"We don’t have any," he continued. "We’ve seen glimpses of them in the wild. But only glimpses. We estimate that there are only ten or less left on the planet."
"And you think this has something to do with the Lunaley?" Ben asked, piecing the puzzle together.
I knew the fae and harpies were fighting over that damned place for some reason, I just always assumed it was over magic, not animals.
"Of course it does," the king said, as if Ben were stupid. "What other reason is there? And those godsdamned Fae won’t leave it alone. We’re this close to wiping them off the map."
He pinched his thumb and forefinger together for emphasis. Then his keen eyes darted back over to Ben.
"Which is, of course, why you’re here. Doing business on behalf of my enemies?"
"No, Your Majesty," Cal said, stepping forward and changing the direction of the conversation. "That’s not at all why we’re here. We don’t want either of you as enemies, which is why we’re here to help you get your land back."
The king’s suspicious expression changed into that of surprise. So did mine. I thought that was exactly why we were there.
"We don’t want the chimeras to disappear," Ben said, taking over once more. "They’re beautiful and majestic creatures. We’d like to do what we can to help."
The king smiled. The warmth that touched his dark eyes surprised me. "Part lion, part eagle, part dragon—that’s what our idols are made of. There are no more dragons in existence, so if chimeras die, dragons die for good."
"Part eagle," I whispered to Speedy. "That must be how they lay eggs."
He chirped in return.
"Yeah, or the dragon part," I admitted, is if Speedy had called me out.
My not-so-internal monologue drew the king’s attention over to me once more. "You have a pet bird, I see."
I nodded and took a nervous drag on my weed. "Yes, Your Majesty. I used to have a pet sloth before the bird. But he..." I exhaled slowly and smoke gusted from my lips. "He died."
The king put a hand on his chest, covering his heart. "My sympathies. It is not easy to lose an animal you love."
"No, it certainly isn’t. It was one of the hardest things that ever happened to me—and I’ve been through quite a bit."
He smiled softly and turned back to Ben. "And what would you want in return for helping us save our chimeras? Money? A new treaty? My daughter Camilla’s hand in marriage?"
His daughter? What was she, like a baby?
At the mention of her name, a woman—not a baby, but a woman—stepped forward and curtseyed low at Ben’s feet. She had dark, shimmering hair, and even darker skin than the Sand Prince. Her eyes were dusky, exotic, and seductive, and her lips were almost ten times too plush for her face. The plum-colored attire she wore left little to the imagination—a belly shirt with short sleeves that slipped off her shoulders and taffeta harem pants that easily revealed bikini bottoms beneath.
In other words, she was fucking perfect, and I was jealous as hell. I took my deepest puff yet on the weed and ended up coughing a few times, looking like the amateur I was.
"Prince Benson," she said, her voice sultry and low, spoken in that sexy foreign accent. "It has been so many years since we last saw one another. You have aged like a fine wine."
He smiled and bowed to her in return. "And you, like a desert flower."
And me like an ex-miner about to become an ax murderer. Who the hell did she think she was, moving in on my prince? And why the hell was he flirting back? I was going to have to assert my dominance over my Storm territory somehow.
"Your Majesty," Ben began with slightly flushed cheeks, "as lovely as your daughter would be as a gift, I actually had something else in mind."
"Pray tell." He took a long drag of his weed and gestured for Ben to continue.
Yes, Ben, pray tell. As much as I’d simply love to hear about how perfect Camilla was, I’d rather hear the other thing. Whatever the hell it was.
"If we manage to help you save the chimeras, and they’re no longer on the verge of extinction, then you will allow us to leave Eristan with a single egg."
King Solomon stared hard at us all for a long while, then out of the blue, he started laughing hysterically. I glanced at Cal, wondering if the desert king had lost his mind.
"Chimeras are deadly protective of their eggs," the king said, sobering up. "It would be suicide to take one. But I’ll tell you what, if you can somehow manage to get one, then I shall allow you to have it. But you still owe me big-time for killing my soldiers and for showing up unannounced. How do you propose to deal with that?"
