The Golden Gryphon and the Bear Prince (Heirs of Magic #1) - Jeffe Kennedy Page 0,3
Without her, Astar often thought he’d drown in the turbulent sea of court intrigue.
“What do you think?” he asked under his breath, knowing she’d hear. They couldn’t exactly speak mind to mind—Astar didn’t have enough sorcery in him for that—but they did share a special twin language. It allowed them to have conversations too cryptic for anyone else to understand, so quietly that no one else could overhear. “Right before the footman arrived, you said that challenges lie ahead and nothing will ever be the same. It sounded like prophecy.”
“Something deeply unsettling happened—and the future suddenly shifted,” she replied. “So fast that I haven’t had time to track the possible patterns of events.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Zephyr asked, catching up to them after passing Lena a dangerously full flute of sparkling wine and sipping her own without spilling a drop. Conversations that almost no one else could hear, Astar mentally corrected himself. As astute as she was gorgeous, Zephyr picked up on all sorts of things most people didn’t—just as she could move with that inherent grace that let her carry brimming glasses of wine without spilling a drop.
“Speculating on Her Majesty’s emergency,” Astar answered with a smile.
Zephyr shrugged in the extravagant Tala style. “Who knows what mossbacks think is an emergency?”
“Hey,” Jak grumbled, “enough with the mossback insults.”
“Jak is right,” Stella agreed gently. “It’s unkind and hurtful. Shapeshifters are no better than anyone else.”
“And shapeshifters can be fried with lightning just like anyone else,” Lena put in with a broad smile, narrowing her eyes at Zephyr, who hmphed at her.
“Or have their throats cut,” Jak added, cheerfully spinning a silver dagger between his nimble fingers.
“All right, everyone,” Astar said, calling them to attention as they turned down the hall to the queen’s study. “I know we’ve all had a substantial amount of Jak’s mjed, but—”
“And your Branlian whiskey before that,” Rhy put in.
“As if your shapeshifter metabolism is even touched by it,” Lena muttered at him.
“Feeling tipsy, love? Perhaps we should go somewhere quiet to lie down,” he murmured suggestively, and she giggled.
“I know we wanted them to make up and start talking to each other again,” Gen said to no one in particular, “but isn’t this billing and cooing a league or two beyond that?”
“What I’m saying is,” Astar added authority and volume to his voice as Rhy and Lena protested and the others weighed with their opinions, “we all need to focus and take this situation seriously.” They’d reached the study and its closed doors—and Astar signaled the footman to wait before announcing them. “Despite close relationships to the people who are no doubt inside this room, this is an official audience before the High Queen of the Thirteen Kingdoms.”
“We’re not children,” Rhy grumbled.
“Then don’t act like children,” Astar retorted. “This is a serious situation.”
They all stared at him with wide eyes. Then Jak snickered, and they all broke into laughter, even Stella.
His sister patted his arm. “Don’t worry. They’re just nervous. Once the doors are open, they’ll behave.”
He could only hope so.
~ 2 ~
The footman opened the doors and announced their arrival, Astar leading the way, as he did so well. Much as Zeph liked to tease him about being too responsible, excessively noble, and honorable to a fault, he wore the mantle of heir to the high throne well. Especially considering how much the responsibility weighed on him ever since he was a boy.
Zeph sipped her sparkling wine, using the excuse to slow her steps so she fell to the back of the group. Nobody in this room wanted to see her, regardless of the terms of the summons. No one expected much of her. She didn’t have to be a mind reader to figure that out. Zeph was the person you called when you wanted to have fun, not to solve a secret and urgent emergency.
Her campaign to seduce Astar hadn’t helped endear her to the powers-that-be either. They all thought it was important to marry Astar off to some prim mossback princess so they could make royal babies and live inside walls, upholding laws and so forth. None of them cared about Astar being happy, not like Zeph did. All she wanted was for him to live a little before they locked the door on the cage.
Well, and she wanted him in her bed for a few selfish reasons, too.
Naturally, his keepers didn’t want her to succeed. Goddesses forbid their golden prince get the idea that there was more to life