Lunatics vengeance book.., p.4
Lunatics (Vengeance Book 2), page 4
No. If I was back, I would be handling this the way I saw fit.
I knew the moment everyone realized my plans because the room stilled. I felt my guardsmen expand out in a protective barrier along the upper step of the throne. Only Rhodes moved to stand near my seat. I offered him a short nod before sitting myself down. I tried to not smile at the sight greeting me.
The room was silent. I didn’t cross my legs or arms, but sat with rapt focus on the crowd. I could feel hundreds of eyes on me. I could feel the tension in the room as Silas approached the throne and happily took the secondary lower seat. It elicited a reaction from the crowd of surprise. Okay, now my inner bitch really did want to grin. What had they expected? For him to fight for the seat?
I didn’t rush to say anything to the growing crowd. Instead, I waited until the heavy dark doors were closed before I spoke. My eyes trailed along each group with interest.
The shifters were well represented and stood center to the throne. The mythical and naturalistic elements were evenly split down the middle. They wore thick, dark blue garments, similar to those around them, but were accented by the gold lining of their cloaks. Their two representative leaders stood with eyes focused intently on the throne.
Adyen’s father, whose name I didn’t know, stood larger than Rhodes’s father. Both of them looked similar to their sons, except for a few distinct differences. Rhodes spoke quietly in my ear, acting as the support and knowledge I lacked.
“That is Raphael, Mythical Shifter Representative and Adyen’s father. I will introduce you to his family later,” he whispered quietly. I could see the similarities shared with Adyen. However, Raphael had a far more tanned face that seemed wrinkled with age and eyes that were darker than his sons.
“That is Alexander, Naturalistic Shifter Representative, and my...” he sighed, “father.”
I could feel the tension radiating from him and could only assume that his feelings toward his father were lukewarm at best.
“Over to your left…”
My eyes barely moved to the large crowd of navy robes that were lined in crimson. They were led by two individuals at the front of the group. Men, of course, because apparently, equality had yet to reach this damn archaic kingdom. Shit was about to change. You knew you were in a dangerous place when humans did equality better than you.
“... that is Henry, Demonic Representative, and his son Palo,” Rhodes explained softly. “Taylor’s father and brother.”
I could see the family resemblance, but it was far less than the shifters. Henry seemed like a barrel-chested version of Taylor with dark auburn hair and black eyes. Palo, on the other hand, had Taylor’s trademark red hair with his father’s black eyes. I wondered briefly if Taylor’s mother had green eyes. I couldn’t afford to search the crowd, but my instinct told me she would be looking back at me. I wondered briefly if she was half demon as well or a fae that left the dark or light kingdom. Lineage in the Horde wasn’t well recorded for obvious reasons.
As the dark king once said to my parents, “Fae don’t like to be reminded of their transgressions.” Apparently, that was what my kingdom was. A bunch of bastard children Mario didn’t want to be reminded of.
Fuck him. I could feel my rage bubbling forth like an angry tsunami. I would show him. I stilled my body and realized how frightfully possessive I had become of this kingdom and its people already.
“Finally, all the way to your right,” he sighed. “We have the mages.”
“Neo and Athens’s father,” I murmured.
He nodded as my eyes focused on a man who already made me unnaturally angry. Well, that's not true. I was always fucking angry. However, this guy served as the cherry on top for the disaster sundae that the past 48 hours had been.
He looked similar to both of my twins, but had a harsh sneer to his face that made him seem more shallow and dark. His eyes were narrowed on his sons and a cruel smirk was on his lips. It was clear he had a fucking problem. My problem right now was how he was looking at my two extremely tense guards. My guards.
“His name is Colliard,” Rhodes explained softly. “Mage Representative.”
I placed a hand gently on his and stood. My cloak fell around me and Silas offered me a subtle nod. I hoped he would understand what I said next. It was clear he hadn’t wanted to rule and had let some dark tension form. The leadership of this kingdom seemed uneasy and uncomfortable here. I would bet the change that was occurring made them even more uncomfortable. Maybe even scared, at least for the few of them that had been benefitting from the chaos.
“For those who don’t know me,” I spoke clear and sharp. “My name is Gray. Heir of the Horde and daughter to the late rulers of this land.”
Silence followed.
“Why have you decided to come back now?” Colliard’s voice rang out eventually. His eyes moved toward Silas. “We were perfectly fine without you.”
I chuckled at that, causing many to flinch. Clearly, my laugh had sounded harsh and maybe slightly scary. Good to know.
“If I have not informed you of my purpose in returning now, rather than before, Colliard... there is a reason.”
Colliard flinched at that. His attention was now on the marble floor instead of Silas or my twins. Good. I promised the Gods that if I found out, at any point, that he had used my brother… there would be no mercy. I would even ask Neo if he wanted the pleasure of killing him. After all, it was clear the man had caused him pain.
“Excuse him, your majesty,” a smoky voice echoed from the demonic representatives. Palo stepped forward, “We welcome you back. Not all of our kingdom’s members are skilled in normal interaction.”
A chuckle sounded throughout the demonic gathering. I offered a slight nod to Palo. I tried to not let my amusement show through at his obvious jab.