The guys glanced at each other, trying to silently come up with something suitable to offer the jilted king.
Eventually, Rob stepped forward and cocked his head. "How about I offer you something... invaluable in return?"
King Solomon’s brows rose, and he flashed us a pearly white smile. "Whatever might that be, little prince?"
Rob brushed his bottom lip and chuckled. "Don’t ever call me little prince."
At the subtle threat, the smile fell right off the desert king’s face, but before he could get too pissed, Rob spoke back up.
"They don’t call me the Spirit Prince for nothing. I know your wife passed suddenly a number of years ago." Rob quickly threw his hands up at King Solomon’s sudden scowl. "Just hear me out. I can locate her spirit on the astral plane, and you can finally talk to her for some much-needed closure."
Camilla gasped in the background. "Mama? Can I speak to her too?"
Rob smiled, though it looked a bit like a grimace. "You can, but it’ll cut your available time in half."
"How much time are talking about?" King Solomon asked. His features looked stoic, but if his jittering fingers were anything to go by, he was actually quite nervous.
"However long I can handle the pain," Rob said with a cocky smile. "For both of you, maybe fifteen or twenty minutes?"
The king’s eyebrows rose, and he nodded, slowly increasing in enthusiasm. "All right, littl—ah!" He chuckled and waggled his finger, catching himself before calling Rob a little prince. "Spirit Prince. Save the chimeras and let me talk to my late wife. If you do these things, it’s a deal."
"Sounds good, Your Majesty," Rob said with a small bow.
He pointed at Rob once more. "Do not make me regret this."
Rob chuckled. "We won’t, Majesty."
One of those djinn-like servants came back around with an empty gold tray, and following everyone else’s leads, I crushed the end of my half-smoked roll of weed and deposited the remainder on the platter.
Ben, Rob, and the rest of us bowed—and curtseyed—preparing to take our leave, but when we stood back up, King Solomon was staring at us intently once more.
"Oh, and Storms?" he said in a dangerous tone. "No more using magic in my kingdom, least of all to kill my people with. Next time, I won’t be so lenient."
Ben nodded and bowed his head. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Chapter 7
As far as I was concerned, the meeting had gone pretty well.
We were sort of on course for saving Timberlune, and definitely on course for saving the chimeras and securing an elusive chimera egg—which ultimately meant, we were also on track for saving our loved ones from the vicious Storm King. That was a hell of a lot better than being turned away or killed on sight.
Speedy flitted from my shoulder and swan dove straight into the sandstone at our feet. His neck broke with a cringe-worthy crunch, and soon a deliciously naked Asher was standing in his place.
"Why didn’t you reinvoke the Treaty O’ Ley?" Ash asked, covering his junk with both hands.
"I thought that was the whole point in being here?" Rob added, crossing his burly arms.
So did I, actually. Instead of vocalizing that, I concentrated on not staring at Ash’s nakedness.
"Aww!" Dan teased them with a grin. "Are you two getting along, now?"
Rob punched Dan in the arm without even looking, and
the Sea Prince broke out into a round of laughter.
Cal turned to glare at Asher, his blue eyes practically glowing with fury. "Why in the name of the gods would you turn back into a man now? Right in the middle of the fucking street? Do you want to get caught?"
Ash glared right back. "I had questions."
Ben pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in thought. "To answer said question, I just think there’s more to the Lunaley situation. Plus, I didn’t think I should barter too strongly until he was pacified; once the chimeras are safe again, then I’ll mention a fresh treaty."
"What more do you think there is?" I asked as we skipped down the palace stairs and entered the creamy sandstone streets.
"Well, there are a number of reasons for animals to migrate," Ben replied thoughtfully. "Favorable climates, ample resources—mainly food—and yes, even to find suitable breeding and nesting grounds. But... I don’t know. I guess I just need to see the Lunaley for myself before I can know for sure what’s really going on with the chimeras."
