Warrior King New Worlds (Crystal Kingdom #6) - Milly Taiden Page 0,23

plenty of chances to try to escape, yet they did not use force of any kind. They had a plan to tour our home to find an escape route. I say you should release them.” She eyed her brother. He knew she had seen something she wasn’t saying. Nonetheless, he growled at her opinion.

“No,” she said, “I have changed my mind.” Her smile to him turned devious. Oh, yes. She knew something good. “Perhaps they should stay for surveillance tonight.” What was going through her mind? Ferra might have been young, but she thought as an adult.

“So be it. Ferrus, what of this Kappy army? I cannot believe a word of it.” A partial grin appeared on the old man’s face, more than he’d seen in centuries.

“I agree, Father. A Kappy army is nothing to worry about. But somebody did set the forest on fire. The dark-magic smoke filling the sky that day was real.”

“So, you believe the Gnoleon female about the village appearing nearby because of their evacuation? Not for war.”

“I do believe that. Lilah said the same thing in so many words.”

“Lilah?” the king questioned. Dragon piss! He needed to be more careful. If he seemed too comfortable, too personable with her, his father would suspect something. He hardened his face.

“Yes, My King, the one with the ugly hair with no color. She’s the one who talks too much. Daphne is the taller, thin female. Wren is the one with darker skin.” His dragon disagreed about Lilah’s hair, but this was just a ploy to satisfy his father’s curiosity.

“The matter is settled. Set up the females’ rooms for tonight with the others.” He stood with a slight groan, waving a dismissive hand. “Let the men select who stays with each tonight. I will be in my rooms.” He shuffled to the back, slid open the wall, and closed it behind him.

Ferrus grabbed his sister’s arm and hauled her outside the throne room. She erupted into laughter. “You are in so much trouble.”

His eyes squinted. “What do you mean?”

“I saw it,” she said. “Lilah turned rock into metal. Only a female alpha can do that.”

He stumbled backward, running his hand over his head. His mother was the only other person who could manipulate elements that way. A special magic only for the most powerful of the citogen.

“Does anyone else know this?” he asked.

“All the women in the kitchen at that time.”

“Dragon balls!” He paced, worried about so many things at once. His mate, his men, his father. “Ferra, have you noticed a change in our father?”

“He gets tired easier and has less patience. He hardly comes out of his room anymore. I think he is getting tired of living.”

Fear shot through him. Losing his mother at a young age crushed him. His father's passing would push him into a dark place. His father was too young to die. He was barely a thousand.

Ferra asked, “What are you going to do concerning your mate?”

“I cannot live without her,” he answered.

“She cannot live with you. I fear for her. I think Father saw you when she entered the room with you. You did not take your eyes off her the entire time.”

He knew he had given her away. His hands fisted into balls. His growl deepened. His animal would not let her be hurt by anyone, including the King.

He blew out a breath. “My mate needs food. I will figure it out later.” Thoughts swirling in his head and fear in his heart, he started up the slope to the mountaintop and the food preparation area. The midday meal had been over for a while now. His men were probably wondering where he was. But there was no war coming, so they could sit on their asses as far as he was concerned at the moment.

When he reached the kitchen, he had to wait for his eyes to adjust to the brightness. The women were quite startled by his appearance. Many scrambled to put their coveralls on. Others dropped what they were doing and bowed with the usual “My Prince.”

“I need the four visitors in the holding cell to have food and drink.” He breathed in the fresh air. He’d forgotten how nice it was to be outside.

Instead of taking the tunnel that passed the throne room, he took the way the men used when coming up to eat. He needed time to think.

Could he abandon everything he knew and loved to stay with his mate away from the mountain? Or