Page 53 of Courting the Tiger King

“Seven guards.” There was a grim set to Wren’s mouth that made Neah shift uneasily in her seat. “Myguards. How were they turned against me? And by whom?” Silence reigned and Wren sighed as he sprawled into the empty armchair closest to the bedroom door. “Whoever it is, they knew that Zennon was here as my mate—misguided as the sentiment might have been,” he added with a pointed look in Sonnet’s direction. “That intel was limited to the people there for the ceremony, and the king’s guards who were sent to retrieve Zennon in my place.”

“And the Captain,” Neah pointed out and then shrugged at Zennon’s incredulous look. “I’m not saying he did it, just stating the facts.”

“So who does that narrow things down to?” Skye said, brow furrowed.

Wren ticked the names off on his hands. “Me, you, Gabe, Sonnet, my mother, my uncle, Jamison, his second, my cousin, and the retinue of guards.”

“And, theoretically, any of them could have told someone else,” Neah added. “But that list isn’t exhaustive anyway, because the assassination plot I discovered was being discussed before you retrieved Zennon. And didn’t you say that rumours were spread in the court in your absence? Whoever our enemy is, they’ve been around for longer than just your ceremony.”

“That’s presuming it’s the same person,” Sonnet said thoughtfully. “Or that it’s only one person at all.”

Neah stabbed at her remaining potatoes more forcefully than necessary and chewed silently as the others shared worried looks.

“Who stands to gain the most from your death?” Romi offered and then shrank back when all eyes turned to her before catching herself and straightening her spine. “As best I can tell, the most common reasons for murder are money, power, love, and revenge.”

“That narrows it down,” Sonnet muttered and Neah sighed, because she was right.

“Okay, fine. Let’s just let that simmer in our brains for a second. What about the curse? Have you found anything?”

Zennon frowned and mouthed,curse?to Neah who waved her off. She would explain later.

Sonnet and Skye shared a begrudging look of dissatisfaction. “Nothing yet. We can tell the curse is there, and it’s real, but not how to remove it.”

“Yet,” Skye added and Sonnet slowly nodded.

“Yet,” she agreed.

Wren scrubbed a hand down and over his face before nodding. “Okay. Thank you for trying.”

“Hey, we’re not giving up.” Skye frowned. “And neither should you. Of course, this would all be a lot less urgent if Neah agreed to the bonding ceremony.” Skye’s arms folded across his chest and Neah raised a cool brow at him in response.

A low growl erupted from the other side of the table and Neah’s eyes jerked up to find Wren’s glowing irises locked on Skye. “Neah’s decision is for her alone to make. Anything else is unacceptable. We’ll find another way.”

Skye shook his head, pushing to a stand and pointing a finger in her direction. “But she could?—”

He didn’t finish the sentence before Wren had shifted and knocked him down to the floor. The pair rolled, grunting and yowling while the rest of them looked on.

“Should we break this up…?” Romi winced when Skye thrust a particularly vicious elbow into the tiger’s jaw.

Gabe seemed unbothered, snagging a piece of chicken from Wren’s unattended plate. “Nah. Let them work it out. Wren’s instincts are probably running wild with the unclaimed mating bond—no pressure,” he added hastily as the tiger snapped its teeth mere breaths away from Skye’s face until he conceded.

The tiger retreated and a flare of magic returned Wren to his human form. He stood and snatched his dinner away from Gabriel with one final warning look to Skye.

“It’s been a long day,” he said eventually. “Let’s talk more about all this later?”

The group mumbled their assent and Zennon paused before she could shuffle out of the door with the others. “Oh, I forgot to mention—Jamison has organised a dinner for you both, tomorrow afternoon.”

Neah frowned. “A dinner? Why?”

“Because you’re mated to the king,” Zennon said, a touch of exasperation in her voice. “And your parents would like to meet their son in law.”

Son in law.Neah nearly choked. “Right.”

Zennon left while Neah was still contemplating the words and when she looked up, she found she was alone again with Wren.

“We don’t have to go,” he offered. “I’m the king.”

“And he’s my father.” She smirked. “I think on this, he outranks you.”

---