“If only there was food,” I grumbled, casting my attention around the room—an elven sized sleep area with red bedcovers, a few black dressers, a stout vanity, a large mirror, and two doors leading to a bathroom and a closet. There was no food in sight. I nodded my head decisively, and I told myself sternly, “It’s only until morning. You can handle it.”
I shoved myself off the wall and marched on feeble legs straight to the bathroom. I stuck my head under the sink’s faucet and drank greedy gulps of the fresh, cool water. Using the back of my hand, I wiped my mouth.
I straightened to my full height of almost five feet, already feeling better from simply hydrating. My legs held steady as I lifted the strap of my bag over my head, letting it thump onto the tiling. I stripped out of my clothes and turned on the hot water for a relaxing bath.
I stole shampoo off the counter that was purchased from the Merfolk Kingdom, specifically designed to help coarse hair. I’d used my royal firepower twice today, so my hair was brittle. I didn’t bother with bath beads, simply turning the water off, sitting my ass down into the tub, and then leaning my head back.
I groaned long and hard before closing my eyes. “Oh, Fairy. This is good.”
King Athon growled softly, his shifter timbre deep and jagged. “Have you learned your lesson, Princess?”
I shoved my right hand over my mouth, stifling my scream. I jerked swiftly, swishing the water high in the bathtub, and twisted to face my soul mate. Behind my hand, I muttered in shock, “What in the Fae fuck are you doing in here?” Perhaps he had lost his mind.
The King of Shifters leaned against the doorframe to the bathroom and crossed his massive arms over his muscled chest—his shirt gone somewhere already. He wiggled his bare toes on the chilly, white tile as he lifted one snarky, black eyebrow. His solid-black eyes stared directly into my rounded gaze, and he stated evenly, “King Traevon finally went downstairs to talk with his guards. We have a few minutes of privacy.”
I lowered my hand and crossed my arms over my breasts, then curled my legs up, hiding as much as I could from his shrewd gaze. I snapped in aggravation, “What do you need? You already warned me about the tiger book.”
The shifter king grunted. “Answer my question. Did you learn your lesson?”
“What lesson?” I pulled my eyebrows together.
“About gifting your power to a soul mate?” he answered simply.
I tilted my head back in disbelief and stared at the wondrous stained glass of the ceiling. “You could have died out there if it wasn’t for what I had done. You should be thanking me, not criticizing me about it.”
“What have you learned, Princess?” King Athon asked with forced patience, gritting each word out between his teeth. “You are not that daft.”
“That I should always have spare food on me,” I spat. I dropped my head back down and glowered into his hard eyes. “Because my fucking soul mate can’t seem to keep himself out of harm’s way.”
The shifter king’s chuckle was ruthless, his black eyes narrowing. “Look in the mirror before you point that finger at other people. I know what I can handle. You have yet to learn that about yourself.”
I sniffed. He…may have a point there.
King Athon pushed off the doorframe and prowled to the bathtub. He reached behind him, pulling something out of the back of his pants. The King of Shifters bent over at the waist, placing his face right in front of mine, the tips of our noses almost touching.
I froze in place, dumbfounded. “What?”
He held still for a heartbeat, and then his cruel expression unexpectedly tempered—somewhat. He opened his mouth, stating softly. “I wanted to say this privately, too, as it does mean so much to my people—and me. Thank you, Trixie. Thank you for helping to find my original.”
My chin bobbed up and down in shock, and then I mumbled dumbly, “You already thanked me.”
“It deserved repeating.” He dipped his head in a formal bow, and when his eyes lifted, his usual heated glower was back in place. His lips pulled back into a snarl, and he spoke quietly, “Remember your fucking lesson, elf.”
I scowled. “You’re an ass.”
King Athon’s golden circlet crown glittered in the unnatural lighting from high in the ceiling, while he grabbed my right hand and yanked it away from my chest. He slapped something into my palm, and he enunciated clearly, “I won’t help you again with this.”
I flashed my fangs right in his face. “Bite me, shifter.”
“I wasn’t the one begging to bite, if you remember correctly,” King Athon taunted, smirking cruelly as he stood to his intimidating height of six feet, six inches. He turned and walked away, ignoring the red flames that flashed in my eyes, commanding over his shoulder, “After you eat that, brush your teeth so King Traevon doesn’t smell it on your breath.”
I looked down at what I now held—dried jerky strips.
Knowing he could hear me, I mumbled absently, “I’m going to say that Louie gifted me the book.”
The bedchamber door opened and clicked shut gently.
* * *
I flipped a page of the tiger book and curled my toes down into the soft mattress of Father’s bed. The words stretched before my eyes. I scrunched my nose in disgust, picturing my revolting soul mate shitting and pissing on everything to mark his territory, warning others away from what he considered his. I shook my head, and I remarked to myself, “That is not very kingly if you ask me. Shitting on things just to leave your scent there—even for the most backward shifter, it would be unseemly. Gross.”
Father’s laughter burst through his bedchamber.
My head jerked up, and my eyes widened, surprise holding me immobile. “When did you get in here?”
King Traevon rubbed a towel over his head, drying his wet, red hair. His grin stretched across his entire face, his emerald eyes glinting with mirth. He sported a pair of black, silk pajama bottoms, obviously fresh out of the shower. “About twenty minutes ago.”
Holy Fairy. The enemy could have slit my throat before I took notice they were here. My observational skills were sorely lacking tonight, as engrossed in this book as I was.
I blinked. “Huh.”
Father tossed the towel back into the bathroom and glanced down at the tome. He casually asked, “How did you manage to get that book, my daughter?”
“I think Louie gifted it to me.” I wrinkled my red brows in false confusion and wiggled the book—just a little. “When he sent me away from King Athon’s study, I arrived with this in tow. It was lying right next to me on the bed.”
King Traevon’s frank demeanor didn’t crack. “Do you know where that book is from?”
I looked straight into his eyes. “I don’t have the foggiest idea. Although, I doubt it’s Fae since it’s about tigers.”
“Hmm.” Father’s lips twitched at the corners. “It’s from King Athon’s study. I’ve often admired it on his shelf and have wanted it for my own for a very long time.”
“Don’t even try to swindle me, my king.” I instantly clutched the book tight to my chest, frowning at my father’s sly antics—meant to pull on the heartstrings. “Louie gave it to me. You can borrow it from me when I’m done reading it. But it’s mine. Don’t forget that.”