Page 6 of King’s Kismet

The name she’d earned for herself in Hell? That one was well deserved. She’d forged that title with the hottest of hellfire and the bloodiest of fights. I never could understand why it shocked the demons. When you challenge the Devil’s heir, you’re bound to catch horns in the gut. Or worse.

“... I’m not sure what the shifter has been doing, other than camping in the woods and visiting the closest local dive bar,” Sloane stated, waving her hand in the shifter’s direction.

She cut her eyes to me before sliding her thoughts into my mind, and I knew then that shit was about to get real and entertaining.

“Am I being rude?”

I grinned at her, playful and devious. If I could see my face, I knew my ebony pools would be glinting mischievously even though the late Saturday morning sun wasn’t hitting them.

The shade of the patio couldn’t keep the twinkle out of my eyes as I mentally responded, “I mean, you could use their names. It’s not like they don’t have titles in front of them. You are looking at four apprentices and the Prince of the Winter Realm.”

When her shoulders tensed, I couldn’t decide if she was going to cuss me out through our mental connection or in actual words for everyone to hear. She slowly twisted the top half of her body toward me and clenched her hands together on the tabletop. Her confused, wide-eyed stare nearly had me smirking at her. It took more will power that I knew I possessed to keep my mouth flat and bored.

“Are you serious?” she asked me, fighting with herself about wanting to punch me.

I couldn’t contain the low chuckle that slipped from my lips. “Serious as a heart attack, bitch.”

“Well, fuck me. I wondered, but I had no way to really know for sure unless I dug deeper or flat out asked, which seems really rude. Were you going to tell me or just wait for me to figure it out?” She pegged me with narrowed, angry eyes while cursing me telepathically.

She was right.

I wasn’t going to tell her.

Before this.

It wasn’t my place. Nate was supposed to be here to fill her in when it was time to meet her mates. But he wasn’t here, and she went and met another one of them without even realizing it. I couldn’t tell her she couldn’t see him, or any of them. She was grown, and even then, she was my best friend.

I just wanted to see her happy.

The mage was a shady fucker, but I liked the vampire and the fae. I didn’t have a real opinion on the demon or the shifter yet, other than the demon being a little too clean to pass as a regular demon. There was something about him… I hadn’t quite been able to put my finger on it, but I would.

I watched in amusement as they all turned to Lo and me, eyeing us as they tried to work out what we were talking about. Lo was on the fence, stuck between panicking or brushing off our conversation. But I hadn’t had the chance to have my fun yet.

“Oh, sweetheart. Let me blow your mind, please,” I practically begged, making sure to use the pet name the druid always called her.

I was fucking thrilled to witness her reaction. Several times I’d pleaded with Nate to let me be in the room when he told Lo, and he’d always shut me down. I couldn’t wait to memorize her facial expression so I could show him when he got back home.

After mentally stressing how much she hated me, she demanded the information.

“Tell me.”

Clipped and to the point, those two words were so sharp that I was sure they’d caused me to bleed. Somewhere on my body was a flesh wound waiting to be seen.

I hit her with a self-assured smile, turning my theatrics up a notch just to piss her off more. I puffed my chest out with a deep inhale, standing as slowly as possible from my chair until she ground my name out through her clenched teeth.

“I guess you still haven’t read that letter, the one Nathaniel left for you?” I cut my eyes to her, waiting for her to nod.

I already knew she hadn’t read the fucking letter, so I arched a brow at her as I studied her face. I smirked at her with my best I’m an important asshole look before dragging out my knowledge. It seemed like none of them knew for sure, but I had a feeling some of them wouldn’t be too shocked.

“So, Sloane King, may I present to you...” I paused as dramatically as I could. “Drum roll please...” I made an utterly annoying rhythm while slapping my hands on my thighs. “Your mates.”

And then, just because I loved being a dick to her when I knew something that she didn’t, I flicked my left hand across the table in a wildly ridiculous flourish and bowed at my waist.

I was so enjoying her stunned silence for all of a few seconds, and then she yelled, “Franklin! Can we get some liquor, please?”

A few more moments went by with everyone being completely speechless, and I wanted to fucking preen. Lo could read minds, for Devil’s sake, and could crack mine open like a peanut and turn the pages like she was flipping through a book. It had been hard work to keep her from finding out that I knew about her mates.

The insults currently running through her mind were creative, but I was more amused by how vicious her inner monologue sounded compared to how calm her outward presence was. None of the guys were any wiser about the cogs moving in her head as she pieced everything together.