Chapter 4
Four
~ Princess Blake ~
The next night, I sit straighter on my throne ignoring the bite of the cool black marble beneath me as the string quartet to my right plays a haunting melody. I’ve opted to wear a black corset dress paired with skintight black pants, and a curved dagger is strapped to my thigh, mostly because I felt too naked without my weapons. I tap my blood red nails against my wine glass as the guards follow the king’s command and open the doors of the grand ballroom. There’s some kind of commotion that I can’t see, but then a horde of demons, shifters, archangels, and other monsters stream in, all dressed in finely tailored suits and embroidered tunics depending on what realm they’re from. Hundreds have turned up, and my chest tightens as the cavernous room fills quickly.
“Is the king expecting you to dance with all of them?”Shade asks, sounding more excited than horrified. She’s perched on my shoulder, and she swaps legs tucking the other one into her feathers to keep warm against the chill in the room. “You know, I’m not bonded either, and I’ll happily volunteer as tribute if you need a hand. If they turn out to be my mates, then you’ll know they can’t be yours.”
I force myself not to grin. “I’d swap with you if I could. Though…” I pause thoughtfully, “do crows even have mates?”
“Sure we do,” she chirrups. “But it’s usually only one mate, and we don’t actually bond or do anything fancy like that.”
“And I’m guessing your mates also aren’t usually a demon or some other monster?” I add.
“That, too, but hey, I’m willing to give anything a shot. I’m here with you, aren’t I?”
This time I can’t hold in my smile. “And thank Lady Fate for that. I can’t imagine having to go through this alone.”
She ruffles her feathers and swaps legs again. “Anytime, girl.”
A resounding thud echoes as the guards close the massive ballroom doors, and I pay attention to the alphas. The majority of them remain in segregated groups, sticking to those of their own kind. Palace servants weave between the guests, offering drinks from their silver trays laden with glasses.
The alphas from Rostof, realm of the giants, are the easiest to identify. The largest in the room, the giants all reach at least seven and a half feet high. Black tribal tattoos cover their thick muscled bodies, and many of them have braided beards decorated with beads. Their long hair is kept neatly away from their rugged faces, and most of them are wearing some combination of leather clothing. It”s been a long time since I”ve seen a giant in the flesh. Like the beast shifters, they’re able to change their forms at will, except instead of changing into massive animals and other creatures, giants can increase their size three-fold. If one of them were to take on their giant form in here, it wouldn’t end well, but the king would take care of them before that happened. And so would I, for that matter.
More than one of the giants is glaring at me, and I hope Dad knows what he’s doing by bringing them here. The last thing we need is an incident with the giants when our relationship with the royals of Rostof is already fragile.
“Well, they look like a friendly bunch,” Shade comments, clearly noticing them as well. “You still think the king’s hoping you’ll bond to one of them?”
“All of the Rostof princes are already bonded, but if I’m mated to a giant who’s a well-respected member of the royal court, it would be an easy way to build trust between our realms,” I reply. “I don’t mind who my mates turn out to be, as long as I can unlock my power and stop the demons in Seral from destroying themselves.” At that, I tilt my head, staring at one of the giants who is talking animatedly to a male beside him. I can’t help but wonder what the sex would be like with such a large male. I mean, would it…fit? An image of the demon I bedded, the one who ended up dying pops into my head, but I try to push it away. That wouldn’t happen to my mates…would it? It was a problem I’d have to figure out another night.
“Whoa, maybe stay away from that one,” Shade says, distracting me. “That guy with the cloak looks like bad news.”
I swing my gaze to where a cloaked male is standing among the giants. I can only make out his vivid gray eyes, straight nose, and square jawline that’s covered with stubble. His hate-filled glare makes my skin prickle with awareness, and I resist the urge to reach for my dagger. The giants move around as they chat to one another, and the alpha disappears into the crowd. “Great. I knew Dad made a mistake by inviting the giants.”
