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“Call it off,” the Queen shrieked.
“Brandon, please don’t eat my mother,” she asked, and watched in awe as he shifted back instantly, leaving him gloriously naked.
Aledwen’s gaze slipped downwards, and she found herself inappropriately wondering if the twins were identical in this way too. If so, she was in for quite some nights ahead.
Realising the direction her thoughts had taken, a blush rose to her cheeks and she tore her gaze away.
“Here,” Drey said, handing Brandon his jacket. “Probably best you don’t talk to your mother-in-law naked.”
That should freak her out. The mother-in-law part, not the naked shifter part, but for some reason it didn’t. Okay, not some reason. She knew why she was feeling that way. Cyprus had covered it in their conversation before coming to the room after all.
“What happened to your clothes?” she asked.
Next to her, Cyprus’ chest heaved as he laughed, clearly more than just amused at his brother’s predicament.
“I...errr...had a little accident.” Brandon scuffed his feet against the floor, looking down at them as if they were suddenly the most interesting thing in the room.
“He exploded out of them,” Drey supplied, gesturing to the scraps of clothing littering the floor.
“How come you don’t do that when you shift?” she asked curiously, forgetting her mother was in the room.
“I had my clothes enchanted by a genie.”
Well, that hadn’t been what she expected. She hadn’t even known that genies were real. It made sense. Most of the creatures from the human tales actually existed, just not in the way the stories told them.
“Makes sense,” she said offhandedly.
“What is going on here?” her mother demanded. Oh, oops. Aledwen had forgotten she was even in the room. Apparently being growled at by a fox was enough to keep her quiet. Aledwen would have to remember that for future arguments.
“I think you’re meeting my mates,” Aledwen said, surprised at how easily the word slipped off her tongues
“Your mates, Aledwen? Really? That doesn’t seem likely.”
“Why? Because you’ve never let me out of the palace? Or because you didn’t think I’d be able to win anyone? Or maybe because you actually want to marry me off to an elf for whatever reason is behind your treaties.” She didn’t know where any of that came from, but she knew it needed saying. Kind of.
Her mother stood stock still, staring at her with a confused expression on her face. At least, it was confused before it became enraged. “What did you just say?” Her voice dripped with cold anger, causing dread to spread through Aledwen.
Cyprus squeezed her hand, and she relaxed a little. it was definitely helping having him there. It was helping having all three of them there. She wasn’t alone now. She needed to remember that.
“I know about the treaties. I know they’ve been going on since before you were pregnant with me.”
“And you’re trusting that elf over your own mother?” she sounded genuinely taken aback by that.
“No, I’m trusting my own eyes. I saw the most recent treaty. I know what it says.” Aledwen was almost shaking with anger now. Her mother had messed with her life and didn’t even realise she’d done it. That wasn’t fair to either of them really.
“Oh.”
“What do you get out of signing these treaties blindly, mother?” Aledwen asked, completely on edge. Confrontation was awful, and she hated it any time it came up. Yet, she needed some answers, and where did her loyalties lay? For her mother, who’d raised her and was ultimately her Queen, or to herself, who she’d have to live with for the rest of her life.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does,” Aledwen replied, along with a low growl from Brandon. She could almost swear she saw orangey-brown fur flash over his torso. Good to know he had a little bit of a temper, if she knew, then she could do her best to help keep it under control. Hopefully.
She waved her hand at him, in a gesture she hoped said she had this handled. Though she wasn’t a hundred percent sure she did. But it was her mother, her problem.
“It’s none of your business, Aledwen,” her mother tried instead.
“While it’s my magic, and my marriage on the line, I think it damned well is.” She only just managed to keep from shouting the words. But she really didn’t want any of the other ball goers to overhear and come watch. That would be a disaster.
