Page 150 of Hidden Kingdoms

“You will answer when your prince demands it.” He was so close now, his charcoal and maplewood scent invading my senses. The heat radiating from his body bordering on painful as it brushed my skin. His huge arms were bracketed either side of me, keeping me in place without a single touch.

“You are notmyprince,” I spat out with a venom that I hoped ate through his bullshit and left a festering wound in its wake. I pushed up from my seat, forcing him to step back from the cage he had me in, magik rippling through me. I could see the fire alight behind his eyes, feel my magik feed off his anger as well as my own. My world narrowed down to this infuriating man, and the scars on my back burned before my energy chased off the pain.

“There’s no need to fight.” My head whipped to the side at the sound of Kaius’ voice, in the same moment the temperature in the room plummeted. “I know much funner ways to get physical if that’s where this is going.”

Bastian stepped back, the space between us welcome as Kaius appeared in the room without either of us noticing him enter. The perfection of his face, and the jump of my heart, forced my anger at Bastian to the side as he closed the distance between us in a few long strides. Eyes sparking with mischief, his body blocked my view of the Prince.

“Goldie,” he murmured in my ear. Leaning down, Kaius curled a hand through my hair, his lips brushing a gentle kiss against my cheek sending a shiver through me. I couldn’t help as my eyes flicked past him, colliding with Bastian’s.

Straightening, Kaius went to a small half table that stood against the wall, tall bottles of amber liquid sitting on top. I watched as he opened one, pouring a measure into a crystal glass, his flexing muscles visible under his black jumper. Thedaggers—that I’d never seen him without unless behind closed doors—were strapped to his hips. The silence felt as thick as the heat that had radiated from Bastian only a moment ago, and I found myself unsure how I fit into this situation.

I risked a quick glance at Bastian, the thought that he knew what had happened in the cave between me and Kaius an uncomfortable one. Not that I was ashamed of what we did, just that it felt too intimate for someone like Big Man—who clearly held nothing but disdain for me—to know.

The clink of crystal caught my attention, and Kaius picked up the filled glass with his long, tattooed fingers. Crossing the room to place it into my hands, his lip curled at the side as I stared at him in confusion before he moved back to the table to pour another two glasses, handing one to Bastian before seating himself in the chair next to mine.

Slowly, I followed suit, sinking down stiffly, my agitated magik unsure of what to do with itself now that Kaius had diffused the rage that had been flooding me. I gripped the crystal tightly. As Bastian sat, his eyes focused on his friend, and a layer of heat still rippling around him.

“I see you two decided to start without me,” Kaius said, eyes crinkling as he sipped his drink, and I couldn’t help the way I was drawn to his lips.

“Believe me, nothing got started,” I replied, feeling Big Man's attention whip my way and choosing to ignore him.

“Didn’t look that way from where I was standing.”

“Then maybe you should find a different viewpoint, Kaius,” Bastian growled.

Kaius tipped his glass towards him and silence followed. I was moments away from leaving, fleeing back to my room. I’d take the certainty of getting lost over sitting here like this.

If I was lucky, Alouette would find me.

“Goldie, you came here looking for answers. Am I right?” His grey eyes fixed on mine, and I nodded quickly in agreement.

“And do you agree that there are some things we also want answers to?” I nodded again, my instinct to flee lessening with every word spoken in his deep, reassuring voice. “Then I do think we can make this work, with a little cooperation.”

Heat, that had no business being there, flared within me at his words, and I raised the glass to my lips, relishing in the burn of the liquid as it moved down my throat. I hadn’t been properly in Kaius’ company yet after what happened last night, except for briefly in the corridor, and I wasn’t sure how I was meant to act around him.

Had it just been some fun between us? A way to blow off steam after a stressful day?

Did Bastian know? Did Kaius even care what had happened between us, or was I just a convenient body?

That didn’t seem right. He hadn’t got anything out of last night despite me offering.

Those are not the questions I need answers to right now.

I pulled myself from the memory of Kaius’ body heavy on mine, and focused on the more important matters, like why I was even here in the first place.

“Everything. Anything. Whatever she wants, basically.”

The words he had spoken earlier floated through my mind, and I knew that Kaius being here was my best chance of getting any answers. He always had been.

54

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

ELODIE

“Ok, I’ll start,” I began, deciding to give as much as they did, the weight of their attention now on me. “A nice and easy one; why am I here?”

Bastian’s mouth opened to speak before I cut him off. “And I want a real fucking answer.”

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