Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
I wasn’t recovered from the glory that lay before me, along with wondering what was wrong with Cat, considering it didn’t look at all like Tanyn had a problem with Mr. Truelock, or what might be up with Gayle, as Aleksei took me to the king and queen.
I performed my bobbed curtsy as Aleksei did his short bow.
Then, to hells with it, I leaned in and kissed each of their cheeks.
I knew they knew I knew with the tears that shimmered for a moment in the king’s eyes, and the sniffle the queen barely gave (but I heard it).
So I quickly turned to Aleece to kiss her cheek, same with the Vinestrongs, and Aleksei ordered drinks for us from a hovering member of staff before he made his apologies to our current company and took me to meet the princes.
Seriously, they got better the closer we got, so my legs were trembling by the time we stopped among them.
I got four short bows (including Mr. Truelock), gave a bob and Aleksei launched in.
“Bain, Mac, Tan, allow me the pleasure of introducing my fiancée, Laura Makepeace.”
“Pleasure,” Tanyn murmured.
“Nice to meet you,” Bainon said, seeming alert, aware, but not like there was any bad blood due to me replacing his sister.
Cormac just dipped his chin.
I nodded to each and then went in for a cheek touch with Mr. Truelock.
“Dearest,” he said softly as I did.
I pulled back, smiling at him, and Aleksei wrapped his arm around my waist.
“Are you well?” Tanyn asked.
I shot him a What can you do? look. “I’m hanging in there. Thank you for asking. And you?”
“I will be,” he stated soberly.
Hmm.
Poised and serious indeed.
The staff member came carrying a tray with our drinks. Aleksei took them and handed my almondine sour to me.
I lifted it to my company. “As lovely as it is to meet all of you, if you don’t mind, I’ll excuse myself. I’d like to greet my friends.”
“Of course,” Bainon said.
I gave them a small smile, shot a larger one to Aleksei, accepted the lip touch he dropped, and when he let me go, shooting another smile to Monique, Gayle and Mrs. Truelock, I moved directly to Cat.
I sat beside her.
“Are you okay?” I asked under my breath.
“Look at him.”
I turned my attention to the males across the room, the ones she was glaring at. They appeared to be in relaxed conversation, except Tanyn, who I sensed was always on the alert. So much so, it was a wonder his eyes weren’t red.
I turned back to Cat. “What about them?”
“Lording over Dad and me, like he’s better than us.”
I felt my brows knit and surreptitiously glanced again at the males.
“Who?” I asked.
“Prince Tanyn,” she hissed, then took a sip of her drink, but she went right back to crossing her arms when she was done.
I took a sip of my own before I noted, “He seems fine to me.”
“You don’t know demon nature.”
“I went to school with demons. I’ve worked with demons. And I was adopted into a family of demons when I was eight,” I pointed out.
“Huh,” she puffed out.
“Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Her eyes slid to me, then away, and they did this too fast.
“Catla,” I warned.
She puffed another breath out, this time without sound.
Then she uncrossed her arms, turned to me and asked, “You remember that time we went skiing in Glacial Bay?”
Did I remember?
I’d never forget.
We were fifteen. It was between-terms at school. Glacial Bay was (and still is) the premier ski resort in all of the Four Realms. It was situated at the northernmost point of Sky’s Edge.
They’d asked me to join them, and I’d wanted desperately to go.
My mother had flatly refused, and it had devastated the teenaged me.
Now, though, I remembered my father had agreed.
I also remembered my father had agreed to everything I’d asked, including giving me the marks to buy the insanely expensive material I’d wanted for that Summer Solstice gown I’d made, the one Mom had eventually destroyed.
But even back then, I had the thought that Mom had shredded it because Dad had given me those marks to buy that material.
I couldn’t process this now.
Something was up with Cat. I had to focus on that.
“I remember,” I told her.
“Well, Arnaud was holidaying there too.”
Oh boy.
“He heard we were around,” she went on. “And he asked us to join him for dinner at his chateau. We went.” She leaned in closer and dropped her voice. “And you would not believe how foul he treated us, Laura. Dad was livid. Mom was so upset because Dad was. I was embarrassed. Arnaud was a dick, but I felt embarrassed.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
She was back to hissing. “Because I was embarrassed.”
You didn’t cross the pride of a demon, I knew.
“Well, honey, Tanyn is not Arnaud.”
She sat back, decreeing, “They’re all like that. You know those family reunions we go to up there every five years?”