* * *
Faith, The Citadel
Trinity nodded to me and said two words, “Got him.”
Just like that, I could breathe again. Thor was safe. The news reporters, or whatever they were called here, were practically piled on top of each other around the perimeter of the citadel’s deadly border. A nice feature to ensure they didn’t get too close. Eagerness was one thing, hounding another.
Trinity had been busy while I’d been getting ready. They’d been broadcasting my imminent appearance for the better part of an hour. Everyone on Alera who didn’t live in a cave knew the next princess was about to be introduced to the people. Live. At any moment.
Time for part two of my plan.
The gown I wore was blood red, a deep, dark color that I hoped would convey my message to Lord Wyse or anyone else who threatened my family. I was royal. Strong. And no longer a scared little girl, but a woman full of her own power. The material did not shimmer like satin as I’d remembered seeing Trinity’s do, but absorbed light like velvet. The top half of the gown was sheer, a network of blood-red Aleran flowers covering the juicy bits, trailing over my bare shoulders and back, down my arms like living, breathing fire. And the skirt did not balloon into a mess three or four times wider than my body, but hung like a dagger, straight and strong and fearless.
This wasn’t a modest garment. No. I had to go as I planned to proceed. Trinity might be the heir apparent, but no one should fuck with the runner up.
My hair was pulled away from my face, matching Aleran flower pins sparkling in the mass of curls that fell down my back. I’d told Trinity to go bold with the makeup as well, and my lips were bright red, my eyes dark and dramatic, lined and piled with more layers of eyeshadow than I’d ever worn in my life.
Ridiculous, yes, to fawn over my looks when Alera should respect me for my brain and the blood that flowed through my veins. But it was a publicity stunt. Not for the Aleran people, but for Lord Fucking Wyse and any of the others who messed with my family.
I stood looking in the small compact mirror Trinity had handed me and looked at an alien staring back. A beautiful, fierce, frightening bitch who looked like she’d be just as happy to kill me as invite me over for tea.
Good. Trinity was blonde and beautiful and perfect. I didn’t need to sell that model. I needed to scare our enemies into making stupid mistakes.
Where was Destiny when I needed her? She was dramatic for all three of us. She could pull this off without even trying. This was so not my department, but for Thor? For him, I’d do anything.
“You ready?” Trinity asked, taking the compact and tucking it away into some hidden pocket of her dress. She looked fabulous as well, but her gown was light and sparkling, golden and feminine and soft. Her hair fell in soft waves around her face, making her look young and innocent. Angelic. Fragile. Delicate.
As if. But that, too, was part of our plan. The planet at large had only seen her once in person. Heard her speak once when she originally introduced herself. And she’d been perfect. At the royal reception, where a select group celebrated with her, she’d again been perfect. Beautiful and diplomatic and well-spoken. Everything a princess should be.
Time to put a little rattle into the masses and shake things up. We might be sisters, but we weren’t clones. And yeah, Destiny and I were twins, but wait until they got a load of her. Inwardly, I laughed.
Prior to our arrival on Alera, there had been battles for control of areas outside the capital city. Leo had told us of raids and skirmishes for control of outposts and towns. Not full-out war. Not yet. Luckily, our arrival seemed to have stopped all that as everyone reassessed their positions. Their standing. There were new power players in town, and not just our mom, but the three of us. And as long as we weren’t afraid to play, we were pretty much guaranteed to win. We had the spires to prove it. The blood in our veins, too. Time to start acting like it.
“Ready.”
“You look like a vampire goddess with blood flowers growing out of your skin.”
Only Trinity could make me laugh at a time like this. “Sounds perfect.”
“Yep.” She grinned. “Leo’s got Thor. He’s safe and he’s watching.”
“Him and everyone else on the planet,” I murmured, taking a deep breath.
“That is what you wanted, resident badass.”
She was right. No second thoughts. Not now. “Let’s do this.”
A quick hug and we walked out of the building, side by side, to face the cameras.
4
Thor, The Royal Palace
The worst part about being knocked unconscious by some kind of pointed… dart by two males I considered friends wasn’t the fact that they’d been ordered to restrain me. Naked. To Faith’s bed. That, I found bittersweet, for I could still smell her in the sheets and her scent was driving me half mad. And that was the worst part. My cock was rock hard as I stared at the large screen on the wall, Faith a vision in red. She looked more beautiful and fiercer than I’d ever seen her. She looked like a queen, and goddess help me if seeing her glowing with power and intent didn’t make my cock harder than it had ever been.
She was mine, that magnificent female. My mate. While the royal consort who was with me as attendant—babysitter more like it—had put a towel over my waist as a ridiculous attempt to protect my modesty, it was tented so much that it looked like a family of zebcats could set up a den beneath. I looked like a fool. Obscene. And the restraints around my wrists did not improve my mood. My mate was out there, facing the entire planet alone. I couldn’t be with her, not anymore, but I could protect her from the shadows, watch over her and make sure she was safe.
Leo and Nix robbed me of that right. Left me buck naked and tied up… and without my mate. We’d fucked as I’d been restrained before and that had been hot. But this? Torturous and miserable.