‘Spit it out, Azalea. Your hesitation is making me uneasy. What is it?’Kyson demands, an edge to his voice.
‘Imagine if I were to walk outside in the castle completely naked,’I blurt out, surprising myself with the audacity of my statement.
‘Definitely not,’Kyson growls. His words anger me and fuel my next answer
‘I wasn’t asking permission,’I tell him, though I was kind of hoping he would give it because I didn’t exactly want this to cause an argument.
‘Then why are you telling me?’he snaps back.
‘So you don’t find out from the staff,’I explain.
‘Azalea!’he snaps.
‘Will be naked, walking the corridors naked,’I answer.
‘Like hell you are!’
I cut him off, only for the mindlink to open up again, and he forced his way back into my head.
‘Somebody shut off the damn cameras,’Kyson snarls through the mindlink, broadcasting his message to all the castle staff. Their voices flood my mind, overwhelming me with their presence.
‘Do we have cameras?’I ask, bewildered by this revelation.
‘Yes, they were installed two days ago. And you are absolutely not doing this,’Kyson declares adamantly.
‘But I am,’I insist, my determination unwavering.
‘Why are we shutting off the cameras?’Gannon’s voice interjects suddenly through the mindlink. The multitude of voices in my head begins to give me a headache, and I struggle to regain control. I struggle, trying to shut them off, only for Kyson to force his way back into my head.
‘Do not let Azalea leave the bathroom,’Kyson growls at him.
‘Pardon, My King,’Gannon answers. Abbie touches my arm as she stands, making me jump and pulling me back to focus on the room.
She grabs a towel and wraps it around herself, and I stand, stepping out of the shower. My face is already heating. I start shredding my clothes, dropping them in a wet heap as Abbie sticks her head out the door. Kyson is yelling at me through the mindlink and the guards, and I try my best to ignore him.
“I will get you some spare clothes,” Abbie says.
“Don’t bother,” I tell her, and she glances at me but quickly rushes into the room. Kyson is still talking through the mindlink and arguing with the guards about leaving Gannon’s quarters. While Liam asks a barrage of never-ending and inappropriate questions, I find it hard to keep tabs on how many people’s voices are suddenly flitting through my head.
I grab a towel and dry myself, and Abbie runs back into the room with a cami and shorts, trying to pass them to me while she starts pulling on a turtle neck and long pants.
“Here,” she whispers, but I shake my head. “Az?”
I move to step past her when she stops in front of me.
“Gannon is out there,” she says, gripping my arm when he suddenly opens the door, standing completely naked. I have no idea where to look, so I stare up at the roof, and so does he. Awkward.
‘Hang on, we’re doing this in style,’Liam says through the mindlink and I look at Gannon, who sends me a wink.
‘I swear, Azalea, when I get home,’Kyson starts.
‘Well, that sounds like a challenge, My King,’I tell him.
‘Put some clothes on, and Liam, stay away from my mate,’he snaps.
‘What? No, I am streaking with her, got my best apron for this, and if Gannon is strutting his stuff, so is me; sometimes you gotta air out the old skinsuit,’Liam says.
‘I said clear the halls,’the king commands.