Page 101 of Kingdom of Aramis

“And how does she feel about the Chaos Kingdom?” he asks, taking a sip of his pale purple wine while holding my gaze.

“We briefed her on it this morning, and she seemed agreeable to the concept. I didn’t mention our relationship yet. She has enough to contend with without knowing that a fairy assassin is her contact with the Chaos Kingdom.”

He studies me carefully, and I watch him consider what information he will choose to impart to me today. While it took a period of time, I have come to trust that Titus has both the shifter and Chaos kingdoms best interest in mind.

“There is word on the breeze that a hit has been put on the queen. The assassin’s guild was offered a significant sum to take care of the problem,” he tells me, and my heart starts to race in panic. The assassin’s guild very rarely fails to complete their tasks. My hand tightens on the glass I’m holding, and he doesn’t miss the movement.

“And what did the Chaos king decide?” I ask, trying to come up with a plan to keep Colbie alive. Her hydra has regenerative properties and is nearly immortal, but I doubt it carries over into her human form, otherwise the humans would not have been able to kill them off during the previous war.

He takes another slow sip of his drink. “The king chose to decline the offer. He doesn’t want any trouble with the monarchs of any of the kingdoms. In fact, he issued a warning to anyone who may try to assassinate the queen that retribution would be swift and final.”

I can’t control my reaction, and my eyebrows jump in surprise. “He did?”

He nods, slowly putting his feet up on my desk. I scowl at them, but his boots aren’t muddy, so I let it slide this time. “Yes, you could say our king has a vested interest in your queen’s well-being. In fact, he would like to meet her. He has issued an invitation for her to dine in the Chaos Kingdom, and it would be in her best interest to do so.” I can hear the threat behind his words, and I don’t like it.

I jump to my feet, spilling my drink on my hand, and slam the glass down on the table. “For Aramis’s sake, Titus. The queen has enough to worry about without receiving an invite from your king. We have the fact that she’s missing mates and can’t be crowned, missing shifter children that need to be found, and a damn problem with someone creating ferals, and you heard that cretin. The council will be gunning for her now too.” I pace back and forth behind my desk, and he watches me with curious eyes.

“Lucas, it isn’t like you to overshare. You usually keep everything close to the chest.”

I scoff and throw my hands up. “Like you assholes don’t know all of that already.” I face him, putting my hands on my hips. “Do you deny it?”

He purses his lips and hums. “No,” he answers slowly. “You are right, we are aware of all your internal issues.” He stands up, throwing back the last of his wine and placing the glass on my desk. “The queen is still missing mates? I was under the impression that she found them.”

Again, I’m surprised, but this time, I manage to keep my reaction to myself and think about what I should share regarding the recent wave of magic. I consider keeping it to myself, but I don’t doubt the whole damn kingdom will know soon. “The goddess felt it necessary to award Colbie two more mates earlier this morning. One has made itself known to us, and the other remains a mystery. Until that shifter comes forward, Colbie can’tbe crowned. We are also searching for the whereabouts of one other. Although we know who he is, he has yet to be notified.”

He waves his hand and pulls a long, black hooded cape out of the air, swinging it around his shoulders. “I must go, but make sure the queen visits my king. He may have an answer to your feral problem.”

“Does the Chaos Kingdom have something to do with our missing children and feral issue?” I have to ask, even though I am fairly certain they have nothing to do with this.

He gives me a look that would make a lesser man piss his pants. “I will forget you ever asked that in the name of continuing good relations between our kingdoms. I can assure you that our king detests abuse toward children as much as, if not more than, all of the other kingdoms combined. Do not forget how our kingdom came to be. We are the outcasts and rejects your kingdoms deemed unworthy.”

I wince at his accusations. He isn’t wrong. I’m not sure which generation of kings and queens declared cross matings illegal, but it’s another thing I have been trying to change the laws on. I’m sure Colbie will continue my fight once she is crowned, and seeing the good people of the Chaos Kingdom would be a step in the right direction.

I incline my head in apology. “I will see to it that she makes time to visit King Loki.”

“Sooner rather than later,” he warns before he disappears in a flash. Titus obviously got his ability to teleport from his father. Usually, children from cross pairings favor one parent or the other. On a rare occasion, like him, they take on characteristics of both parents and are a force to be reckoned with. I believe this is probably why cross mating was prohibited. The children of such matings can be very powerful.

