NIKOLAIThere was silence in the royal diner banquet for what felt like the longest time before the sound of a chair scraping across the floor broke the spell.My heart thudded oddly in my chest and I was aware of the way Olivia’s hands were splayed across my chest, the heady feeling of the wine I’d had earlier sloshing around in my head so that the world around me blurred slightly at the edges.I saw Igor rise from the table, looking dapper in his oil-black silk suit and crew-cut blonde hair as he jogged over to the empty chair and pulled it out for the woman, who whispered her thanks.Why hadn't I thought about that? Damned Igor with his annoyingly good charisma. I shifted uneasily, taking Olivia’s hands away from my chest as murmurs of dissent rose on the table.She hadn't stopped making her come -on’s at me, batting her ginger-colored eyelids and bumping my thigh with her toes under the table as I fought to hold back my grimace.”Who do we have the pleasure of meeting Nikolai? Wou
RAYA BANKSMy heart thudded loudly as blood rushed to my ears, making me sag against the hard chest of the sandy-haired man who had come up to stand behind me.“Careful Raya,” He whispered, all trace of his usually playful personality gone as his sea-green eyes bored into mine, before I gasped again, jerking my hand away from his grasp and stumbling toward the stone towers of the maiden chambers.Nothing, I was nothing to him? What about last night? The forehead kisses he had given me when he thought I’d been sleeping, and the way he looked at me like he couldn't wait to have every inch of me writhing under his touch.“Shit!” I heard the Prince’s low cursing before the sound of feet rushing to meet me had me increasing my pace. I must not have been walking fast enough, because the feel of a hand pressing into my shoulder made me turn to face him, taking in his concerned face and the look of shame in his eyes before I let my tongue loose.“Don’t fucking touch me!...Your Highness, I thi
RAYA BANKSThe low humming of the air conditioning wormed past the static that had filled my ears before I became aware of the hands on me.“W-what did you just say?” I managed to choke past the lump that had grown in my throat, struggling to hold down the rush of nausea that had risen like bile in my throat as the world tilted around me again.“Hold on to her!” Igor’s voice sounded from somewhere above me and I managed to crack an eye open to see Anya’s pale face before the prince’s distinct baritone made a rush of warmth roll up my neck.“What the hell is going on here?” Nikolai’s angry bark sent shivers of trepidation through my back and I inhaled a frantic breath as his large hands spanned my waist, before crawling up my back and pushing the weight of my body up to cradle his chest.I tried to imagine how we would look to the maidens who were letting out small gasps as my body swayed from his movements, to see us through their beady eyes.The dark prince with his midnight-black ha
ALPHA TOPHI balled the half-shifted claw of my hand in a tight fist and slammed it solidly into the assassin’s staunch face and watched his head snapback, his spine bending at an unnaturally crooked angle.”YOU'RE JUST THINKING TO TELL ME THAT YOU SON OF A FUCKING BITCH?” I bellowed into the man’s face, standing over his kneeled form and feeling the red thongs of anger worm into my eyes as I glared down at him.Nikolai had been here in the palace after all. And riding off in the fucking sunset with my mate! It was beneath him. Cruel.The way he had been as a child, always snatching my toys and thwarting the governess’s attention from me to himself, his gray eyes dancing with mischief.I had never been the favorite son, I had no delusions about that. Not with my father, or with my mother who was lying cold on the ground.Never been the most beautiful either, with eyes too wide apart on my head and a nose too broad for my face. It made me look brutish, like an ogre prince, whereas my b
NIKOLAIThe cool evening air seeped into my joints as I paced outside, the chatter that had been in my teeth earlier returning in full force as I looked up to see that a dark cloud had come over the silvery orb of the moon.Good. It would provide us with much-needed cover if we were going to go running up the Burning City walls like lizards out for blood.“Your Highness, scout troops are on standby, awaiting your orders.” A muscled guard announced behind me and I whirled to face him, surprised to find he was a bit taller than me, and straightening my spine instinctively.I nodded, watching him scamper to the front lines where more scouts had been gathered, all dressed in the same black linen garb that I was. “What are you up to Tophas?” I murmured, trying to picture my brother’s face. I had always been able to take a quick peek into his head by looking at his face. He was one of those men who wore their hearts on their sleeves until our mother’s death caused said heart to be ripped o
ALPHA TOPHThe dungeon boy’s words fizzed like static in my brain before I felt my heart slam solidly against the iron of my ribs.“What did you just say?” I murmured, feeling the waft of something cold brush over the shell of my ear as the ginger-haired guard trembled before me, falling on his knees and face and stretching out his hands on the bright red carpet that snaked through the far double doors to the throne dias. “W-we found him face down in a pool of his own vomit your highness, he-he seemed to have choked on it, and the nursemaids are tending to the body in the dungeon as we speak.” He wailed and I shot out of my throne like a bat out of Hades, my red robe slapping firmly on my shoulders as it dragged on by my sides in sync with the thud of my feet hitting the floor.“You were supposed to be watching him,” I ground through clenched teeth, balling the lapel of the shaking boy’s shirt in my fiat and lifting him from his feet as he shook his head frantically, wide-eyed with f
RAYA BANKSI watched the straight line of the man’s back as he sat on the horse, barking orders at the soldier scouts gathered around him as the linen of his dark garb caught dramatically in the wind.”Fall in line miss...please,” The iron-faced man the prince had put in charge of me whispered, his silvery blue eyes glowing as he loomed over me, staring down his nose at where I was standing and adding the last part when I puffed my chest with an offended huff.I scooted away from the henchman, having no doubts in my mind that Bjorn would have cut me down where I stood. He had the physique of mid-century executioners who wielded the sword as though it was a bread knife.I watched Nikolai’s gray eyes fit restlessly back to me once more, the intensity in his gaze making it so that it was difficult for me to breathe. Like my goddamned chest was expanding.I wondered if it was how Olivia felt when she was getting those implants that seemed to have been slapped onto her chest, before the ma
ALPHA TOPH“Y-your majesty, we deeply... apologize for the inconvenience, we will find the prisoner immediately,” The chief guard murmured, coming to stretch himself out before me as I looked down lazily at him with nothing short of disgust staining my good looks. I let my eyes rest on the whale of a man, shaking my head slowly as I pushed the ringed opals back into the slender shafts of my fingers and squatted to scrape the thick drops of blood from the cool cement of the floor, feeling the scissor of my tongue shoot out to taste the metallic goo.Fresh. My assumptions must have been correct, Bryan Banks had been smarter than I gave him credit for, latching on to the high ceiling of the dungeon and scurrying over our heads while we sauntered past, oblivious.Brilliant. He had exceeded my expectations. I underestimated the drunk, the way I had underestimated his daughter and my brother. It was a mistake I would not be making again.“Draco,” I growled, stretching to my full height as