“How can I help you gentlemen?” Brayden asked them.
All four were glaring at him. The wolf’s eyes were glued to his arm around me.
“We were hoping to talk to the princess,” the dragon said.
“Me?” I asked. “What about?”
“We wanted to talk to you in private,” the dragon said.
“She will not be left alone with four outsiders,” Brayden said. “You could kill her.”
“We won’t kill her, and you know that,” the mage said with a scowl.
“I’m her guard, so if you want to talk to her, you have to talk to her with me present,” Brayden told them with a smug smirk.
“What if I met with them in my office?” I asked Brayden. “You could stand guard outside my door to ensure they didn’t try anything.”
“No,” Brayden said and glared down at me. “I will not allow you to be with them, alone.”
I returned his glare and said, “You know I don’t like being ordered around.”
His gaze softened, and he smiled and put a hand on my cheek. “Sorry, sweetheart. I just want to make sure you are safe. If you were injured, or killed, I would be devastated.”
“I don’t think they have any ill will towards me,” I said and looked at the males once before looking back at Brayden. “It’s a normal protocol for the heir to meet with royals of other areas. They’re princes, right? I should have met with them individually when they arrived.”
“No,” Brayden said again.
I pushed away from him and put my hands on my hips. “You can’t change protocol.”
“You can’t put yourself in danger. We are so close to the Gauntlet and to our mating,” Brayden whispered.
“They are also participating for my hand,” I reminded him. “It’s better for us if we show them proper courtesies.”
“Come,” Brayden said and grabbed my hand.
The four males moved a step forward, their eyes glowing.
Brayden’s trident appeared in his hand and he aimed it at them.
I stepped between them and raised my hands. “Whoa. Stop. No fighting.”
“We apologize,” the elf said, and the four males backed up two steps, though their eyes didn’t stop glowing.
Brayden’s trident disappeared, and he put his hand on the small of my back and pushed me away from them. “Have a good night, gentlemen.”
He hurried me along, and I barely had a chance to turn and look back at them. They looked furious and sad at the same time. My heart ached seeing them like that, knowing that I was the cause of it.
“You should be more respectful of the visiting royals,” I told Brayden. “There was nothing wrong with them asking for a meeting with me.”
“You are still too naïve,” Brayden snapped. “Those males are dangerous. They are powerful and together, they might be able to overpower you.”
“I’m not defenseless,” I reminded him.
He smirked. “I know.”
We walked into the castle and towards my room.
I paused in front of my door and turned to face him with a serious scowl. “The next time you order me around in front of other royals, I will have to punish you. You are not prince. You do not have power over me.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but I held my hand up.
“I don’t care that you’re my guard. No one tells my dad what to do and you won’t tell me what to do either. Are we clear? If you can’t follow those simple rules, I will find a new guard.”
Brayden’s eyes hardened, and my head began to throb. “No. That won’t do at all. I can’t have you being so strong willed against me.”
The pain intensified, and I dropped to my knees. “What are you doing?” I gasped.
He set his fingers on my temples and I began to black out. “Making you a bit more compliant. We’ve still got a week left until the Gauntlet and I don’t want those assholes ruining my plans. I’ve worked too hard for too long to have them waltz in here and ruin it all.”
The pain became so unbearable that I fainted.
“Princess Jolie,” the dragon prince said and bowed to me as I walked by him.
“Good afternoon, Prince,” I replied in greeting and dipped my head.
“Can I help you?” Brayden asked him.
The dragon smiled. “No, I was just out for a walk around your castle and wanted to say hello to the gorgeous princess as we passed each other.”
I blushed. He thought I was gorgeous?
“You’ve said your greeting, now excuse us. We have things to do,” Brayden said.
I glanced at the dragon prince as we walked away, and he winked at me. Before Brayden noticed, I turned back around. We continued down the hallway towards the dining hall.
Brayden pushed open the doors but froze when we found the mage prince and the werewolf prince sitting at one of the tables. They stood when we entered and bowed to me.
“You aren’t supposed to bow to others of similar stature,” I chastised them.
“We will always bow to you,” the wolf said and smiled sweetly.
“What? Why?” I asked, unsure what he meant by that.
The mage pulled out a chair and smiled warmly. “Would you like to eat with us?”
I moved a step forward, but Brayden put his arm out. “No,” he answered.
“Brayden, what’s wrong?” I asked, looking at the two princes and then at him. He acted like they were a danger, but they didn’t seem like they might be aggressive towards me.
“I don’t trust them,” he told me.
“We won’t hurt her,” the wolf said with a smile that wasn’t exactly reassuring.
“It’s just a meal,” the mage said and tilted his head as he looked at Brayden. “Surely you can’t think us sharing a meal with the princess is a problem? We weren’t suggesting you leave. We understand, as her guard, that you would be standing at her back the entire time.”
