Chapter 4
AMRI
A skari limps towards me, naked, bruised, and bleeding, but the Asiatic lion inside him has me within his sights.
There’s a threat of violence in his slightly narrowed eyes, but I understand it for what it is …
he’s protecting Malik. I don’t need verbal confirmation.
I know it. I feel it, deep in my gut, and my gut is almost always right.
His brows slant inwards with anger as he asks, “Who. Are. You?”
My beast fluffs her fur, snarling. “You want to go, Beta? Let’s go!
” She’s so revved up, my little wolverine ears pop out, one twitching with pent-up energy, before I force them away.
But Askari notices, his eyes catching on my furry ears, and his lips quirk with a smile.
That does nothing to calm my beast as she growls, “He won’t be smiling when I sink my teeth into his Achilles heel and hobble his ass. ”
I roll my eyes at her. “Calm down, he’s just being cautious, understandably so.” Sometimes, having the spirit of a small but wildly aggressive animal inside me is … a challenge. But I love her .
After witnessing that little slip with my ears, Askari’s own anger seems to have fizzled out a bit, so I glance around the debris-littered room before weaving the necessary signs. Cracks repair, blood sizzles and dissolves, and the stool reforms before taking its place in front of the mirror.
Askari looks around, exhaustion pulling at the edges of his eyes as he shakes his head and says, “You didn’t have to do that.”
My lips lift with a sad smile. “I know. Is there somewhere we can talk?”
He shrugs. “Here’s as good as any place in the palace. Nowhere is truly private, but Leonora should be occupied for a while, so say your piece then leave.”
I slide my hands in my pockets, fingering the stone as I lean back against the wall. I should ask about this meeting with Circe, and I will, but a different question bursts out of me. “Malik is usually always with Leonora. Where is he? Is he okay?”
His gaze darts between my eyes, obviously assessing before dropping his voice and says, “He’s in …” Askari’s eyes harden and he seems to change his mind about what he was going to say. “He’s fine.”
His tone makes me believe Malik is not fine, but I don’t push, instead I redirect. I’ll bring Malik back up later. “Why is Circe coming here?”
His expression doesn’t falter. “Brunch.”
I narrow my eyes. “Circe is coming all the way here … for brunch? Why? Why wasn’t she just invited to the banquet last night?”
Cocking a hip, he waves a hand in a dismissive gesture. His eyes once again crease as they narrow. “That was supposed to be a Leos’-only affair. ”
I grin. “And as far as everyone but you knows, it was.” Keeping my smile in place, I match his narrowed gaze as I lower my voice.
“ Was it you? Who helped the brothers and their mates escape?” His brow hitches, his expression holding so much exasperation, I can’t help but laugh.
I wave a hand much like he did, dismissing my question before sobering, testing the waters once more as I say, “Or was it Malik?”
Askari clenches his hands, wrings his fingers, then releases his grip and shoves his hands in his pockets, mirroring me. In the short time I’ve watched this lion shifter, he’s been practically unflappable … until Malik is mentioned.
After a moment of silence, he asks, “You’re here for him? Is he … is he in trouble with the Council for what they did a year ago?”
He does a poor job of hiding the fear in his voice, and I quickly shake my head to reassure him.
“No. You know the Council doesn’t get involved.
” His brow raises again as a deep chuckle rumbles up his throat.
He gestures at me as if my presence here paints my words as lies.
I smile, waving a hand at myself in a mirror of his movement.
“Remember, I’m not here. Not involved. Not at all. ”
He barks a laugh, but quickly cuts off the bright sound, wincing in pain as he clutches his side. After he takes a few short breaths, Askari asks, “So then, why are you here and asking about Malik?”
My enforcer training kicks in without conscious thought—get more information than you give …
so, I deflect. “You need to work on your poker face, Askari. I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice. Hell, it’s even in your posture.
You care for him. And if I can tell, it’s no wonder Leonora suspects you. ”
He sighs, running his hand through his hair again, wincing as his fingers get tangled in the dried blood. “Thanks for the tip. I really have to go, so?—”
“Why them? Why the brothers?”
Askari glares at me, and I wonder if I should elaborate, but he seems to grasp my meaning and does his best to look bored as he shrugs and says, “Leonora’s actions don’t have to make sense or?—”
“Be fair. You just serve and obey.” He scowls at me, realizing I’ve been spying on him much longer than he expected, but I go on, “I don’t want your canned response.
I want to know what you think . Askari, why do you think Leonora chose them?
Why does she treat them with impunity?” I take a small step towards him, ready to read every tiny twitch of his expression as I ask again, “Why them, Askari?”
To his credit, he gives me nothing, and after a moment of silence, he rolls his shoulder with a wince, as I’m sure the movement pulls at the slashes on his back. His voice drops to a tone of exhaustion as he says, “I really don’t know.”
Askari obviously wants to end this conversation. He’s tired and in pain, but I prod. “But it is odd, don’t you think, how far she’s willing to go, how much she’s willing to forgive to keep them?”
