CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Astrid
“When did Elios get so hot?” Pandora asks, arching a brow. “Little prince is all grown up.”
“I don’t know, I haven’t been able to take my eyes off Rave,” I admit, wondering if I was drooling.
After Pandora didn’t answer any of my questions about Soren, we spent the day together, debriefing everything going on in our lives right now.
There was a lot to unpack.
Now we’re both watching them circling each other in the fight ring, our mouths slightly open. Rave is shirtless, showing off his lithe, hard muscles and warrior build, and my eyes keep going to the eight hard ridges of his abdomen and then further down to his Adonis belt, the sexy V pointing down underneath his fighting leathers. The ring is a new addition to the gardens, and I feel like this might be my new favorite place to relax. Glancing around, I see many other women working around the castle have the same idea.
“Where else could you see a muscular, half-naked king fighting,” I mutter to myself, a dash of jealousy hitting me.
The king needs to put on some damn clothes.
Turning to Pandora, I eye the bruises around her neck. “Is that true what you told him?”
She gives her head a slight shake. “No. I was attacked.”
“By who?”
“Doesn’t matter,” she replies, shrugging like it’s nothing. “I have it under control. I don’t need Soren in my business. He’s been ignoring me for years, and he can continue to do so.”
“I’m here if you need me,” I say, my brow furrowing. “You know that, right?”
She nods and reaches over to touch my arm. “I know, Astrid.”
I spot Vale, and he runs over with a grin when he sees me. “Hello, my queens,” he says with a little bow.
I smile at him while Pandora takes him in. “Hello, Prince. You look just like a miniature version of your father, do you know that?”
“I’ve been told,” he replies, sitting beside me. “Dad said I can do my training with him today.”
“You’re going to get up there and spar?” I ask, and he nods, grinning.
“I have to be a warrior like him and protect the kingdom.”
Pandora and I share a look, my hand going to my chest. This boy could not be any sweeter. “You will be a strong leader one day, Vale.”
He gives me a cheeky grin. “And I’ll get to mate with a hot female like you.”
Pandora makes a choking noise, trying to hide her laugh and failing. “Like father like son.”
Rave takes Elios down, a smirk on his lips as he wins, offering his hand to pull his brother back up. Vale cheers hard for his dad, and I can’t keep the smile off my face. Soren and a royal guard I’ve never seen before are up next. The guard is handsome, with dark skin, short black hair, and bright blue eyes.
“Who is that?” I question.
“That’s Tor,” Vale replies, apparently knowing all the castle gossip. “Soren is training him to take his old position leading the army since he’s Dad’s advisor now. He’s a seasoned warrior.”
“He’s very good-looking, and he’s loyal to Rave,” Pandora comments, but when I look over at her, her eyes are on Soren, her fingers playing with the black diamond chain she always wears.
“Soren or Tor?” I tease.
Something too quick for me to catch crosses her features before she smirks. “Tor, of course.”
Either she’s heavily in denial or thinks I’m an idiot.
Soren rips off his tunic, showing off his muscular build. He rakes his hand through his blond hair, stretching his neck from side to side before taking his stance.
“Tor doesn’t stand a chance,” Vale murmurs, crossing his little arms over his chest.
“Who are you sparring with?” I ask him, not seeing any other kids around.
“Dad,” he replies, smirking. “Iron sharpens iron. To be the best, I have to go against the best.”
My mouth opens and then closes.
You know what, Vale deserves to be Rave’s heir.
Vera has been suspiciously absent, and I wonder what she’s up to next because there is no way she’s given up after the last stunt she pulled. Unless she’s found a new man, and maybe he’s keeping her busy?
One can only hope.
After Tor gets a few good hits, Soren stops playing with him and draws first blood with a hard knock to his jaw.
“Holy shit,” I mutter in surprise as I see not only August but Bane, Kai, and Axe approaching me. My first thought is that something must be wrong. Standing up, I run over to them, and August smiles widely, quickly wrapping his arm around me. “Is everything okay?”
“Rave invited us,” Bane explains, crossing his tattooed arms over his muscular chest. His black tunic is rolled up at the sleeves, showing off his corded forearms and veins. His dark eyes roam to the fighting ring where Sinda is now sparring with Cove.
I’m not going to lie, it’s kind of weird having them here, but it also settles my soul. And the fact that Rave invited them means so much to me because I know, for a fact, he can’t stand most, if not all of them. Or maybe they are growing on him.
Axe cracks his knuckles. “And now I see why… time to kick some fae ass.”
Or yes, perhaps he invited them here so he has an excuse to fight them.
Kai smirks, kissing my temple. “Why aren’t you up there?”
“Oh, I want to be.” I sigh, my eyes going back to Rave now standing opposite his son, making a big show of circling him. “But now that I’m queen, no one will volunteer to spar with me. It’s not like I suddenly became breakable just because they put a crown on my head.”
