Chapter Fourteen
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Theo
“ I t’s okay,” Ora bellows. “ Everything ’s all right. Don’t venture into the smoke until I clear some. There’s no need to panic.”
I am very much panicking, but I freeze, unwilling to charge in when a dwarf with a large supply of explosives has ordered us to stay back.
A massive fan blows the hot pink mist away from the perfume counter.
Val laughs, and the rich sound drags over me like a syrupy wave. I want to yank her away from where she’s perched against the stone countertop and run my hands over her curves.
What the hell was in that potion that blew up? Some kind of lust spell?
Montejanus sniffs the cauldron, his round ears twitching, and the sight of the dreaded soul guardian has me returning to my senses…somewhat.
Apparently, my reaction to Val is all physical and probably completely my own.
“She chose a volatile mix,” Ora says. “But there’s nothing dangerous in it other than a mild stimulant.”
“Like a pheromone?” I ask. “A love potion?”
Both women look at me with a judging stare, and I want the castle to open a floor and swallow me.
“More like the caffeine content of an extra-strong espresso,” Ora explains.
Yep, I officially need Shadowvale to save me from myself.
Except while backing slowly to retake my seat at the bar, I realize that for once in an emergency, I didn’t first think of Shadowvale. Or my sister who gawks at me as though I’ve grown a third horn. Or those victims and survivors who find sanctuary here. Or even the kingdom. No, my focus had been solely on Val.
What kind of unholy fuckery have I gotten myself into?
This was supposed to be an easy conquest of a match made for magic and power, without complications.
Nic catches me pressing a hand to my ribs. “You sure you should be down here and not in the infirmary getting your bones fused back together?”
“I’ll be fine. We both know I’ve had much worse injuries than some busted ribs. At least the rest of me seems to have healed.”
She glances with a smile toward my mate. “It’s so sweet Val nursed you back to health.”
“I’m still shocked she didn’t try to stab me. Or sic Montejanus on me.”
“She must be coming around to the truth of you two being fated.” Nic makes it sound like we’re humans caught up in some gods-awful dating show. “Any clue how you’re going to talk her into staying permanently?”
“I only need her to complete the mating bond so I can get the extra power bump. No one is talking about a lasting commitment except for you.” Even as I say the words, the idea of Val leaving makes my chest tighten. I won’t let her go.
Gilly strides into the room, heels clicking on the hardwood floor. “I forget how massive Shadowvale is until I hit the resort floors and your wards against teleporting.” She’s slightly out of breath by the time she reaches us. “I’m surprised you let your mate out of your penthouse.”
“He can’t lock her away forever,” Nic argues.
“Sure he can,” Gilly says.
I’d like nothing more than to go upstairs and climb back into bed with Val while keeping the world out, but I’m not sharing that with my sisters. Not that either cares about my opinion. The two of them can bicker for hours about anything.
Their distraction gives me the chance to watch Val work her charm on a dwarf who generally can’t stand people. No matter who she meets, my mate wins them over like she’s weaving a spell. She has even captured the attention of a soul guardian who hasn’t been seen in centuries. It makes me wonder how she managed to fool the millions who watch her family’s show into thinking she’s dull. I won’t underestimate her.
If I hadn’t read my investigators’ file on her, I would guess she isn’t fully human. They’d described her as beautiful, boring, not very bright, and undeniably born to two full-blooded humans.
“Don’t you agree?” Nic asks, glaring at me, and I realize I have no idea what my sisters have been arguing about. Not that I’ll admit my mate has stolen all my concentration.
I deflect. “What do you need for your masquerade?” I ask instead.
“It’s not a costume party, Theo,” she says with a sigh. “We’re doing spa treatments—mostly sheet masks.”
Gilly heads around the bar and pulls liquor bottles and a martini glass to make herself a drink. “I’m not sure if that sounds more or less creepy than Theo’s take. I mean I like a spa as much as anyone else. For the quiet. It’s not really a social thing. Only you could turn it into a reason for a party, Nicolette.”
Nic’s human glamour turns as scarlet as her demon form. Only Gilly and our mother can make her mad. “It’s a good idea,” she insists.
“A great one,” I assure her. “Val already said she’s looking forward to it.”
“Good.” She waves a dismissive hand at our sister. “I’ll go start putting together the guest list. I’m out.” Then she’s gone in a flip of pink hair and glittering squeak of sequin sneakers.
“Must you provoke Nic into defending herself every single time?” I ask Gilly.
She pours precise measurements into a shaker, not spilling a drop. “Our baby sister needs to grow up. For once, I’d like her to either take initiative or at least recognize the efforts of those of us who have to actually put in the work for people to notice us. Not just twinkle in with her rainbow hair and all-play-everyday personality. Drink?”
“No, and why would you suggest Nic needs to adult more than she already does?”
“Did you just use Nic and adult in the same sentence?” Adding a scoop of ice, Gilly rattles the shaker, stopping our conversation momentarily. “While I’m trying to track our portal hijacker, locate a kraken pirate ship whose crew doesn’t want to be found, and deal with whatever diplomacy our father trusts his least favorite child to handle, she’s planning parties.”