I grab my glass and pour another generous amount of whiskey into it before flopping back in my chair again. “Fuck,I haven’t drunk this much since my own coronation,” I mutter, taking a large sip and closing my eyes. Poor Colbie. Her reign is going to be anything but easy. I should stock the office bar for her. It seems like she’s going to need it.

Chapter

Seventeen

Titus

Sifting out of Lucas’s office, I decide to follow the irate councilor and see if I can catch him scheming. I spend a lot of time hiding in the shadows of the shifter castle. I arrived earlier in the day once news of the new queen’s arrival reached Chaos Kingdom. King Loki dispatched me at once with an order to gather information. Concealed in the shadows—an ability gifted to me by my fae father—I listened in on the luncheon conversation. Learning that the queen was gifted a bond group instead of having to choose from a group of individuals was enlightening to say the least. The information about her knowing who the missing member of Watch Group One was interesting, and something I tucked into the back of my mind to address later. With the appearance of her mer mate, the final member of her bond group was revealed to me, but they still have no clue who the missing member is.

I rub the spot on my sternum where my new marking throbs beneath my skin. It takes a lot to shock me, but when that mark appeared on my chest after the wave of magic, even theclumsiest of assailants could have caught me unaware. I never expected to be gifted a mate, and I’m not really sure what to do with the revelation now. I’m one of five assassins and spies who work directly with the Chaos king.

Loki handpicked me and my brothers from the academy all Chaos children attend. A lot of half-breeds will inherit the traits of only one parent, but about thirty percent of us end up with dual powers, and learning to get a handle on them requires discipline and training. My brothers and I were five of the strongest, and Loki decided we were meant for more. He assigned four of us to each kingdom and kept one to be his internal spy master.

I’ve been Aramis’s liaison for five years. Loki has a special interest in each of the kingdoms—a task set for him by the four kingdoms’ goddesses. They knew a time of upheaval was coming and set wheels in motion to combat the unrest many years ago. Although they are supposed to give their creations free will, it hasn’t stopped them from meddling and manipulating to get the outcomes they desire, and Loki was the key to achieving their outcomes. I just hope he can be forgiven for his actions when the time comes.

I follow the agitated wolf, but when he stops to speak to the young prince, I leave, wanting to spy on the queen and her mates. I don’t know what kind of shifter she is, and I would like to give that information to my king when I return to the Chaos Kingdom to report.

I sift from the palace to the forest close by the waterfall where they were taking the queen to shift. I stay down wind so their sensitive shifter noses can’t scent me and lean against a tree, listening to their conversation. Four of Colbie’s mates are sitting under a tree not far from me, talking about heading into the human zone to find the other shifter mate. I sneak a little closer and learn that he lives in the same village as the new queen’sgrandparents in a secluded cottage. A quick phone call to the king will tell me which village that is, and from there, it will be a piece of cake to find him. That’s where I’m going to head next. I want to scope out this other mate. From what they are saying, it sounds like he’s probably not going to be too happy he is the queen’s mate, even though it sounds like they have a prior relationship. I feel a little guilty not revealing myself as her final mate. The ache inside me keeps nudging me to do just that, but I owe the king my report and an explanation. I’m pretty sure he didn’t expect to lose one of his prized assassins permanently to another kingdom, but I won’t split my loyalty between her and him. I’m not sure how he’s going to take it. Hopefully he won’t decide to get rid of me, because then there will be no chance for her to become queen.

King Loki’s grandfather was a ruthless asshole who was as judgmental and biased as the former kings and queens who originally outlawed mixed races. He refused to be open to the idea of trading with the other kingdoms. Ten years ago, when Loki took the crown from him, life in the Chaos Kingdom got better. Loki negotiated trade treaties with all four kingdoms and opened our borders, allowing for other kingdoms to travel to ours to enjoy all the pleasures it has to offer, and our kingdom finally started to flourish. We’re still a dirty little secret as far as the humans knowing about us, but we like it that way. There is no place for the humans in our kingdom. If a human were to overindulge and end up on the wrong side of a supernatural, it would end in war.