Keeping my chin high, I try to forget about my new hate club, and turn my attention to the group from Norso. Their realm is made of ninety-percent water with huge sea creatures that roam the seas, moving in territorial pods. The alphas from Norso are distinct with thick strands of green and blue hair that reminds me of seaweed, and angular features that are accentuated by the shadows in the ballroom. I’ve heard their kind also has webbed toes, which helps them glide through the water when they’re swimming with the sea creatures, and it makes me wonder how different the rest of their bodies are.
Truthfully, it’s not something I ever thought I’d have to contemplate. I always assumed my mates would be demons, or that I wouldn’t have any at all. Suddenly it all seems so…complicated.
I turn my gaze to the shifters from the beast realm, Kanzepes, next. They appear to be just as hostile toward me as the giants. I wonder if it’s because their ruler, Queen Nareen, had once propositioned King Dalton. From what I’ve heard, she didn’t take it well when she found out they weren’t fated mates as she’d believed. The relationship between our kingdoms has been tense ever since.
All of the beast alphas are in their non-shifted forms, dressed in earthy-colored tunics, but half of them are looking at me like I’m their dinner, while the other half are staring at me like I’m some kind of prize. Well, this is going to be fun.
Between the different groups, demons strut across the ballroom floor, their pristine suits gleaming in the dim light. The demon alphas act like they own the space, and from their arrogant expressions it’s obvious that more than one of them thinks they’re going to be my fated. I guess mentioning that the king will be retiring soon really did work wonders on their attitudes. Dante is among them, his hair sleeked back, and a pristine black suit fitted to his athletic body. Undoubtedly, if this were a different party, she-demons would be falling all over him. He grins and winks at me, and I avert my gaze, not wanting to encourage him. The last thing I need is him making a spectacle in here. It’s incredible the mischief a demon can get into when they have the power of invisibility.
“Who is that?”Shade practically squawks in my mind, distracting me, and I turn my attention to where she’s staring.
Standing in the middle of a group of archangels, is a devastatingly handsome male with thick golden locks, a sculpted symmetrical face, and a heart-stopping smile that has my breath catching in my throat. Even his lips appear to be brushed with gold. His golden armor shines under the lights coming from the great chandelier suspended high above him, intricate swirls and whirls cut into the metal covering his chest and shoulders, and large feathered golden wings are folded behind him. Merciful Lady Fate.
“That would be archangel Prince Callan from Toralyn,” I answer, still staring at the male who has a golden crown nestled in his hair. Most of the princes from the other realms are already bonded, and truthfully, I’m surprised the prince attended.
Shade sticks her beak our further as if she’s trying to get a better look at him. “Well, can I just say that he already has my vote.”
“Of course, you’d pick the male with wings,” I tease.
“Yeah,and the body of a god,” she sends back.
I roll my eyes.
She hops onto her other leg. “So, what’s the plan? The king thinks when you dance with them, you’ll just know if they’re your fated mate?”
I ponder her question as I recall everything I’ve been told about fated mates over the years. What is the first sign again? “Well, if they’re your fated mate they’re supposed to smell irresistible,” I answer.
“So, you’re dancing with them to see if they stink?”
“What, no. I mean, they’re supposed to smell so good your mouth waters, and you know they’re yours.” Okay, so I’m doing a crappy job at explaining, but that’s probably because I can’t actually imagine any kind of scent that would have that effect on me. Well, maybe if they smelled like chocolate? My lips twist into a slow smile as I think of one of my mates always smelling like sugar and cocoa. Yes, please.
Shade paces on my shoulder. “Wait, so you’re going to have to smell all these guys?” She sounds horrified, and honestly, when she puts it like that I kind of am too. “I take it back. I’m no longer volunteering as tribute.”
I grin. “It”s not just that,” I go on, trying not to think about whether some of the males will smell like body odor, or worse. “They’re supposed to taste good, too.”
“Taste good?”Shade questions, and had she been a demon, I would have imagined her raising a curved eyebrow.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I’m just reciting what I’ve learned. Also, when you’re close to your mates, Lady Fate’s magic is supposed to pull you together. Like you want nothing more than to be close to them.” My lips quirk up at the sides. “Oh, and I think you’re also supposed to have some sort of an emotional connection.”
