Page 65 of Hidden Kingdoms

The fireplace behind the large chair roared with flames, its mantle a solid piece of black oak studded with gleaming gems. Black sconces inset with onyx held high flames that filled the room with a bright glow despite the black curtains that were drawn and pooled on the floor, obscuring what I assumed were windows behind them.

And there, his oversized body blocking out a good chunk of the fireplace, was the Prince. The ruby circlet, which was partially hidden in the riot of ringlets that fell around his face, flickered in the light from the fire.

I hid all trace of my annoyance at being in the same room as him, biting the tip of my tongue as I squeezed Kaius’ hand and ignoring the small noise of amusement that came from him.

Bastian’s eyes flicked straight to mine, face a mask of indifference, before lazily sweeping over my body. They settled on our intertwined hands and the mask slipped. Anger flashed, his eyes darkening to the colour of the forest under the new moon before he blinked, and the arrogance only a prince could pull off was firmly back in place.

Obviously you wouldn’t want your buddy getting cosy with the person you had kidnapped, but here we were.

“Kaius.” He nodded in Kaius’ direction, completely ignoring me, before stepping to the table and taking a chair. I rolled my eyes at his pettiness knowing two can play that game.

It’s not like I’m literally here in this room because he requested it or anything.

I wasfullyaware this wasn’t going to be an enjoyable lunch.

Bastian hadn’t gone to the chair at the head of the table, instead sitting on the one to its right. Kaius lead me to the other side, pulling out the chair directly opposite. I shot him an exasperated look but decided not to make a fuss as his grey eyes sparkled with mischief. He pushed the chair back in as I sat and took the seat next to me.

What a perfect spot to watch Big Man scowl at me while I ate.

Fun.

The uncomfortable silence that ensued sat with us at the table like an extra guest before Bastian raised his hand, and a door I hadn’t noticed opened—servants began pouring through, hands laden with dishes. They laid everything onto the table, setting down glass goblets filled with an amber liquid, and as quickly as they had descended on us, they disappeared. Only one man remained standing off to the side, face passive as he stared straight ahead.

Both men reached for the food, and I took that as the go ahead to help myself. I filled my plate slowly, smiling a littlewhen Kaius added a pink iced cake to it, but my eyes were never far from whatever Bastian was doing. I couldn’t help that the man put me on edge.

Like it had been waiting for the most inconvenient opportunity to push to the surface, my magik rose. I breathed steadily as I held it back, needing to at least eat lunch before I participated in a magikal fight with the asshole in front of me that I had no chance of winning.

I should wait to participate in any violence until after I’ve eaten those sausage rolls.

Silence continued as we ate, the quiet clinking of tableware the only sound, and it was almost hard to enjoy my food with this level of awkwardness. Which was a damn shame because it all tasted delicious. But I was done playing this game, done being the polite prisoner who could be summoned at their will with no explanation.

“Where’s your girlfriend today?” I asked casually, my voice cutting through the air as sharply as the polished knife at the side on my plate could cut through the tower of orange jelly that sat on the table between us, right next to the sausage rolls.

My fingers curled around the goblet closest to me as Bastian looked up—Kaius, too—small lines of confusion crinkling his face. “My girlfriend?”

“Yeah, Scary Mary. The one who likes to hiss.” Kaius snorted a laugh as Bastian’s eyes narrowed. He ignored me and returned his attention to his food, the silence pressing in again as I took a sip of the amber liquid.

“Why am I here?” I tried again, and both men halted their movements. Though neither made any move to answer, I saw the look that passed between them.

That’s it. I’m done here.

Pushing back from the table, I whipped my head to Kaius. “Take me back.”

Anger vibrated my fingers as his hand reached for mine, eyes soft as he squeezed lightly, but I pulled away.

“I will, Goldie, but not yet.” His voice was soft but carried with it the knowledge I wouldn’t be getting what I wanted.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Sit down.” Energy jarred inside me, agitated by the demand that came from across the table.

“Bas.” Kaius’ voice was hard, though his eyes remained soft while he looked at me. Gritting my teeth I sat, pushing my plate away. I wasn’t in the mood to eat no matter how good those sausage rolls were. Bastian had gone back to focusing on his meal, but I wasn’t going to let him ignore me.

“You need my help.”

I knew he did.

I’d heard him during our last little meeting, the one where we had both lost our tempers and my magik had almost consumed me. He stopped eating, finally meeting my eyes so I could see the anger blazing in his, despite how his face was carefully schooled into indifference.

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