Page 230 of The Fallen Fae King

I hold my breath.

“After that, we’ll rescue my twin?” He demands.

Oh, by the holy fae…

“Didn’t I say that?” I hedge.

“Not in so many words.”

To my relief, a sudden meow from behind Lanlin breaks the tension.

“Five! Come to your da.” I duck around Lanlin, avoiding his intense gaze.

Rescued by my cat.

I’d asked Lanlin to summon my cat to meet me here, but cats often don’t reply when you summon them with treats. They are more regal than queens.

“Hey, Five.” I crouch down in front of my cat, and she butts her head against my knee. “I’m escaping to my kingdom. Remember I used to tell you about it, when I was locked up in the dungeon with you…? Well, I know that this is your home but…I still want to offer for you to come with me. It’ll be dangerous. I don’t know what monsters and battles we’ll face when we travel through that portal but⁠—”

I let out a yelp, when Five launches herself at me, landing on my shoulder. She latches herself in place with her sharp claws. She wraps her tail around my neck, and her heavy weight settles around my neck and shoulders.

“It looks like she has made her decision.” Lanlin grabs my arm and pulls me back to my feet. I reach my shadows up, wrapping them around Five to hold her more firmly onto my shoulder. “Now, I wish for an answer about Laz.”

I pet Five’s head. “We’ll work out what to do about your brother when we arrive in my kingdom.”

Lanlin tilts his head, as I stroke Five. “Aurelius offered for me to bite him in the dungeon. He may not have accepted it yet, but he wishes to be claimed. He bared his neck.”

I chuckle. “I’m jealous. So, the arrogant bastard would have allowed you to bond him. Why didn’t you?”

I study Lanlin, curious. I would have thought that the possessive vampire would have taken the first opportunity to sink his fangs into Aurelius’ throat and mark him as his.

Lanlin glares at me, affronted. “My fangs are loyal only to your throat, Blood Lover. They are yours.”

I open and then shut my mouth.

The tips of my ears redden. “Aye, they are. But you have my permission to bite Aurelius. Bond him. Kidnap his arse.”

Lanlin scrutinizes me, before humming in thought. “As you wish. Where did Freya take our dragon?”

I smirk. “She convinced him to take a romantic stroll outside the palace in the olive groves. She told him that wild wolves needed to feel free.”

“He believed that…?”

“He’d fall for anything that his Omega tells him.”

Lanlin’s eyes light with wonder. “Freya planned this.”

“Of course she did. What, did you think that I schemed all of this myself? Freya is the Queen on this board. She’s the most powerful player. Aurelius keeps thinking that she’s a pawn because he’s an idiot. It is also why he’s going to lose this game.”

“How will she know when to bring him back?”

I wrench my chin out of Lanlin’s grip and point at my snowflake mark. “It’s not only good for kinky fun. It’s also perfect for sending secret signals in an uprising. I have already sent the signal. She is bringing him back here.”

When Lanlin grabs me by the arm and starts to drag me across the garden, I startle. “What are you doing?”

“Foolish fae. You have fought Relius, right? He’s stubborn. You argue with him as you argue with the desert. He won’t simply walk through a portal, and if you think that he is the same as me and will sacrifice himself for Freya, then you don’t understand him as well as I do.”

“I see that look. Who’s dying?”