“Why don’t you have guards?” I asked.
“We have no use for guards,” the wolf said. “They would just slow us down.”
“Please,” the mage said. “Join us for a meal.”
“It’s only proper courtesy,” I whispered to Brayden. “Please stop making a scene.”
He was silent a moment and then he relented and pulled a chair out for me, one several away from the princes. I sat and smiled happily.
The mage took his seat beside the wolf and they smiled at me.
“So, Princess, what do you do for fun here?” the wolf asked.
“I like to go for walks and read,” I answered.
“You don’t play games?” the mage asked.
My head throbbed a moment, but it quickly passed.
Weird.
“No,” Brayden said. “We don’t.”
“Sounds pretty boring,” the wolf commented.
“Books are rarely boring,” I told him.
“Do you have a library?” the mage asked.
I nodded and smiled wide. “Yes! It’s quite large.”
He smiled back. “I’d love to see it. Perhaps after we eat, you could show me?”
“I would love—”
“Your meal, Princess,” Brayden said, interrupting me.
A servant set plates in front of me and the two princes, then set two more in front of the two empty chairs across from me.
The dragon and elf princes walked in and took the empty seats, smiling at me.
“Hello, princes,” I said in greeting to them.
“Hello, Princess,” the elf said. “You look lovely, as always.”
Heat spread along my cheeks. “Thank you.”
“Eat,” Brayden said. “I have errands to attend to.”
“You could just go on your errands while I eat,” I said and put my napkin on my lap.
“We’d be happy to keep the princess company,” the wolf said with a wink at me.
Be still my heart! I might melt into a puddle of goo in my chair if the four sexy males didn’t stop flirtin
g with me.
“Out of the question,” Brayden said.
“Why not ask one of the other guards to guard me while you go on your errands?” I asked him.
“No. That’s final,” Brayden snapped.
I frowned at him. “Okay. You don’t have to snap at me.”
“Such rudeness aimed at your princess is uncalled for,” the elf said and tsked his tongue. “I can’t remember the last time I heard of a guard acting like that with a royal.”
“We’ve known each other since we were born and he’s my betrothed,” I said. “Sometimes he forgets the boundaries guards are supposed to follow.”
Brayden said nothing, but I knew he was probably mad.
“I’ll eat fast,” I said and glanced at him with a smile. “Then we can go on your errands.”
“Thank you,” he said and relaxed slightly.
The princes didn’t seem to like my response.
We ate and they kept casting weird glances at me. What were they thinking? What was going on with them?
“Thank you for joining me for a meal,” I said as I finished and stood.
The four stood and then bowed to me.
Why were they bowing? They shouldn’t have been bowing to me.
“I hope you have an enjoyable night,” the elf said.
“You as well,” I said and smiled at him. He smiled and it lit up his entire face.
Damn, they were so handsome.
“Come,” Brayden said and nudged me forward.
I obeyed, heading out of the dining hall despite the strange desire to stay and not only talk to the four princes, but touch them. I hadn’t even kissed Brayden, so why was I having these strange desires with these males I barely knew?
“You shouldn’t trust others so easily,” Brayden chastised me.
“I wasn’t trusting them, really. It is proper for me to meet with them. I’m not sure why you trust them so little. They don’t seem like they hold any aggression towards me. If anyone, it seems like they hate you.”
He scowled. “I don’t care what they think about me.”
“You’ve been acting strange lately,” I whispered. “What’s wrong? Are you worried that you won’t win the Gauntlet? Or are you worried that you might have to share me with another male?”
He stopped and turned to look at me. “What do you mean share you?”
“Well, it is written in the laws that the winners of the Gauntlet get to claim my hand. Winners as in plural. So, if you and one or two of the others win, then I would be mated to all of you,” I explained.
“Where did you read that?” he asked, his brows furrowing and fists clenching at his side.
Why was he mad? That was the way our laws were written hundreds of years ago.
“It is written that way in the laws,” I said. “The original laws from our inception here in Atlantis.”
“We’ll see about that,” he snapped and resumed walking.
“You can’t change the laws,” I said and hurried to catch up to him.
He stopped again and faced me. “Do you want one of those other males as your mate?”
“I didn’t say that,” I said and hoped I wasn’t blushing again.
“We have been betrothed since birth. Why would you want to change that now?” he asked, sounding hurt.
“I don’t want to change it, but the laws are the laws and we must follow them.”
“Sometimes laws are meant to be changed. Sometimes laws become outdated and need a refresher,” he countered.
“You don’t just go change the laws when they don’t suit you,” I said with a scoff. “Besides, they may all fail in the very first round for all we know. Stop worrying so much about the laws. You should be focusing on training and ensuring you’re prepared for the Gauntlet.”
“Don’t worry about me,” he said and smiled. “I’ve been preparing for this day my entire life. I will win the Gauntlet and I will make you my mate.”
