I huffed crossly. The damn kitsune always had a snarky response to any complaint about his behavior I dared to voice. I’d never seen this so-called handbook, and a big part of me suspected it didn’t exist.
Before I could voice my suspicion, he vanished, leaving a pile of crumbs behind.
The sight of the queen’s second consort heading our way jolted me from thoughts of my familiar. This male was shorter and had a kinder face than the other male. His navy-blue hair hung down his back in braids, a bit like Kai’s, and he wore a pale green gown embroidered with silver thread.
Several pretty mermaids simpered when he passed them, but he seemed oblivious.
Farris sat up straighter when the male reached our table.
“Daresh, good to see you again.” The warmth in his voice told me he liked this male. Were they lovers when the fae visited the mer kingdom? I nearly choked on a small fruit while pondering that question.
Zane leaned in. “Almost certainly, pet. The fae don’t discriminate when choosing lovers.”
“Like vampires,” Rasmus purred in my other ear.
I immediately pictured what it would look like if my incubus and my vampire became intimate. Zane’s chuckle said he’d read my mind, while Rasmus leaned in and scraped his fangs over my neck.
The merman’s attention drifted my way as he chatted to Farris. As I leaned forward to pick up my drink, desperate to quench a thirst that had absolutely nothing to do with being dehydrated, my dress slid down to reveal the small tattoo above my breast.
Daresh’s eyes widened in shock when he saw it, and I realized almost immediately that our window for rescuing Kai without bloodshed had just closed.
18
Raven
The queen’s consort opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He blinked before forcing a smile.
“If you’ll excuse me, I must return to my queen.”
Farris nodded. “I’ll join you shortly, Daresh. Her Majesty expressed a desire tocatch up.”
Something private passed between them. Not obvious to anyone else, I’d say, but I caught the way their auras swirled together briefly,intimately. These two males liked each other. More than liked.
I wondered what the queen thought of her fated mate having a bond with the fae but then decided it was none of my business. Farris the Fucking Fae could watch his own back. As long as he guided us safely back through the portal when it was time to leave, I didn’t much care if Queen Laryssa later skewered his balls on her trident.
The minute Daresh was out of earshot, Farris frowned.
“He recognized the mate mark.”
I yanked up my bodice and cursed myself for not hiding it better. I should have glamored it or asked Rasmus to. But I’d completely forgotten about the small tattoo above my breast. It had become a part of me, like the small silver scar on my left calf from a close encounter with a needle vine as a kid.
“Can we leave now?” The longer we stayed here, the twitchier I got. If Daresh put two and two together and then told the queen, we were in big trouble. She could stop us from leaving, lock us up,drownus.
Panic threatened to drag me under like the cetus monster Kai had killed. Spots floated in front of my eyes as I hyperventilated.
“Breathe, little mate,” Maverick whispered in my ear. Zane shifted closer, unsmiling for once.
“I don’t trust the fishy man,” he said. “He lusts after the fae, and anyone who desires that fucker is not to be trusted.”
Farris glared at Zane. “Excuse me? Males and females throughout the realm are queuing up to bed me!”
I snorted out a laugh, temporarily distracted from my meltdown.
“It can’t be your winning personality.”
The fae fucker rolled his eyes. “No, it’s my massive cock.”
That shut me up. Were fae exceptionally well-endowed? More so than my mates?
