Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
Four more people with thick hair stood as we wound our way through the tables. Donovan led me forward, holding my hand tightly, fingers entwined in mine so firmly I couldn’t let go.
Suddenly, Cress was in between us, swaggering forward, breaking Donovan’s hold on my hand and taking it in her own, while the boys briskly walked in front. Cecil trotted beside them, managing to swipe two smoked salmon starters and an entire filet mignon off the tables without the diners noticing.
We followed the thick-haired, well-dressed suspected centaurs as they sauntered out the side exit of the dining room, chatting happily as they drifted through the thick ferns and trailing ivy, heading down a gravel path towards the direction of the sports center.
Cress jabbed Donovan in the ribs as we walked. “Coward.”
He snarled at her. “Not now, Cress.” He reached out and took my hand again, pulling me along beside him.
“You couldn’t do it, could you? You’re too stubborn. Too scared of being hurt.”
“I said not now!”
“We are out of time, Donovan. We are about to face Connor, and he has brand new seduction magic. He’s going to be there as soon as we step through the portal.
We’re probably going to have to fight him, and, hopefully, a bunch of centaurs, to get the songbird back.
Would you like me to wrap up the Chosen in a pretty bow and deliver her right to him? ”
I glanced at her, suddenly worried. “I thought we weren’t taking the prophecy seriously?”
She winked at me. “I’ll take it seriously if it gets me laid, Chosen.”
I cocked my head, confused. “What?”
Donovan gave a deep rumble. “If you do not close that giant mouth of yours, Cress, I will have the royal tailors sew it shut.”
“I told you before, if you are too stubborn and cowardly to tell her, then I will.” She gave him a saucy wink. “The prophecy says she will bond, whether it be to the Devourer or the Giver. And you know how much I like…” She ran her tongue over her top lip. “Giving.”
“What does that mean?” I pleaded, stumbling on my heels on the gravel path. “Cress, what are you saying?”
Cecil trotted up beside me, chuckling. “It means she’s a top.”
I looked down at him. “And what does that mean?” I stumbled along in my high heels, trying to act natural.
Behind us, a dozen other men and women with very thick heads of hair were making their way to the sports center, too.
None of them paid us any attention, but then again, it fit with what they’d told me about the centaurs—too arrogant and self-absorbed to notice anything untoward going on around them.
I’d had enough. I ripped my hand out of Donovan’s grip. “What the hell is wrong with you two?”
Cress laughed out loud. “See? You ham-fisted, stubborn fool, you will deliver her straight into his arms because you cannot be honest with her.”
“I will not force her!” Donovan let out a snarl, whipped around, and grabbed Cress by the throat with his massive hands.
She broke his hold and delivered a brutal combination right-left to his gut, spitting out words with each punch. “Grow. Some. Balls. You. Fucking. Coward!”
He tackled her, and they tumbled to the ground, grappling on the perfect green lawn.
I watched them for a brief second, absolutely speechless, then, a centaur couple tiptoed around them, long noses stuck in the air, heading to the squash courts.
Donovan elbowed Cress in the back; she shrieked and sank her teeth into his forearm.
This was ridiculous. “Cecil?”
He sat back on his haunches, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. “Yes, Chosen?”
I sighed, leaned down, plucked the cigarette out of his mouth, and ground it under the sole of my shoe.
He growled. “Don’t you growl at me, you little shit,” I muttered.
“My patience is worn so thin, it’s practically non-existent.
Now, come with me. I’ll take you through the portal.
Nate, Eryk—” I sighed. There were a dozen people headed this way now; chances were, they were all centaurs headed to the portal.
“Just follow us when they’ve stopped fighting.
If I have to save Audrina myself, I’m going to do it.
” I stomped down the path, absolutely furious with both of them.
“You can’t blame Prince Donovan, Chosen. His hands are tied.” Cecil trotted along beside me. “And no matter how much he moans about it, he actually does want her here.”
“I know,” I snapped. I rubbed my chest absently because it hurt.
“And Cress means well, but for her, violence is always the answer.”
We reached the door to the squash courts; a young couple walked through in front of us.
“Well.” I held open the door so Cecil could go through. “Violence might be the answer, but it would help if I knew what the question was.”
“Cress just wants him to be happy,” Cecil said simply. “And, of course, she feels like the best way to do it is to bully him into taking action.” He paused at the doorway, looked up at me, and shrugged. “You know what little sisters are like.”