"You’ve never seen it?" I asked, surprised. "I was under the impression that the Storm King had dragged you guys along on every foreign visit in order to show you the ropes."
Dan shook his head. "Nope. It’s always been a hot zone for fighting. We were never allowed anywhere near it."
Ah, I supposed that made sense. No one could hurt the Storm King’s pawns but him.
Suddenly, Ash’s nose lifted into the air and he took a few quick sniffs. "Do you smell that?"
"Smell what?" Rob grumbled, shooting him a glare.
Ash sniffed again. "It’s like... lavender and chamomile." Then his eyes went wide. "The princess."
He quickly shifted out of his human form, taking on the shape of the jaguar again, rather than the bird.
A moment later, Camilla sashayed from the shadows of a nearby alleyway.
"Prince Benson," she cooed, curtseying leisurely. "What a pleasant surprise to find you here."
Ben smirked but bowed in return. "I’m sure there was no element of surprise about it, Princess Camilla. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"
Pleasure? I wanted to smack him upside the head with a pleasure-stick. Even though... ugh. I knew he was just being polite in order to keep relations friendly. It was his royal duty, and it was probably saving our asses over here.
Besides, I trusted him. I thought. It was her I didn’t trust.
She turned to Rob, staring uncertainly. "Can you actually help me speak to my mother?"
Rob’s brows furrowed, his plush lips pursed, and he nodded.
Fuck, he was sexy. All dark and stoic and tattooed.
She smiled and turned back to Ben. "All right, then. Follow me." Then she glanced at the rest of us. "All of you. I have something you need to see."
Well, at least I’d been invited to tag along. But so help me gods, if she thought the thing they needed to see was so much as an inch of her body, then she had another thing coming. A fiery thing. Or maybe just an inexperienced fist to the face.
We wound our way through the beautiful streets of Erishwar until the buildings abruptly stopped and the Obsidian Desert took over once more. In the distance, behind a wavering heat shimmer that distorted my vision, I was almost positive I saw an oasis—a small chunk of lush green vegetation amid a barren land. Then again, it might’ve been a mirage...
She pointed to the spot. "We’ll cross the desert and enter the oasis. Then you can see a chimera with your own eyes."
Speaking of eyes, mine widened to the size of saucers. "Are they dangerous?"
Camilla grinned and shook her head. "Only if you get in their way. They’re very Eristani in that regard."
My saucered eyes narrowed immediately. Was that a low-key threat? Like, stay out of my way, bitch, or I’m going to get dangerous?
Well, back at ya, desert flower. I am this fucking close to plucking you like the weed you are and tossing you out to wither in the sun.
"Besides," she continued, glancing over at Speedy by my side, "you have a protector. You should have nothing to worry about."
As if I wanted Ash to get between me and a fucking chimera...
Camilla led the way, followed by Ben, Cal, and Dan. Rob and Speedy waited for me to go ahead of them.
I took a deep breath and wrapped my scarf around my face, protecting my pale cave-dweller skin from the sun, and started walking.
By the time we reached the other side, I was out of breath and panting. If I ever bitched about the Blackwood heat in the dead of summer again, it’d be a miracle. The oasis was even tinier than I imagined, just a greenish pool surrounded by a ring of palm trees. There didn’t appear to be any houses or buildings of any sort, so clearly not a place for humans or harpies to dwell.
A massive shadow suddenly appeared across the surface of the pool, and I looked up just in time to be blinded by the sun. Fuck, that desert glare was bright. I blinked a few times as all sorts of colorful spots burned into my vision; then I shaded my eyes and tried again. This time, I saw a chimera circling the air above our heads, and oh my gods, was it a sight to see. When King Solomon had told us about the tri-part creature, I’d tried to imagine it but had pretty much failed. Seeing it in person was extraordinary.
With the face, mane, and massive front paws of a lion, the chimera looked lethal. In the middle, the wings and feathers gave it a touch of delicacy and grace. And at the end, the clawed dragon feet and jagged dragon tail went back to making it appear absolutely terrifying.
