CHAPTER THREE
Astrid
Once again, I’m the only female at the dinner table. Piling my plate with meats, breads, and vegetables, I glance around the table at Axe and Kai—my brothers. They’ve also been watching me curiously as if they can’t believe I’m related to them. I feel the same way.
“You going to tell us why you’ve run away from your mate?” Axe asks, his green eyes dragging over my face. “Should I prepare the army for war with the fae?”
Zython scowls at him, his wine glass almost to his lips. “Let her be, Axe.”
“Hey, I’m happy she’s here. I want to know what happened,” he replies, strumming his fingers on the table.
“He lied to me about having a child with his ex-girlfriend,” I explain slowly, swallowing a bite of potato. I leave out the rest because I don’t want to speak about my being unable to heal the child. It hurts too much.
August’s head snaps to me, and I realize I never told him the whole story. “Why would he do that?”
I clear my throat. “I don’t know, but I believe he wants his son to be his heir and might have been worried I’d put a stop to that.”
Kai scowls, shaking his head. I suddenly remember that the last time I saw him, I had wondered if he could read minds, so I ensure my shields are up. “He kept that from you? The succubus princess? He should be grateful he got to mate with you. There will be incubus men lining up to be with you. You know that, right?”
“Why?” I ask, my brow furrowing.
Zython sighs and turns to me. “You’re part succubus, which means if they have children with you, your offspring would be more pure-blooded. Given the situation with the curse, we want to keep our line as strong as possible. For the last century, the younger generation has had to breed with other species, which isn’t ideal for us in the long run. Although our blood is pretty potent, we’ve found most offspring do take on our traits.”
I put my fork down. “So, they’d just want me as a broodmare?”
Zython winces, taking a long sip of his wine. “Not just that, but you are special, Princess. The fates saw it fit to bless us with you after a century. You might have broken the curse, which is a big deal for everyone. I don’t know how it will play out, but with you comes change and hope for us. You must be protected at all costs.”
“No pressure,” I mutter, sharing a look with August, who is scowling hard.
Bane steps into the dining hall, his hair tousled like he’s just gotten out of bed with a woman. He is dressed in black-on-black, his tattoos peeking out of his sleeveless tunic collar. His dark eyes go right to me, narrowing slightly. “I didn’t know we were having guests tonight.”
He sits next to Axe on the opposite side of me. My gaze goes to his arms and the corded muscles covered in ink. Is there any part of him besides his face that isn’t covered? Just how far do those tattoos go? And are they magic or just for decorative purposes?
“Astrid and August will be staying here with us,” Zython tells Bane, his lips tightening. “You’d have known if you weren’t out gallivanting around the city.”
Bane lifts a tattoo-covered hand to pick up a bread roll. “If I’d known the princess was coming, I’d have been here much sooner.”
“She’s my sister, and she’s mated,” Axe reminds him in a dry tone, his eyes going to August. “And it already looks like she has a fucking line formed.”
My jaw drops open at his words. “Can we talk about something else, please?”
“Like what?” Bane asks, his dark eyes shining.
“Are any of you three dating someone? I’d really enjoy some female company,” I say, leaning back in my seat.
“You swing both ways?” Bane asks, nodding in approval, while Kai says, “No one we’d want to bring home.”
Zython chuckles, finding this amusing. “Hopefully, they find their mates, but as we know, not everyone is so lucky. Axe will have to find a wife when the time comes for him to take the throne.”
“What kind of magic do you all have?” I ask, my eyes on Bane. I know he has some weird scenting magic and uses that to determine bloodlines, but that’s all I know.
I turn to Kai. “You read minds, right?”
His green eyes widen in surprise. “I can, yes. How did you know? Your shields are pretty damn good… you’ve had me blocked.”
“All incubi have some of the same traits,” Axe says, tilting his head to the side and studying me. “We can sense emotions, almost taste them. We have a heightened sense of smell. We are obviously alluring and throw off pheromones to attract others to us.”
He and Kai look similar, but Axe is taller and more built. They both have brown hair that’s on the long side, but Kai’s is darker.
“And we charge our magic by lust or having sex,” Kai adds, smirking. “But yes, we also have our individual magic, especially since most of us have mixed blood from the curse.”
“I can heal like you…” Zython says with pride in his eyes, “… among other things. I’m also strong, Astrid. So I’m not surprised you are as well. Just like my sons.”
He doesn’t even know about my abilities as a seer. August is the only person who knows that.
I look at Bane, who is already watching me. He doesn’t offer any information on his magic, and I don’t press. “I’ve been training with magic and weapons every day, and I’d like to keep that up if one of you wouldn’t mind.”
“I can train you,” Bane offers, running his teeth over his lower lip. It’s only then I notice he has fangs pointing out. Is he half vampire? “But I’m not going to go easy on you.”
“I wouldn’t want you to.”
