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“And our daddies?” Aurora asked.
“No,” I answered out of the corner of my mouth while keeping an eye on each creature that we passed. “They were princes.”
Once they ushered us inside the tavern, my relief at escaping the watchful eyes outside was replaced with terror at the creatures inside. They were all mid-shift or fully shifted into those big beasts with jagged spines and hunched backs covered in fur. Their long, sharp claws looked like daggers, and I imagined they could easily slash a person to bits in just a few seconds. I kept my gaze on Blaze’s winged back as we walked through the dark tavern with the low, sagging ceiling, lit only by a handful of scattered candles and lanterns. The place smelled of mildew, wet dog fur, and stale ale breath. Elements, I preferred caves to this place. These shifters didn’t smell much better than trolls.
The shifters parted, their eyes flashing with recognition when they noticed the girls, and we made our way to a small table at a darkened end of the tavern beneath the staircase. My mates set the girls down on a bench before turning to the serving girl and ordering stew and bread for everyone.
Aurora splayed her hands across the table’s rough wood. “Do they have tarts?” she asked.
I dragged a hand down my face, expelling a deep breath. “Not here, darling.”
Ember clutched her doll while wiggling around in her seat. “Bethamy is hungry, too, Auntie.”
I brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “You can give her some bread, okay?”
She silently nodded, then rocked her doll in her arms.
Nikkos hunched over beneath the slanted ceiling, standing protectively behind our table. Blaze excused himself to speak with the inn keeper.
I stood beside Nikkos, trying to keep my gaze fixed on the girls rather than the dozens of drunk wolves staring at us.
“What aretheydoing here?” a gravelly voice growled.
My gaze snapped up, and I stared at an older wolf-man with patchy fur and red scars all down his face and chest. One side of his face looked like a melted ball of wax, the eye socket a sloped, empty hole.
Adrean.The surviving Lycan king.
I bristled at the way he glared at the children as if they were infectious parasites. “They’re with me.”
He cut a glare to me, rage reflected in his one hooded eye. His top lip pulled back in a predator’s snarl. “You’re her twin.”
“I’m Tarianya’s twin, yes.” I turned up my chin, refusing to be intimidated by the scowling old mongrel. “You’re Adrean Lykaios, the surviving Lupine King.”
“There is no king here,” a deep voice slurred behind him. “Only a coward, but if you’re looking for arealshifter, I can be of service.”
A middle-aged shifter with an unsteady gait, pale skin covered in fine brown fur, eyes blacker than tar, and a distended beer belly stepped from behind Adrean while clutching a large tankard of ale like a lifeline.
Adrean didn’t even bother to defend his honor as he stood there with stooped shoulders, his gaze turned toward the floor.
I didn’t hide my revulsion as I looked this strange shifter over. “I don’t believe you’re part of this conversation.”
“Forgive me, lass.” He hitched a grin, his glassy eyes sharpening as he nodded toward Adrean. “I didn’t think you’d want to waste your time on this drunkard.”
“That’s right. You didn’tthink.” I waved him away like I was shooing a fly. “Leave us.” I infused a touch of my siren’s call into my voice, not enough to force him to obey, but strong enough to hopefully persuade him to make the right choice.
He took a step back, confusion flashing in his eyes as he shook his head like he was trying to clear water from his ears. Then he looked at me and let out a menacing growl that reverberated my bones.
A flash of white, and Nikkos lit up like a falling comet, twin balls of flames extending from his hands. He stood protectively beside me, barring his fangs, the warmth radiating off him so powerful, sweat trickled down my back and brow.
“You heard my mate,” he snapped. Flames arced off his hands, the embers falling at the shifter’s feet.
I cringed as I looked above me at the black smoke stains spreading across the ceiling.
The shifter growled again and then thankfully backed away.
Aurora squinted up at Nikkos. “You’re too hot,” she grumbled.
Nikkos put away his fire and winked at the girls. “That was the point.”