There’s a moment of silence before she recites, “So you need to smell them, taste them, and then…”
“Bone them,” I finish unashamedly. From everything I’ve read, most know that they’re fated before it comes to this, but having sex is a foolproof way to check if you’re mates.
Shade grows silent again for a while, and I know she’s staring out at the sea of alphas who are laughing, drinking, and gawking at me. No one has approached me yet, and I wonder if it’s simply that no one wants to be the first to ask me to dance. Likely, they don’t want to be the first to be rejected.
“Out of my way you feathered freak!” a gruff voice draws my attention, and I watch as a giant smashes his shoulder into one of the archangels as he passes. The blow sends the archangel with bronze wings staggering to the floor. Before the male can get up, the giant sneers and spits a wad of yellow phlegm onto the archangel. It hits the male between the eyes and slides down to the tip of his nose and hangs there. “You look better already,” the giant laughs. “But I still think the only good angel is a dead one.” He turns away but his smile falls and he shouts a curse when a burst of wind lifts him high into the air. Prince Callan strolls casually forward, and the fallen archangel lifts to his feet as the giant shouts a stream of slurs. His face grows redder as he moves his arms and legs like he”s still trying to walk in mid-air, and I have to suppress my smile. The music in the ballroom stops.
“Put me the fuck down!” The massive male flails, bellowing and raging. None of the other giants go to help their comrade. Though, that could possibly be because the demon guards along the walls now have their spears pointed forward like they’re readying themselves for a bloodbath.
I copy King Dalton’s position, leaning back and relaxing on my throne though the rock-hard marble is anything but comfortable.
“Wow, I had no idea this night would be so entertaining,” Shade chirps like she’s eager to see the show. “What an asshole.”
“I said let me down!” The giant screams.
Prince Callan’s lips twist into a dark smile. “As you wish.” With the flick of his wrist, the wind stops swirling around the giant. There’s a second where the male remains suspended in the air, but then he crashes to the stone floor. A distinct crack echoes through the room as one of the giant’s legs breaks, the shattered bone puncturing through his skin.
The giant grunts in pain as he cradles his injured leg. “You fucking psycho,” he spits.
“Aren’t we all,” Prince Callan drawls with a bored expression. “Now, apologize to Theon, and then beg the princess for forgiveness before I get any other ideas.”
My mouth pops open in surprise, but I press my lips together quickly. I figure he must be joking, but he’s staring at the giant with such sincerity that I soon realize he’s serious.
“Mmm, sexy and commanding,” Shade muses. “Did I mention that he has my vote?”
I have to admit I’m impressed, but the thought of bonding with an archangel makes my stomach tie in knots. I’ve made it a point never to go to Toralyn, realm of the angels. That way, it’s easier to pretend that side of me doesn’t exist.
The giant gapes at Prince Callan like he’s sure the archangel has lost his mind, then he turns his attention to the giants watching from across the ballroom. Despite their grim expressions, no one goes to his aid. Guess he’s an asshole to his own kind, too.
Realizing that none of them are going to help, his jaw ticks and he jerks his head toward the archangel, Theon, who’s standing there with an amused expression. “I apologize,” the giant snarls through gritted teeth, but there’s hatred in his eyes like he’s imagining creative ways to kill the archangel.
Prince Callan flicks his wrist again, and the air moves around the giant making his body twist and putting pressure on his broken leg. The giant cries out, pain contorting his features. “I fucking apologized already!” he yells.
Prince Callan stares at him with a blank expression. “Like you mean it,” he says calmly.
The giant’s cheeks puff, his right eye twitching, but he turns to Theon again. “I sincerely apologize,” he says this time.
Prince Callan nods and smiles with approval. “And now the princess. You insulted our future queen, and you’d better hope she’s merciful.”
The giant’s eyes flare wide. “B-but, no I didn’t mean?—”
“She’s half angel, is she not? Do you wish her harm?”
The giant stutters, realizing his mistake. “N-no, of course not.”
My own cheeks burn. I’ve never associated with the angels, and I just assumed they would detest my mixed blood just like the demons. Was I wrong?