“If we can aid your transition in any way, please let us know,” Alexander offered. His hair was short and trim, unlike Rhodes. Those gold eyes were very familiar though. They reminded me of the way Rhodes’s eyes often shifted.
“You can aid me in one way,” I spoke softly, but with directness.
“Of course,” he bowed.
With a small smile ,I spoke. My words were sharp and delivered with a cruel note.
“You can start with explaining what the hell has happened to this kingdom?”
Chapter 5
Rhodes
My lips twitched at her direct and sharp question. It suffocated the room with unease and made my father shrink. I enjoyed that far more than I should have. His eyes kept finding mine. I offered him the blankest look I could manage. Bastard didn’t deserve my politeness.
“Your majesty?” Raphael asked in concern.
Gray’s hair swung against her back in a dark, thick wave that sparkled with silver. She stood tall and confident. Her confidence had my cock hardening against my leather pants. It was common in shifter communities to have women serve as alphas. In fact, the only reason my father and Adyen’s father were leaders had to do with the archaic atmosphere within the social circle of royalty, not our pack. Within our groups, most of the shifter groups were led by women. Her ability to command this room was doing very little to curb my desire for Gray. I tried to ignore the consideration that there were probably other shifter males who felt similar right now.
“I would like for someone to explain to me how within less than two decades, our kingdom has socially and culturally fallen behind. Despite my brother’s self-proclaimed dislike of ruling and my ability to place blame on him, I know for a fact that it is not completely his fault.”
The room fell silent as she continued.
“Two decades and positive growth within the economy should have led to growth within social and cultural fields, as well as technology. Instead, I have seen medieval carriages and archaic social expectations.”
I was happily surprised by her extensive knowledge of the state of affairs. While she had not been present within the kingdom, it was clear she had been paying attention to an extent.
She turned and continued, “I wish I could say it had been put toward the military, which could be easily adjusted for, but I don’t think that has been the case either. That leads me to wonder, who our economic growth has been benefiting.”
Silas spoke then, “Economic responsibilities are mainly handled by the four representatives.”
I wanted to hate Silas. He had thrown her into this mess and took absolutely zero responsibility for this kingdom. He didn’t even have pride enough to argue for his reputation. Instead, he would just let her fix his mess. At least he was informative. There was no ill will or insult on his end. He just wanted the burden gone.
Gray’s eyes narrowed on the representatives. I found myself moving toward her quickly. With a soft whisper, I spoke against her ear, “I would suggest instigating an investigation on the specifics of budgetary activities, instead of calling anyone out right now. They may run.”
Her eyes flashed silver, but she offered a nod. She spoke then, “I will leave you with this thought, I plan on fully investigating this problem and correcting any… errors, whether it be on activity or character.”
I could tell Gray was making sharp eye contact with every representative. It must have been relatively intimidating because Colliard made an uncomfortable noise.
I spoke then, my voice commanding and loud, “Your majesty will meet with the representatives for dinner tonight. Look to them for any specific changes.”
With that, Adyen commanded separation of the crowd. His voice was sharp and within the native tongue. Luckily, it was a language only used for military reference and positioning nowadays. There had been far too many crossover elements with the earth realm and ours to not adapt to English. I figured Gray was far more comfortable in English as well.
I could hear whispers and words of concern as my hand pressed onto Gray’s leather covered back. She offered me a softer look that couldn’t be seen by the crowd. I shielded her quickly as we stepped through the separated shifters and were followed out by the rest of our guard. I could tell she was tired. Her body was less tense than before.
“How are you, kitten?” I murmured against her ear.
The hallway was filled with servants and soldiers. They kept their eyes either ahead or to the ground. Good. I looked down at Gray and had a moment of actual concern.
I often forgot how small she was. A lot of it was due to her personality, her confidence, and cockiness, but also because of her pure fae magic. The woman was deadly. At this moment though, with the softness of her body against mine, I remembered. How small she was. How young she was. How much responsibility she had on those tiny shoulders. I wanted to wrap myself around her in bed and force her to relax. To take the day off. To forget about her problems. To protect her. It was easy to protect her when she was wrapped up in my arms.
Gray’s soft lips tilted down just a millimeter, “Exhausted.”
Despite her not feeling well, I appreciated how frank and honest she had become with us.
“Today will be the most difficult,” I murmured while guiding her up a set of large stairs. “Just make it through today. I promise it will get better.”
A coy smile appeared on her lips, removing the heavy weight over our conversation.
“Are you offering me a happy ending, Rhodes?”
Despite my attempt to keep professional in sight of everyone, I laughed. She had taken me off guard and I didn’t feel bad in the least. Gray’s returning smile was absolutely stunning. I saw a few of the building guards take note of it.
“You can’t do that in public,” Adyen grumbled.
His eyes were narrowed on the set of men I had specifically noticed. At the massive guard’s appearance though, they averted their eyes.
“Make Rhodes laugh?” She grinned again while looking between the two of us.
Somehow the problem of other men seemed not as worrisome with her stuck between the two of us. I could hear the other three keeping pace behind us in a protective formation.
“Something like that,” he grumbled again.