He tsks and rolls his eyes, a bit of strength replacing his slumped posture.
There’s now a tension in his jaw and shoulders as he says, “Leonora has been interested in them since the day of their birth. When poachers poisoned and killed their mother, it wasn’t a huge surprise that Leonora brought the cubs here.
It would have been more shocking if she hadn’t. ”
“But?”
“But, it was … odd that her obsession with them didn’t fa de like it almost always does. She has a tendency to get bored. Yet with them, it just got more intense as they got older.”
I didn’t realize Askari was old enough to know this about the brothers’ situation, but maybe this is all hearsay, so I ask, “You know this? You were here when Leonora took them in as cubs?”
This gets a genuine grin out of the beta, though he winces as his smile reaches the bruises on his face. “I was young myself, but yes. I’m older than I look.” I dip my head, brows raised with a silent question, and he answers, “I’m forty-one.”
I’m sure my surprise shows in my wide eyes. I would have pegged him for early thirties at most. The brothers are thirty-six, so that gives Askari five years on them, plenty old enough to notice what was going on in the palace if maybe too young to fully understand at the time.
I look him up and down before shooting him a wink.
“Good genes.” His lips stay pressed together as he smiles with a shrug before I say, “So, I know how the clans love some juicy gossip, especially the Leos. You cats are too curious for your own good.” He huffs in agreement. “What are the rumors? The theories?”
He cocks his hip and asks, “You risked your life to sneak into Leonora’s palace for gossip?”
“No. I came for answers, but I have to start somewhere.”
He waves a hand with impatience, turning again as if to leave, saying, “Look, I don’t have time for this. Just … you should just go. Not every Leo will take your questions so kindly, so I wouldn’t wander around popping up in front of shifters willy-nilly.”
I snort. “I didn’t pop up in front of you willy-nilly. I’m good at my job. You were intentional. ”
He looks at me over his shoulder before shaking his head and heading towards the door once more. “Whatever. Good luck not getting killed.”
As his hand lands on the knob, I throw one last question at him. “Do the brothers all have the same sire?”
Askari’s hand drops, but he doesn’t turn around. He’s silent for several seconds, then says, “I … I don’t …” He rubs his temples then shakes his head as he mumbles to himself, “That’s odd.”
I don’t think I was meant to hear that, but hey, shifter hearing … I ask, “What’s odd?”
He glances at me, a frown on his bruised face. “Nothing. The brothers have such a strong resemblance to each other, so I assume they share the same sire, but I honestly don’t know.”
He’s not telling me everything. Do I push?
My beast scoffs, “Yes.” I roll my eyes at her.
Askari sighs, “Does it matter?”
I hold his gaze. “Everything matters.”
He stares back before nodding and though I want to keep him talking, I also know that letting your mark stew for a while often loosens their lips later. I fight against the frown that wants to pull at my lips at the thought of Askari as my mark. I don’t want to think of him that way. I …
My beast nudges me with the top of her head and says, “Friend. We want him to be our friend.”
Yeah. I do.
So, I let him go. I nod back at him, and with the slightest smile that holds a hint of gratitude, Askari silently leaves the room, the door closing softly behind him.
I push off the wall, fidgeting with the stone in my pocket.
Most Zodiac clans keep records of their births, tracking strong bloodlines, but I have no idea if the Leos have such records.
I should find out. But even if they do, and even if I find them, who’s to say the records are correct and haven’t been doctored?
And this is all just a hunch right now—a hunch that’s telling me there might be something about the brothers’ sire that will explain Leonora’s attachment to them.
I could be way off base, but a good enforcer follows all leads, eliminating them one by one until the truth is revealed.
I realize I’m staring at the door Askari left through. He seems like a good male, and I find myself hoping that he is helping Malik in some way, even if it’s just being his friend. I get the feeling the brothers didn’t have the chance to foster friendships here in the palace while growing up.
My thoughts drift back to Malik … because of course they do.
It seems if I allow my thoughts to wander for even a second without express purpose, they will land on my mate.
He was so beautiful, dancing in the spotlight.
But there was something sad about it. There wasn’t joy in the movements, just precision.
Perfect skin-tingling precision. Yet, I got the feeling he has so much more inside him.
Was Askari headed to see Malik just now, or was he simply going about his duties?
Leonora did say she expected answers. What will he say?
If he is on his way to Malik, will he tell him about talking to me?
What will Malik’s response be? I want to know.
With the concealment spell, I could follow him and maybe if Askari tells Malik what I was asking about, Malik will share answers with the beta that he wouldn’t divulge directly to me.
Interesting.
My beast nudges me in the opposite direction. “What we should do is go eavesdrop on Leonora and Circe. Those two in the same room spell trouble.”
She’s right. Of course we should, but …
My beast spins in a tight circle inside me, thwapping me with her tail. “Focus! Leonora and Circe. We need to find out what they are up to. We can stalk Malik later.”
I smile with a sigh, tearing my gaze away from the door Askari went through.
“Okay. Back to the solarium we go.”