“Whoa. In the human realm angels are always portrayed as being placid and kind,”Shade comments. “But this guy is giving off some serious badass vibes.”
I don’t know much about the human realm beyond my most basic studies, but ‘kind’ isn’t the word I’d use to describe angels. From what I’ve heard, they’re just as brutal as the rest of us, though they do tend to frown on injustice.
The giant cries out again, and I’m guessing the archangel prince must be inflicting more pain because the giant’s expression quickly changes. “Stop,” he begs, his rough voice cracking. Turning his gaze to me, he blurts, “I deeply apologize your highness.” He slides his gaze to King Dalton, then back to me again. “I misspoke. I swear, I meant no disrespect.”
For a moment, I think I glimpse the hooded male with the gray eyes watching from somewhere among the group of giants, but he’s out of sight again a second later.
My heart pounds as I feel the weight of the golden crown on my head, and all gazes turn to me. Well, that’s just great. I guess it’s back to rule number one of being a demon royal:Never show weakness.
“Go put pressure on his broken leg and do that staring thing you love,” I tell Shade. “I’ll send some friends to join you.” I don’t want her in harm’s way, but at this point I’m sure the giant wouldn’t dare hurt her.
“Aye aye, captain,” she chirrups back and launches from my shoulder. She flaps her wings, rising high into the air as I tap into my power and send out the mental call. Energy rushes through me making my body tingle, and I look up, waiting until dozens of crows fly through the high up window that I always leave open. They fly around Shade, matching her movements, the birds curving around the ballroom and swooping down until they reach the giant. One of them perches on his head, while the others stand on his limbs and on the floor around him. Shade lands directly on his broken leg and hops around. She’s not heavy, but even that pressure makes him grunt. To his credit, the giant doesn’t move to shake them off.
Shade stops to stare the giant in the eye, and the other crows do the same. His face pales.
“Want me to caw?” she asks, “or do we need to peck him bloody?”
I scan the ballroom, taking note of the tense expressions around the room. “I think cawing will be enough.”
She opens her beak to caw, but that’s all it takes. The giant flinches and blubbers another apology. Satisfaction goes through me. I discovered early on that crows make monsters superstitious. They say when a crow caws it means something ominous, like an impending death. Now all I have to do is ask Shade to caw in the right situation, and monsters start falling over themselves in fear. I’d think it was pathetic if it wasn’t so damn handy. “Perfect. That will do.”
When the giant continues letting out a stream of apologies, I make it a point to sigh exaggeratedly. “Enough. I accept your apology.” I could take the giant’s life for his disrespect, but then we’d have a mess to deal with. “Let’s get on with the party!” I say, making a show of flicking my hand as if it’s a commanding gesture to my crows even though I don’t need to, and on cue, Shade flies to my shoulder while the other crows fly back out through the high window.
“Great work,” Shade says, peering out at the alphas.
“That was all you.”
The band starts playing again, and the alphas resume chatting and mingling with one another. Happy that the situation is resolved, Prince Callan gestures to an archangel with electric blue hair and tan skin. The archangel moves toward the giant, and when he reaches out his hand, the giant’s leg heals, the bone moving to its rightful place and the skin smoothing over. It’s well-known that giants don’t heal like demons, and I watch in fascination as the giant is made whole again. Huh. So angels can be kind.
The giant is quick to jump to his feet, and he doesn’t so much as look at the archangels as he returns to his group, careful not to brush past anyone else.
With the drama over, King Dalton gestures with his hand, and the guards along the walls move back into their usual standby positions. I can’t stop staring at the archangel prince. Prince Callan is nothing like I expected, and honestly, I’m a little impressed. I knew the prince was powerful, but I didn’t know he was honorable. As though he can feel my stare, he turns my way, his golden hair flicking over his eyes. As our gazes lock, his entire face transforms, his captivating smile entirely at odds with the violence swirling in his penetrating eyes, and I find I can’t look away. Oh, boy.
“Dance with him first,” Shade urges. “Something tells me he’s going to smell real good.”
Fuck, I hope she’s right.