hornbill herd was. Dragon balls! Did they always sound like that? The females moving from the prep room to the eatery had stopped. He hurried along the aisle, shielding his eyes, to the darker tunnel the males emerged from and followed them into the room.
Searching the space, he saw her on the far side with one of the elders beside her. Dragon dung! The fire in her eyes set him ablaze. She was so sexy with the red tint on her cheeks. He sat at his place at one of the many square tables and tried not to stare. But his eyes kept migrating to her beauty.
He wanted to see her again without the cover-up. But that would have to wait until tonight. No fae would lay his eyes or hands on her and live.
When he peeked up at her again, she was staring at him. He couldn’t move his eyes from hers. When the corners of her mouth turned up, his heart flipped in his chest. Was that normal? He’d been experiencing such strange things since she walked in. Could she have been a witch and put a spell on him?
His mate—what was her name? Lilah?—lifted a water jug and walked around the room toward him. Was she coming to see him? His dragon wanted out to taste her, but despite being in the eating room, there would be no eating of their mate right now. Though the thought made his dick hard. Thank the Mother of the Mountain, they were seated at a table.
She floated to his side and held up the jug. He lifted his cup and turned in his chair, so they faced away from his men. This would be an excellent time to see if she had dark magic clinging to her.
He narrowed his eyes and spoke first. “I saw you earlier.” He didn’t see any shadows around her hands or head.
She poured water into his cup. “I am not supposed to talk with men, right?”
“I disagree with that law. How are we to get things done if I cannot tell you what I want.” Her brow raised and lips puckered. How he wanted to kiss them.
“What you want?” she whispered. “Of course.” She bowed. “I am your humble servant, master.” Her actions surprised him. He didn’t think she knew he was the prince. He did not want her to know yet. He wanted her real reaction to him, not his place in the hierarchy.
He replied. “I am just a humble warrior here among the males.” He flashed her his best smile. Her eyes dropped to his mouth, and she licked her lips. He barely suppressed the groan that escaped his throat—Goddess, how he wanted to touch her.
“Since you are with the females, do you plan on staying? Apparently, the king isn’t worried about you leaving.”
She snorted. “This place is a damn maze. The king knows we couldn’t get out if we tried.”
“That was the plan when our home here was created.”
Her brows raised again. “To ensnare women?”
He frowned. “No, to keep the enemy out or intruders from getting away.” He glanced at the men at his table who had their heads down eating, unlike others in the room who talked and laughed. “Perhaps later, we can meet and”—strip our clothes off and have sex until we can’t see straight—“exchange information about our different cultures.”
He knew what he was asking was against the established rules, but he couldn’t help it. Lilah’s eyes narrowed at him. “Why are you being so nice to me? Your king was a chauvinistic asshat to us.”
Part of her last sentence didn’t make sense to him. He had never heard the words chauvinistic asshat, but they did not sound praising coming from her.
“The king is set in his ways. Many of us think differently.”
“Does the king know that? Y’all might get your heads chopped off.”
Her nonchalance about such a gruesome act had him taken aback. There had been those in the past who had done something horrific and were punished as so. Was her culture so cruel that such things were commonplace? No wonder she was so strong in her words and actions. She was a survivor. His regard for her rose.
A disturbance at the back of the room drew his attention. It seemed Silvo was causing problems again. If the man hadn’t been such a good warrior, he would have sent Silvo to the town to work security for someone.
“Who is that?” she asked. “I don’t like him by his