Page 22 of Courting the Tiger King

“Good morning!” Zennon called and when she sank into a short curtsey Neah followed suit.

“Just about,” Sonnet muttered and Neah fought back her smirk. Zennon, with her human hearing, didn’t catch the words and the king shot the witch a frown before turning back to smile at Zen.

It was true that they were a little late, but Wren didn’t seem even slightly perturbed by this which shot him up in Neah’s estimation. Punctuality had its place, of course, but flexibility was important too.

Neah’s eyes ran over the king’s form, trying to keep thoughts about hisflexibilityout of her mind as he gave her a polite inclination of his head.

“I thought it might be fun to shoot this morning.” The king swept out his hand to indicate the archery range and it wasonly because Neah knew Zennon so well that she could see her nervousness.

“I’ve never shot before,” Zennon said hesitantly and Neah tensed, prepared to defend her, when Wren smiled.

“That’s okay, I can teach you.”

Several bales of hay had been set up in line with each target, a bow and arrow supplied on top of the bale. Wren guided Zennon over and began explaining how to hold the bow and Neah watched from her place one bale over as Wren guided her hands into position. He was a good teacher, patient and calm, even if his technique was somewhat lacking.

“He’s a good man,” a voice said to her right and Neah smiled, having heard the witch creep closer. “A Lady could do a lot worse.”

Ignoring the subtle dig in the words, Neah hummed her agreement. “He may be a good man, but I would wager he’s a lousy shot.”

Wren’s head shot up and Neah bit back her smile at his wide eyes as they narrowed.

“Now you’ve done it,” Gabriel said, shaking his head as he came up to stand next to Sonnet. “Don’t you know that a man’s ego is fragile?”

“Like a baby bird,” Sonnet cooed and Neah looked between them with a raised brow. Were they an item? Everywhere the witch moved, Gabriel seemed to follow and Skye watched, scowling.

The twang of the bow in Zennon’s hands had Neah’s attention moving back to her sister. The arrow fell short of the target, but it had at least left the bow which was no easy feat for a first try. Neah smiled, thinking about when she’d first shot her bow. Her father had shown her the basics and then let Neah make her own mistakes before stepping in—her wrist had beenblack and blue from the bowstring by the time she’d been done that first day.

“Well done, Zen!”

Wren murmured an equal amount of praise, sending a warmth rushing over Neah’s skin and for the first time she felt a small stab of jealousy toward her sister. The king’s palm curled around Zennon’s hip, adjusting her stance, and then he nudged her arms higher.Too high, Neah realised, and was moving toward them before she could second guess herself.

“Don’t,” she said, as Zennon prepared to let the arrow fly.

“Neah?”

Her eyes locked on the king’s and she huffed impatiently. “Excuse me, Your Majesty.”

He stepped back slowly. “Wren is fine.”

Neah didn’t reply, just set about readjusting Zennon’s stance with her back toWren. “If you had shot that arrow, you likely would have broken your wrist.”

“That’s not?—”

Neah turned around in a movement she recognised as too fast and, sure enough, the king’s skin rippled, his shifter responding to the threat of another predator. Neah nearly laughed. Little did the king know, this form was as dangerous as Neah got. “I’m willing to bet that I have a little more experience with archery than you, my king.” She kept the words calm, her tone polite but firm, and when the twang of Zennon’s bow rang out Neah smiled. The arrow had made it to the target, embedded in the bottom corner.

“I hit it!”

Neah laughed, hugging Zennon tightly and feeling the familiar twinge of sadness as she thought about the childhood shenanigans they’d missed out on, not being able to grow up together. Sure, they’d spent time together, summered in thesame place, but it wasn’t the same as living together day in, day out. “Well done, Zen.”

As if she could sense Neah’s melancholy, Zennon squeezed her tightly.

“She would have been fine,” the king insisted and Neah ignored him until his hand fell onto her shoulder.Thenshe reacted, the movement of her body pure instinct and the shouts of Gabriel and Skye sounding far away as the king landed on the grass on his back, face pale with shock, and Neah immediately released her grip on his throat.

Fuck.He could have her executed for that.

Then, to everyone’s apparent shock, Wren began to laugh. Neah hesitantly offered him her hand and he gripped it tightly as she helped him up from the ground.

“I’m sorry, my king. It was instinct?—”

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