It landed with a thud on the other side of the pool, watching us with predatory eyes.
"Stay still," Camilla commanded us. "Let him see we are not a threat."
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I stayed as still as humanly possible, not even bothering to breathe. We all did. But the chimera still seemed to be set on edge.
"Your jaguar," she said to me, as if it had just dawned on her. "The big cat in him must see your pet as a threat. Go. Back away slowly and wait for me to come get you after the princes and I have our visit."
Fuck no, she wasn’t getting rid of me so easily.
"I don’t think so." I glanced down at Ash, and he nodded.
I’d rather her see that my "pet" was actually a man than for her to think for one second that she could steal away my Storms. But did I have what it took to slit his spotted throat, knowing it was Ash residing behind those feral eyes? I guess we were about to find out.
I reached down to the sheath at my thigh and gripped my dagger tightly.
"You think my pet is the problem?" I asked in an arrogant tone. "Fine."
I grabbed the fur on top of his head and sliced his neck, quick and deep.
"No more pet."
Nausea threatened to consume me as the sloshing sound of his blood assaulted my ears, but I forced myself to remain stoic. This was me asserting my dominance. I couldn’t afford to look like a weak bitch now.
Anger hardened Camilla’s face into stone, and for some reason, I was pretty sure she was way more pissed off that I’d willingly hurt an animal than she was that her plan to get rid of me had failed.
But then the jaguar dematerialized into golden dust and swirled back into the shape of a man. My man. Just like the other Storms were. Not hers.
Her features softened, and her lips parted in question. "Asher Storm? How?"
"Asher’s dead," Rob said coldly, warning her to drop the subject. "This is Adam, Alexis’s personal royal guard."
Fucking hades, Rob, now I really looked like a pansy.
Ash glared at Camilla, looking every inch the hulking predator he just was. "Stay away from the Storm brothers. They’re taken by Princess Alexis."
Her eyes narrowed. "All four of them? I don’t think my father will be very happy to hear that."
Ash shrugged. "I don’t care. They already told your father they didn’t want you as a gift."
She pursed her lips and turned back toward the chimera, flinging her long black hair in the process.
I exhaled a sigh of relief. At least she’d dropped the subject quickly.
A set of shorts whizzed past my face and landed on Ash’s chest before falling into his hands. He slipped them on, and I followed the path of their trajectory over to Dan, who shook his head and rezipped his pack.
"I never used to care that your magic left you naked, Adam," Dan said with a cheeky half smile. "But now that you’re guarding our princess so closely, I find myself getting a little jealous every time she looks at you."
Ash chuckled and played along. "No need to worry about me, Your Highness. Who would choose a simple guard over a quartet of handsome princes?"
Dan cocked a brow in my direction. "Good point. Except, she’s different, this one. Very unpredictable."
Ash nodded. "So I’ve noticed."
Dan strolled over and patted his shoulder. "Yeah, well, hopefully you haven’t been noticing her too closely. I’d hate to have to kill you. You really are a damn good guard."
Ash’s eyes widened, and the corners of his mouth twitched. I could tell he was holding back a grin. "Hint taken, Your Highness. You won’t have any trouble from me." He paused and glared at Camilla’s back. "And hopefully not from her, either."
She sniffed in mild disgust, telling me right away that she’d been eavesdropping.
Now that Ash was a man, the lion part of the chimera seemed much more pacified. He settled down in the sand and just sat there looking around, tail swishing almost cat-like in the air behind him.
After a moment, another chimera approached, creeping out of who knows where. The vegetation was not that thick. There couldn’t have been many places to hide. If the lack of mane was anything to go by, then I’d guess this pretty creature was a girl.
"There are two of them," I murmured. "A male and a female. So why are they nearly extinct?"
Camilla answered without turning to look at me. "Because they need the Lunaley. It’s their breeding and nesting ground. If they can’t get to the Ley, then they can’t lay their eggs. Plain and simple."
Stormy Nights (Storms of Blackwood Book 2) Page 7
