“Yes, please.”
“There’s a fruit basket over there.” The cook motioned with her head, since her hands were full. “Anything else?”
“Nope, that’s it. Thank you.” Phuong went over and grabbed an apple out of the basket before leaving the kitchen.
She walked around the castle solo. She came to a door that she’d never seen before. It was very tall and had iron bars on it.
She opened the door and found herself in a room full of books, a library. The books were antiquated, of course, but she still liked the smell.
Did they have any books that would tell about her abilities? The removal of her implant had sparked more questions than ever. She didn’t know herself.
Even though Gahariet and Olivier made her feel welcome in their castle, she wished that she knew who she was. And Xuan would need to know, too, if she could just find him.
She hoped that he was safe in their den. She missed him like a fifth limb, and she knew that she wanted to see him and send word to him as soon as she could. She was beginning to fall in love with the princes, but she also wasn’t a fool. Phuong wasn’t about to tell them where her safe haven was. If they ever turned on her, she would be left without a place to flee to. And she couldn’t go herself yet, just in case they had guards that would track her.
Since she’d just been sick with the transition, she was going to go earlier than her mates would permit, but that meant figuring a way out of the castle that her mates and none of the Yore staff would notice.
She heard a clicking sound and left the library. The clicking was almost a tune, a hypnotic lullaby. Her steps were slow, going to the beat of the tune. She felt like there was a lasso around her middle, pulling her out of the castle.
“Where are you going? You’re supposed to stay in here.”
But Phuong swept past the door attendant.
“Hey! Aren’t you sick? Come back!”
Even though Phuong wanted to turn back, she couldn’t.
All of a sudden, the air around her was full with dozens of butterflies.
Pretty. She reached out her hand, mesmerized by the patterns on their wings.
“Phuong!” Gahariet shouted.
She snapped out of her butterfly and tune-induced daze. She saw one man dressed in black running away. Was he there to snatch her?
“Did you not notice that there was a team of mercenaries trying to grab you?”
“No…the music…the butterflies.” She couldn’t really understand what had happened.
“Let’s get you inside,” Gahariet said softly. Olivier was behind Gahariet. The three went back inside.
31
Lagoon
Olivier
Olivier watched Phuong slide into the water of their private lagoon. Her eyes were closed, her face showing that she was immersing herself in pure ecstasy.
He’d seen Yore like this before. He’d always wondered why something as simple as water would bliss them out. She looked like she was orgasming, pleasure taking over her body.
Stars, she was beautiful. Her dark skin was glowing slightly in the sunlight. He stood by the shore and watched his mate relax in the lagoon for a while before he felt his twin approach behind him.
“What are we going to do about Marc?” Gahariet asked his twin.
Olivier turned. “Do we have to do anything? I mean, we’re safe inside of our own grounds and castle. We should be able to protect her.”
“He has her blood. He clearly wants to use it to control her.” Gahariet was frowning.