Fatigue laces her words as much as frustration. How had I not noticed her less than perfect posture, the few hairs out of place that would mean a disaster in Gilly’s put-together world, and the slight shake of her hand that now bumps against the glass as she pours? “I should’ve been out helping you today.”
She shrugs a shoulder. “You nearly died, and we need you winning over your mate if you’re to have a shot at getting the magic we both know you’ll need to hold the kingdom together when…” She takes a long breath. “If Father’s condition continues to deteriorate. How are things going with your human?”
Memories of what Val called herself earlier spear through me. “Did you call my mate a powerless human?” I can’t keep the thread of violence out of my voice.
Gilly stops with her drink halfway to her lips. “In case you missed it, brother, I’ve been busy. I haven’t had time to speak with her except in your presence that once.” She gives me a cool, pissed-off look before her gaze shoots past me, going icy with rage. “Dupree,” she seethes. “Seems our cousin is taken with your pretty mate.”
I’d been so focused on Gilly these last moments that I hadn’t been watching Val, hadn’t noticed my cousin coming to sit beside her. Whatever he says makes both my mate and Ora laugh. Hells, even Montejanus doesn’t hiss at my smarmy asshole of a cousin. It doesn’t matter that everyone finds him amusing, I don’t trust Dupree with Val. I stand, ready to move her way, when Gilly catches my sleeve.
“Don’t you want a progress report on the kraken’s ship and the portals?” she asks, narrowed eyes fixed on me. “What’s going on, Theo? This isn’t like you. You lost a match. Not just any match—the sea witch’s daughter. When she finds out, she’ll be in this realm demanding retribution from the royal coffers, an inter-dimensional apology, and your head. And you’re here acting like a jealous hobgoblin instead of the crown prince.”
She’s right. I take my seat again. “Any luck on either investigation?”
“The kraken is a slippery bastard. I tracked his ship, The Marauder —what an audacious name—to what the humans refer to as a devil’s triangle. They sailed inside and vanished.”
“What do you mean vanished?”
“Exactly that.” She takes a sip of her drink. “No tech or magic could follow it. When he crawls out of whatever pit he’s hiding in, we’ll find him. Too bad the woman you wanted to match with him wouldn’t take a summoning device.”
I glance toward Val who still insists on wearing the damn thing around her ankle, and my brain immediately goes to a fantasy of following the curve of said ankle up her long leg with my lips to see how far she would let me go.
“Theo,” Gilly snaps. “Get your head back in the conversation. If you’re so worried about losing your mate to Dupree?—”
“I’m not.”
“He’s broken more hearts than you’d think. The humans find him handsome and charming. He’s their rule-breaking bad boy stereotype. Of course, they believe they can fix him through their love .” She wrinkles her nose as though the very thought disgusts her. “When we all know he’s not the misunderstood rebel they think he is. No, he’s just a sad little fuck up.”
“I can’t stand our cousin, but I’ve never been able to figure out why you hate him so much.”
“He wants what we have. To be the direct descendants of the king, not the cast-off son of the king’s leech of a younger brother. His bitterness at what he perceives the world has cheated him of? It’ll burn through him and right into us if you let him.” She lifts her chin. “We haven’t been able to discover which demon royal has been opening portals throughout the realms. Maybe it’s because he’s sitting right there underneath our noses or horns or pick your body part.”
I stop glaring at Dupree for simply being near my mate and instead assess him as a real fucking threat. “You think he’s smart enough to orchestrate a scheme as complicated as masterminding the portal problem?”
“No,” she says. “I think he’s that stupid.”
“But it would take coordination between realms and among rulers who can’t agree on anything, let alone keeping a secret from our father.”
She finishes her drink and sets it to the bar with a loud clink. “Like I said, some people adore the fucker. Who knows what he can convince them to do? Perhaps you were right to watch your mate so carefully. I’ll keep searching for answers. You heal up and get her to lust after you as much as Dupree pants after our father’s throne.” She strolls toward the door like solving the realm’s crisis and mine are just another day at the office. It’s so very Gilly.
“Thank you for all the work you’re doing,” I tell her.
She stops. “Why, big brother, I think the human’s making you softer already.”
Could meeting my fated mate have changed me this fast? I can’t afford for her to make me weak. Not if I’m to remain my father’s strong right hand. I would appoint Gilly as my top advisor in a heartbeat, but my dad doesn’t trust anyone but me and my mother to assist him in the harder parts of running the kingdom.
Gilly disappears through the far entrance, and I force myself to sit instead of interrupting whatever bullshit charm Dupree spins for Val and Ora. The man’s such a kiss ass. It makes me wish I’d taken Gilly up on pouring me a drink. There’s no way Val doesn’t see through his empty flattery, right? Except maybe he means it. Maybe I should be worried about her finding him attractive.
Even worse, what if my sister accuses him correctly of being the royal behind those portals opening where they’re not supposed to? Dupree could’ve been the one behind Ava’s vanishing from my control where I could’ve managed her match and outfitted her with tracking sigils.
The air behind Val and Dupree ripples, a split-second shimmer before the world splits to reveal an opening to another realm.
I call out to my mate, rushing to get to her as a cyclops charges through the portal with a roar.