Page 75 of Tricky Princess
We talk to my father, Ros said. The both of us, if you don’t mind.
When we were heading here, I heard word of you burning his kingdom to the ground. Garm cocked a brow at him.
Well, things seem to enjoy changing around here. I’m not sure what that means or what happens after we get her parents, but I would like to focus on one thing at a time before I make the world burn, Ros said, stroking Ellea’s back.
We wouldn’t let that happen. None of us will, Garm said sternly.
If there were no Ellea in the world, he might.
You’ve come a long way from that first night she made your powers think she needed to be killed, Garm said.
Yeah. They were actually telling me I needed her, Ros said.
Does she know that?
She can’t read minds like you and Billy.
Ellea mumbled in her sleep, and both Garm and Ros looked down at her. When it quickly turned into a scream, Ros saw Garm reaching toward her, agony in his eyes.
“What does she need?” Garm asked, clearly pained.
Ellea was stuck in her nightmare, clawing at her throat. She couldn’t seem to hear Ros as he tried to pull her out of it.
Billy…
But Billy wasn’t here.
“Shift, get into bed,” Ros said, pulling the blankets back.
Garm didn’t hesitate. Skin turned to fur and hands and feet turned into large paws. He jumped into the massive bed and laid next to Ellea. Ros pressed her into his hound and continued talking to her as he stroked her face. Her stammers slowly faded as her small hands clung to Garm’s large warm body.
Ros fought off waking up and pulled Ellea closer to him, but someone pulled back. He lifted his head, hearing one too many snoring bodies, and saw more than two lumps in his bed. A bed that seemed a lot larger than when they’d gone to sleep. Ros tried moving his feet, but they wouldn’t budge, and a growl greeted him. Using his shadows, he pulled back one curtain slowly.
Billy was in their bed, holding Ellea’s hands. Devon was also in their bed, wrapped around Ellea’s middle. He lifted his head higher to see Garm, still in his hound form, laying on top of Billy’s legs, his large nose pointed toward the door. Looking down, Sam was in his wolf form and snoring with his head in Devon’s lap and his legs on top of Ros.
“What the fuck?” Ros cursed quietly.
“Oh, this looks like a fun orgy,” Duhne said from the open bedroom doors. “Did they stay in their wolf forms the whole time?”
His cousin really had to stop walking into places he didn’t belong.
“What the fuck, Duhne?” Ros cursed.
“I’m not judging; remember that one time with Macaria and the—”
“Do not finish that sentence.”
“I would love for you to finish that sentence,” Ellea said groggily, stretching and waking Devon, who was blushing as he glanced at Ros.
“No,” Ros said to Ellea. “And when did this happen?”
He looked to Devon, the only one who could have magicked the bed to be almost two times larger.
“When Garm didn’t come back last night, we came looking for him, and the three of you were sound asleep.” He gave a small smile. “So I enlarged the bed and we all joined.”
“Right,” Duhne said dryly. “If you are done cuddling with your puppies, your father is ready to meet with you.”
He turned on his heel and left the room. Ros flopped back into the bed “Don’t get used to this,” he growled. “Any of you.”
