Page 38 of Randall
“No!” Randall shouted.
“Absolutely not,” Darvon stated. “If you feel the need to bow…” He pointed at the small human riding between the vampire and wolf shifter. “That’s Prince Valter.”
Flynn stared at the man currently being doted on by his mates. “That’s Prince Valter? I thought he’d be taller.”
Randall slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. Darvon did not. He threw back his head and laughed loud enough that the birds in the trees took flight. His horse side-stepped in surprise, and it took a few moments for Darvon to get him under control.
Valter swung his horse toward them. “Everything alright, Randall?” he asked, his gaze taking in Randall and Darvon before stopping on Flynn. “Greetings, Flynn. I’m Valter. Those two are my mates. Baron is the one in the deep cloak. Duke is the shaggy one you tackled earlier. Well done, by the way. And this lovely lady is Kat.” He tilted his head toward his saddlebag where a black cat had poked its head out.
“Your Highness.” Flynn bowed as low as he could, chest to his thighs.
“Enough of that. I’m the second spare, and I don’t care… unless I don’t like you.” Valter let out a bark of laughter. “Like my brother’s stuck-up seneschal. What a pr—”
The vampire, who’d ridden up behind Valter, cleared his throat, interrupting the prince. “Valter.”
Valter glared at his mate. “You ruined all my fun, Baron.”
“You say ruin, I say protect you from yourself.”
“There’s nobody here but friends,” Valter groaned, and Flynn smiled to hear not only the whine in the prince’s voice but at being called a friend. It wasn’t true yet, but he could see it. They were close in age and definitely the youngest of those present. Flynn was excited at the prospect of getting to know Valter better.
“Darvon,” Flynn said, an idea forming. “Let me ride the horse, and you can sit with Randall.”
Darvon kept his horse trotting beside the carriage as he looked over at Flynn. “Why?”
“So I can ride with Valter.” Flynn stuck out his bottom lip and batted his eyes. “Please.”
“Randall, I just want you to know, we’re in trouble.” Darvon guided his horse beside the carriage, pushed to stand on the saddle, and then jumped from horse to carriage.
Randall chuckled. “I know.”
Flynn repeated the maneuver from carriage to horse easily thanks to his feline agility. By the time he was seated, Valter was beside him, and they pushed ahead to ride in front of the carriage. Elation coursed through him. He couldn’t wait to hear all about living in the capital and learning how Valter had met his unusual mates.
Chapter 27
Randall
“Hands. Full,” Darvon repeated, leaning against me as he stared ahead at Flynn riding beside Valter.
“I know, and I look forward to it,” I replied. “I only wish we could start now, but we’ve got our hands full of other problems to deal with before we can tackle our feisty mate.”
“Right into bed,” my mate agreed with a definitive nod.
I let the silence grow between us, enjoying his presence beside me before breaking it with a question. “I saw you speaking with Baron earlier. Did you by chance ask about your brother and his mates?”
“I did. Jarrah, Marius, and Quinn are taking a different path and will meet us along the way to the ruins of Norton.”
“Did they say where they were going first?”
Darvon shook his head and frowned. “No. I don’t like this, and I mean the not-knowing part of all of this. Five sets of mates, a mysterious enemy, a cursed goddess, a battle of good versus evil… What’s Jarrah’s role in all this? Why you? Why me?” Heblew out a sharp breath. “How are we supposed to win if we don’t know what we’re up against?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Artor said, tugging aside the heavy curtain of the wagon and joining the conversation.
I tightened my grip on the reins, the only clue that he’d startled me. Somehow, I’d forgotten Artor and Timur were inside the carriage.
Who were we fighting? Why and how were we each chosen? Jarrah knew, but he’d only given us bits and pieces. Of course, now that we had real questions, the Fae was off, Goddess knows where.
I supposed I shouldn’t be too harsh on him, considering he’d been neck-deep since the beginning and had said so out loud.
