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11
Olive
Meeting your boyfriend’s family is bound to be a little anxiety-inducing.
This was on an entirely different level.
The road ahead of us seemed empty, and then as we drove through some kind of spell, there was suddenly a kingdom there. Still heady and overwhelmed from sex, I sat back and watched as we drove into the most beautiful city I’d ever seen.
The buildings ahead shimmered like stained glass, and above them, dragons were flying in considerable numbers as though this was totally natural for them.
“Welcome to Crystal Glass,” Lerin said, putting an arm round me.
My jaw hung slack, not taking my eyes away from the strange scenery around us.
People were walking in the streets, going about their ordinary lives as though they didn’t live in a land that was considered a myth by literally everyone outside of it.
“This is your home?” I asked, just to confirm.
“Yes, and it can be yours too.”
Although his words were sweet, I wasn’t sure whether he actually meant them.
We stopped in a courtyard. I could sense Lerin’s guard going up as a couple of men approached the limo.
“Back already!” the taller one exclaimed as the driver opened the door.
“Yes, she decided to join me.” Lerin’s voice went monotone with caution. It took me by surprise, but I kept up my smile for the sake of appearances.
“I told you the limo would work,” the man said with a chuckle, before turning to me. “Hello, I’m Rhuron, welcome to my kingdom.”
So this was his older brother. He seemed friendly enough, but Lerin’s usual intensity seemed dampened in his presence, his posture now stiff and withdrawn.
“I’d like to show her around on my own,” Lerin stated. Rhuron frowned for a moment before giving him a shrug.
“I know my bride would love to meet another person from the outside if you two have time,” he offered.
“You have other outsiders here?” I wasn’t sure why that surprised me so much.
“Just two—a shifter and a human,” Lerin explained. His brother seemed busy and vanished as quickly as he appeared. Lerin didn’t seem too bothered. “The seer I told you about is working from oldest to youngest,” he added.
I nodded, still not understanding why they all needed a fated mate when the kingdom seemed so full of women. Three out of every four faces I saw was a woman, it would have been amazing had every single one of them not been doing menial tasks, while the few men I saw looked as though they were doing “higher up” work.
This wasn’t the time to ask him about it.
“Come here,” he said, taking my hand.
I let him lead me into what looked like the side of a mountain. As the doors opened, I realized this was actually a castle built into the rock. Inside, Lerin guided me around with ease, and my neck soon became stiff from craning to see the exquisite decor of the walls and ceilings.
“These paintings are of the family we’ve lost, many never left the castle walls,” he explained.
“Wow,” I murmured.
He still felt tense beside me, like he wasn’t ready to loosen up. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so when we found ourselves alone in a corridor, I had to ask.
“Are you okay?” I squeezed his hand in mine, and he let out a slow sigh.
“My brother just gets to me,” he admitted. I looked to him questioningly. His brother had seemed nice enough to me.