“What about Pandora?” August asks as he walks over to say hello to everyone. His gaze drops to her throat. “Looks like she’s already been in a fight.”
“Or had a wild night in the bedroom,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood. But then I realize she and August slept together, so now it’s kind of awkward. “I mean. Shit. Bane? How are you?”
Bane’s lip twitches. “Good. It’s nice to get out of the dungeons.”
Right.
Because he’s been down there torturing Rion for information on why he tried to kidnap me.
I chance a look at Pandora, only to find her violet eyes dancing with amusement. Obviously she and August aren’t exclusive because he doesn’t appear bothered by mentioning her being with someone else. I shrug at her, trying to tell her without words that I have no idea what’s going on anymore. She simply laughs, her delicate shoulders shaking. “It’s okay, Astrid. August and I had a little fun, but we know we are better off as friends.”
“You don’t need to explain anything—”
“Yes, we do, Star. You’re nosey,” August adds, his lips twitching as he slides his brown curls off his forehead.
We all turn back to the ring as Rave pretends to be defeated by his son, making the crowd cheer and clap. Vale beams, bowing for everyone, and I laugh as the little show-off enjoys his time in the spotlight. Rave approaches me when he leaves the ring, his eyes narrowing slightly at how close I’m standing to August and Bane. He’s still shirtless, a sheen of sweat on his smooth, tanned chest. As soon as I’m in reaching distance, he pulls me against his side and leans down to possessively kiss my neck.
“You didn’t tell me you invited my family here,” I say, a warm smile on my lips.
“I wanted to surprise you,” he murmurs, nodding in greeting to everyone. “And I didn’t know if they’d come.”
“We wouldn’t miss spending time with our sister,” Axe says, his green eyes softening as they land on me. “We all need to get along for Astrid. We all love her and want to keep her safe.”
“Agreed. Now, let’s beat the shit out of each other, hey?” Kai adds, grinning. He pulls off his tunic, flexing his muscles at Pandora with a wink before heading toward the ring, the rest of the men and Pandora following him, leaving Rave and me alone.
“Should have known you’d all bond over violence.”
Rave gently rakes his hands through my long hair, gently detangling it with his fingers. “We’re forcibly bonding over you, Astrid. I can’t deal with you going to Chaos alone anymore. This way, they can come here and see you too. But if Bane keeps looking at you like he wants to eat you, I’m going to have to teach him a lesson.”
“Leave Bane alone. He’s done nothing but be a gentleman to me,” I say, my jaw tightening.
Even when I was being kind of flirty and inappropriate. Shit! Maybe I should have a chat with him. I should tell him he will find his mate, and he and I will always be good friends.
“Defending him won’t help him,” he growls out in my ear, his teeth biting down on my lobe. “This is what I get for bonding with the most beautiful, strong, sexy fae in all eight kingdoms.”
Rolling my eyes, I pull his mouth toward me and kiss him. “I’m your queen. And I’m not going anywhere.”
He’s about to reply when Sinda walks toward us, his sword pointed at the neck of a vampire standing next to him. I recognize him as Drake, one of the Vampire Princes. It seems like a lifetime ago that I healed Drake’s mate, Pearl, when she was stabbed.
Rave puts me behind him, his shadows curling around his open hands.
“He was standing outside the castle ward lines… says he just wants to talk with you both,” Sinda explains, not lowering his sword. “He’s unarmed.”
I move out next to Rave so I can see Drake. I don’t think he’d hurt me. Last time in the forest, he left the battle because I was there and feels like he owes me a debt for saving his mate.
“Speak,” Rave commands, and I notice everyone around us has stilled and is watching.
“I wanted to tell you both that I had nothing to do with the death of your king,” he says, his throat working as he swallows. “I’m sorry for your loss. The vampires are divided, and we knew nothing of this plot to murder him. My mother was in love with your father, and he was trying to protect her. She would never have seen harm come to him.”
Rave and I share a look, and because of my vision, we knew they had been sleeping together and that King Tane was hiding her from her husband, the Vampire King.
“What are you saying, Prince?” I ask, my brow furrowing. “That your king was behind it, but you are no longer aligned with him?”
“We are in a civil war with the queen, my mother, returning to stand against her husband. I have chosen my side, and others have done the same.” He pauses, hesitating for a moment. “We want to align with you to take down the king. And in return, I will tell you how the vampires got into your castle in the first place.”
Rave’s darkness gathers, his eyes bleeding black. “Are you saying we have a traitor?”
Drake nods slowly, his red eyes momentarily flickering with sympathy.
Looks like someone betrayed us.
And going by the thundering expression on Rave’s face, I feel sorry for whoever it is.