I shot him a smile that only increased his scowl. We were past the group of guardsmen though so he seemed to relax.
Suddenly, Gray was striding down the hall toward a very familiar pair of pale green eyes and long blonde hair. The two women met in an instant clash of hugs and greetings that caused most of the servants to gasp in surprise. I shook my head realizing who exactly had been feeding Gray information all these years. Typical.
I pulled up next to Gray as those eyes turned onto me.
“Rhodes!” She exclaimed and pulled me into a tight hug.
“Mom,” I greeted softly.
Chapter 6
Gray
“Now, that is unexpected,” I mumbled while looking at Clara and then back at Rhodes.
Both of them were offering me the same damn amused smile. How the hell had I not seen this before? Of course, maybe that was why I had been so comfortable around him. I had been working with his mother since my emancipation.
Initially, I had no contact with the Horde lands. Then around my 17th birthday, Clara had sought me out and explained she would provide me with updates in case I ever wished to return. I denied my identity to her for nearly two years, assuming she would give up or believe she was wrong. Instead, she continued to feed me details about the state of the Horde lands. However, she had never mentioned how truly medieval they were. Nor that her son was one of my guardsmen.
“Mom,” Rhodes chided. “We should move to her quarters. There are a lot of people out here.”
Clara looked at me with a silly smile, “I will see you later, your majesty.”
She was gone then. Rhodes led me toward a massive set of silver doors before I could even catch my breath. A whirlwind of emotions rushed through me.
Exhaustion from this day. Relief the hardest part was over. Excitement from seeing Clara. Disappointment for not noticing the familial connection. I was usually very observant. The feelings were overwhelming and exhausting.
Before I had a chance to explore my new luxurious room, the doors closed on all five of my guardsmen and I. Silence and relief flashed across each of their faces. Alone. The six of us were finally alone again.
“I vote to be anti-social after today,” Athens started with a small grin.
Neo grinned, yet his body was still tense, “Yeah, that was a lot of people. Way more than who usually show up for Silas.”
I let out a tired groan and stalked over to the bed, which caused all the men to chuckle. Adyen sunk down next to me on the edge of the soft material before throwing his arm around my shoulder casually. I didn’t flinch.
“Don’t worry, Gray. It really will get better,” Adyen assured with a charming smile. “If not, I can always just shift and burn away your problems.”
I smiled at him while leaning into his shoulder, “Yeah? Would you burn down this entire kingdom for me?”
“Absolutely,” he admitted softly, lifting a finger to raise my chin. “Anything for you, lil brawler.”
“Reminds me,” I sighed dramatically, “I haven’t punched anyone in a while.”
“She’s looking for volunteers,” Neo explained from the massive living room arrangement to my left. The man was a Gray translator in training.
“You wanna fight, baby girl?” Taylor whispered from behind my right shoulder. Surprised and having been focused on Neo, I let out an exceptionally girly scream.
Silence followed.
Then, all of those assholes broke into deep, loud laughter. Bastards.
I turned swiftly into Taylor and tackled him full force, catching him off guard and stopping his laughter. Rhodes shook his head in passing as he moved toward Neo.
“Come on, baby. You’ve got him!” Athens exclaimed from the foot of my bed.
I didn’t have him.
I currently had his one arm. I was pulling on it in a desperate attempt to roll us, while he laughed and held himself over me. Without powers, our physical size made a huge difference.
“Taylor,” I growled. “Let me up.”
He grinned as those emerald eyes sparkled with fire, “Work for your freedom, Gray.”
I briefly consider wiggling my way out of this or using my decent (read: average) seduction skills to distract him. Then I stopped struggling because I thought of something so much better.
“Adyen! Help!” I exclaimed with amusement.
“Ohhhh,” Athens chuckled, laughing so hard that he had tears streaming from his eyes.
I even heard Neo laughing with Rhodes.
“Gray,” Taylor growled, bringing his lips close to mine.
“Should have let me up,” I chided with a giggle as my protective dragon appeared behind Taylor. In one swift movement, the lethal demon was extracted from my body and tossed to the ground.
I grinned, taking aim and landing a soft punch to his side. You know, as a reminder of what a badass I am. His eyes lit up with flames of vengeance and retribution.
“Lil brawler,” Adyen warned at my cheap shot.
I barked out a laugh before jumping into Adyen’s arms and away from a very aggressive Taylor. My hands clasped over his shoulders as I dangled like a monkey off his massive build.
“Hand her over,” Taylor demanded. I could see amusement dancing on his lips, but it wasn’t enough to trust. I scrambled to Adyen’s back to further avoid the demon.
“Keep me safe from the demon,” I cooed softly, causing Adyen to chuckle.
“Don’t use that voice, Gray. It’s not fair to either party, or us observers,” Rhodes called out over the paper he had picked up. I blushed, caught in my distraction attempt.
“Make me,” I teased, without looking back at him. I did hear Athens’s snicker, following his retreat towards the living room area.
My eyes were still on Taylor and my body molded to Adyen, who took a firm step back to distance us. Both of them had distractingly handsome smirks on their face. I realized this had little to do with me and was now a competition between them. Males. Freaking males. Why does everything turn competitive?
