when he stares at Blake again. He dips his head. “Sorry, your highness.”

My mate raises a brow, her eyes dancing with amusement. “Please tell me these are two of the few demons you haven’t slept with.” She says it casually in my mind, though from the tightness of her body, I’m guessing this is affecting her more than she’s letting on.

“Would it matter?” I muse back.

“Uh yes, asshole,” Shade answers for her. “Because if you have slept with either of them, this might not end well.”

I chuckle through the bond. “Asshole? I’m starting to think that’s a term of endearment.”

“Insult? Endearment? Who cares. Answer the question, demon,” Shade replies dryly.

“Hmmm are you always this demanding?”

Blake grins. “Oh, this is nothing. You wait until she’s hangry.”

“Hangry?” Mason asks.

“Angry because she’s hungry,” Alaric growls, then he scowls like he’s annoyed that he knows that.

“Yep, she gets attitude,” Blake adds, beaming at the assassin like she’s a teacher praising her pupil who just got the answer right.

“This is her without attitude?” Nate asks with amusement.

“Actually, I could use a snack,” Shade replies thoughtfully. “I forgot to bring the apricots.”

“Again?” Blake sighs.

“You’re avoiding the question,” Prince Callan cuts in.

“What question?” Shade asks. “Is this still about the apricots?”

The prince rubs the bridge of his nose. “No. The question of whether Dante has slept with either of these demons.”

Shade perks up again on Blake’s shoulder. “Oh righhhht.”

My mate and the others all look at me, and I give them a devilish grin. “No, I haven’t slept with them,” I say aloud, and the others all glare at me like I’ve just revealed a big secret.

“What?” Luna snorts.

I curl my arm around Blake and smirk. “The princess here, was just wondering whether she needed to teach you a lesson for daring to touch her mate.”

Luna raises a brow, not looking the least bit intimidated by the thought. “Oh, yeah no, Dante is like a brother to me. We grew up together, and the thought of that,” she uses her finger, making a circular motion toward my crutch, then points to herself, “near this?” She makes a disgusted face. “Yeah, it was never going to happen.”

She winks at Blake, and my mate grins, already won over by my friend. Typical.

Shade cackles in my head. “Ohhh I love this she-demon already. Can we keep her?”

“Is anyone else concerned that when we bonded we ended up not just sharin’ a mental connection with one female, but two?” Nate points out, indicating at Shade with his head.

Alaric, who’s next to him, punches him in the stomach and the shifter lets out an “Oof.”

“What? Don’t pretend you weren’t thinkin’ it,” Nate defends.

“That’s our mate’s friend,” Alaric growls.

Blake lifts a hand to her face to stifle her laugh.

“Someone blow Alaric a kiss. He needs a reward for that,” Shade chatters. “Mason?”

The centaur doesn’t even hesitate. He takes it one further and leans over like he’s about to peck Alaric on the cheek. Before he can, Alaric’s hand shoots out, gripping the male’s neck and stopping his lips from touching him. “No,” he growls and pushes him back.

“Holy crap,” Shade cackles. “He was really going to do that. Mason is definitely my favorite.”

Alaric let’s out a resigned sigh.

“She has a short attention span,” Blake explains. “You’ll get used to it.”

“Okay, I’m not going to pretend I know what’s happening here,” Luna says, staring at Alaric and Mason, and the rest of us like we’ve lost our minds. Her gaze goes to the tattoos on Alaric’s arms, and her brows rise. “Also, is that a Drozac assassin?”

Noah squints, taking a step closer. “Fuck, it is.”

“Relax,” I tell them. “He’s with us.”

“Well, I get that,” Luna replies, “but how did this happen?”

Blake shrugs. “Who the hell knows?” She indicates with her head. “That’s Alaric, and yes, he’s a Drozac assassin. Next to him is Mason, he’s a foreign prince and winged centaur.” Luna opens her mouth, but Blake adds, “Don’t even ask.”

My friend closes her mouth again.

“Then we have Nate, he’s a jaguar shifter,” my mate continues, “Prince Callan from Toralyn, no explanation needed there.” Prince Callan bows, making a show of it. “And of course, Dante,” Blake finishes.

Luna blinks and takes a moment before speaking. “Okay, I think I followed all that.” She fixes her gaze on my mate. “And what can we do for you, your highness? For you to request that we come here, there must be a reason, and I’m guessing it’s not just so we can see Dante is alive.”

I don’t miss the fact that Luna says ‘requested’ rather than ‘ordered,’ even though we all know when the princess makes a ‘request’ of one of her demons, it isn’t to be disobeyed.

My mate crosses her arms. “Some time ago, you used your power to disguise Dante so he could enter the palace without me realizing his true identity,” she says.

Luna sends a worried glance my way and bows, bringing her fist to her chest again as she stares at the ground submissively. “Princess, it was not my intention to deceive?—”

“Dante…” Noah starts to protest, but Blake continues on.

“I didn’t bring you here to punish you,” my mate says quickly. “I brought you here because we need your help.”

Frowning, Luna slowly rises, pulling her fist away from her chest.

“We need you to use your powers to disguise us,” I say.

Luna’s gaze cuts to me before she turns her attention back to Blake. “Disguise you?”

My mate strokes Shade’s feathers. “It’s come to our attention that during Dante’s absence, you’ve been approached, and individuals have requested that you attend a meeting.”

“They’ve been by every day for the past three days,” Noah admits.

“Who has?” I ask.

Noah shifts uncomfortably. “Ivar’s minions. There has already been one gathering since the princess’s ball and King Dalton announced his retirement. I’m sure there are more that we don’t know about.”

“Ivar from the Fallon Blade clan?” Blake asks, her back snapping straight.

“According to the rumors, the Fallon Blade clan has a new house in the city, but we don’t know where it is,” Luna answers.

“What is it?” Alaric growls in our minds, his question clearly directed at Blake.

“About a week before Dad drugged us all for the competition, we found a demon with witch contraband. Weapons,” Blake explains. “He was from the Fallon Blade clan. Our top general was sent to investigate, but apparently the clan house had been cleared out before he got there. The general torched the building to send a message to them.”

Nate curses.

“So this meeting,” I ask Noah. “Is it a gathering of the clan leaders or are there others set to attend?”

Noah looks at me strangely. “Only a few of the clan leaders as far as I’m aware.”

“Let me guess,” Blake says, “the ones who would choose a different ruler for Seral?”

Noah dips his head. “I can’t be sure, your highness.”

My mate blows out a breath. “They’re so predictable.”

I rub my hand soothingly against Blake’s arm. “Is there any other news?” I ask my friends.

When they both hesitate, Blake prompts. “What is it?”

“I can’t be sure,” Luna says reluctantly, “but there have been whispers in the city.”

“What whispers?” Alaric growls.

“About a new power,” Luna answers. “We can’t tell you much more than that.”

“You think she’s talking about the witches?” Shade asks.

“All we know is that things aren’t right,” Noah adds. “The moment the king announced his retirement, fights have been breaking out all over the place. Some say it’s because King Dalton destroyed the Fallon Blade clan house without provocation.”

“No provocation?” Blake scoffs.

“Whatever message was intended, it sounds like the narrative has changed, my mate,” Mason says.

Blake’s jaw ticks, and she stares at Noah. “When and where is the meeting?”

“Daybreak,” Luna replies. “At the Bleeding Hearts club.”

“Bleeding Hearts? That belongs to the Silver Sun Clan,” I say. “They’ve always been closely allied with the Fallon Blade Clan.”

“Well,” Blake says, cracking her neck. “Looks like there’s no time to waste.”