“You make sure she doesn’t get hurt,” Zython orders, smiling at me. “You want to be able to defend yourself, and I respect that. Bane will be a good teacher… he’s feared on the battlefield.”
“He’s feared everywhere,” Kai adds, eying his friend.
“And what about you, August?” Axe asks over his glass. “Father says you’ve kept Astrid safe all this time. What kind of work have you been doing?”
August and I share a look, and he winces slightly. “I do mercenary work. I’d try to keep Star behind, but often, she would come along.”
“Someone likes to surround themselves with dangerous men,” Kai comments under his breath, earning himself a scowl in his direction.
“So you’d go around while he… killed people?” Bane asks, his lip twitching. “My, my, aren’t you a surprise, Princess.”
“We’re a team,” August replies, his eyes softening as he looks from Bane to me. “Always have been.”
“Until she mated the prince,” Bane adds dryly. His expression screams of boredom, but something else flickers in his eyes. Anger?
“Well, I got arrested, and Astrid came to the castle to try and help me escape. That’s how the prince found her. And then he said he’d let me go if she stayed,” August explains, his jaw tight.
“Why would he have to barter with you to stay?” Zython asks, resting his cheek on his fist. I don’t know why, but the motion makes me smile. He’s a king, but he’s still just a male. And my father.
“I didn’t want to bond with him at first,” I admit, wondering how the hell I would explain that. No one runs from a mating bond. In fact, people spend their lives searching and begging the fates for it.
Bane chuckles with dark amusement. “I don’t even like Rave, but even I’m feeling sorry for the fucker right now. You didn’t want your mate?”
August takes my hand under the table, a silent show of support.
Bane’s eyes narrow on me like he can see what we’re doing, but there’s no way he could.
“It’s a long story,” I grumble, letting go of August’s warm hand and placing mine back on the table. “But eventually, I came around and agreed to it.”
Bane turns to August, studying him closely, his dark eyes missing nothing. “He must have hated you.”
“You have no idea,” he replies, rubbing the back of his neck. “He even tried to pay me off to stay away from her.”
“Interesting,” Zython muses, a short laugh escaping him. “Seems you’ve been quite a handful for your mate then, my daughter. I heard you kicked off the bond for Rave’s brothers too. Succubi can do that when they are powerful. Not many would know about that.”
“It was a very confusing time,” I admit, lifting my napkin from my lap and putting it on the table. “I’m going to call it a night.”
“Why don’t you stay and have a drink with us, August?” Axe asks. “We can play some cards.”
“I can walk the princess to her room,” Bane offers, tilting his head to the side as he studies me. “Because there’s no way I’m drinking again tonight.”
Axe laughs as he pours himself another glass. “You getting old?”
Bane smirks, tapping his knuckles on the wooden table. “No, I just don’t want to watch you run naked down the street again.”
Kai barks out a laugh while Axe shrugs nonchalantly. “That was one fucking time.”
“I don’t even want to know,” I mutter, making Kai laugh harder.
“And what did you do that night, Bane?” Axe fires back, his lip twitching. “Because I remember seeing you getting your cock sucked by that—”
“Axe,” Zython growls, slamming his fist down. “There is a princess present. This is no longer a fucking bachelor pad, so control yourself.”
“Sorry,” Axe murmurs, flashing an apologetic smile in my direction.
I clear my throat. “I’ll be on my way, and then you can talk all you want about cocks being sucked.”
Zython makes a choking sound while Bane avoids my eyes, his knuckles white as he all but squeezes his glass of wine, eyes shooting daggers at Axe.
“I’ll stay and have a drink with them,” August says, shrugging.
I smile and touch his shoulder, liking that he’s trying to get to know my brothers. “Okay, I’ll see you in the morning then.”
I stand, and as soon as I do, Bane does the same, leading me away with his hand grazing the small of my back.
He waits until we’re out of earshot from everyone before he asks, “Why hasn’t your mate come for you? Because if you were mine, you wouldn’t leave my sight.”
“I don’t care where my mate is right now,” I reply, pursing my lips. “I came here to get away from him.”
He goes silent for a few long seconds. “Are you ready to start training tomorrow?”
“Yes. Tell me where and when, and I’ll be there.”
We stop at my bedchambers, and he opens the door for me. “You and Rave know each other, don’t you? He said your name when you showed up at the castle that day.”
He dips his head. “When we found you in the gardens, you were trying to zip, weren’t you?”
“I was.” I nod slowly, leaning back against the doorframe. “And the first time I did it was today. I don’t even know if I could do it again if I tried.”
“We can practice that tomorrow. But I want to know why Rave didn’t teach you. Did he not want his precious princess to leave him? I always knew he was a controlling bastard.”
I tilt my head to the side, my hair falling over my cheek. “Maybe he thought I was a flight risk. And he was right.”
Bane gently pushes my hair off my face in an almost affectionate way. “You are too strong to be caged, Astrid. I hope he knows that now.” He steps away from me and continues down the hall.
And I let loose the breath I didn’t know I was holding.