For the first time, I didn’t like the idea of being his mate. There was something dark and sinister lurking beneath his cool exterior. What would happen if he lost?
His gaze softened, and he hugged me. “I’m sorry. I am very stressed out about the Gauntlet and I don’t like having outsiders in Atlantis. It sets me on edge.”
“They’ve done nothing that might be portrayed as indecent, hostile, or marked them as suspicious,” I said. “Why are you acting so hostile towards them?”
“You don’t see it,” he said. “They’re up to something. They are plotting something.”
His eyes were glowing with anger and I was fairly certain that he was the one plotting something. What? I had no idea, and that frightened me.
As the sun set, I had Brayden take me to my chambers, feigning tiredness.
At my door, he hesitated, his brows pinched in worry. “Are you sure you don’t want me to get a healer?” he asked.
I patted his cheek and smiled. “I’m sure it’s just the nerves from the upcoming events. I am going to lie down and read a book until I fall asleep.”
“Do you want me to stay with you?” he asked.
Tamping down the spike of fear, I smiled wider. “Always trying to break the rules, naughty boy. No, I’m sure you have things to take care of. Just post a soldier outside my door if it will help ease your worry. I won’t leave my chambers.”
He nodded and brushed his thumb over my cheek before barking orders at nearby guards and leaving.
I released a breath in relief and quickly locked my door behind me. It wouldn’t do to have Brayden or the guards barge in. Especially, since I wouldn’t be in my room.
Tapping on the walls lightly, it took me a couple minutes to locate the switch. The wall opened, and I stepped through, standing in a narrow passageway that wove all around the castle. Only Dad and I knew about these secret passages, this secret was only for the royal family. Dad said it was a safety precaution in case even the guards turned against the royal family. I was immensely grateful for it now.
I shut the opening to my room and followed the path, which was just wide enough for me to walk. I bet the elf prince’s shoulders would get stuck if he tried to walk here.
There was something about those princes, something that drew me to them. I needed to talk to them, to find out what it was.
I paused at the piece of the wall that would open to the elf prince’s room. He seemed the kindest of them all. I just hoped I wasn’t wrong about them. I hoped I wasn’t walking in to a death trap.
I strained to listen, to see if he was in his room.
“I’m telling you,” the elf said, “I can feel her. She’s close.”
“He’s right,” the mage prince said. “But, I can’t just teleport to her. She’s probably with Trident Douche.”
Trident Douche? It only took moments to realize they meant Brayden.
A giggle escaped before I slapped my hand over my mouth.
“What was that? That sounded like Jolie,” the dragon said.
I pushed the lever and the wall split open. I smiled at the four princes who stood in varying stances.
The dragon prince moved towards me, but I backed up, my eyes widening. He froze.
“Wait,” I pleaded. “I just wanted to talk.”
The elf peered behind me. “Where’s your guard?”
I shrugged. “He thinks I’m sleeping.”
The mage waved me in. “Come in and I’ll put a spell up so no one can hear us.”
I nodded and stepped into the room, activating the switch so the door closed over the passageway. Inhaling, I drew in their four distinct scents and shuddered. They smelled familiar and good…no, great.
“Jolie,” the wolf prince whispered and lifted his hand towards me, like he was going to touch my face, but then lowered it with a pained expression.
His pain was palpable. I wanted to touch him, to ease his pain, but I couldn’t.
“First name basis?” I asked with a cheeky smirk. “I didn’t realize we were so close al
ready.”
“Fuck, she’s even worse than when we arrived,” the dragon said, and his hands curled into fists at his sides.
“Jolie,” the elf said softly. I turned to face him. “Do you remember us?” he asked.
I scowled. “You’re the Four Princes of Jinla. Here to participate in the Gauntlet for a chance to become my mate.”
“We are already your mates,” the wolf said.
I rolled my eyes. “I think I’d remember having mates.”
Especially ones as hot as you.
“Why can’t we just kill him now?” the dragon asked, his eyes glowing angrily.
I took a step back, my mouth opening in surprise. “Kill? Who are you planning to kill?”
He held his hands up in surrender. “No one. I’m sorry. I’m just upset because you don’t remember us.”
“You really think we are already mates?” I asked and all four nodded. “If that’s true, why don’t I remember you or have a bond?”
“Your guard isn’t what he seems,” the wolf growled. “He’s manipulating your memories.”
I shook my head and backed up another step. “No, Brayden would never do something like that to me. He’s my best friend.”
Their jaws tensed and they all averted their eyes from mine.
“Prove to me what you’re saying is true,” I ordered them.
“We—” the mage began.
“Prove it or I will have you sent away and you’ll lose your chance to participate in the Gauntlet,” I threatened them.
The mage walked up to me and turned me so I faced the mirror on the wall. He pointed at my cheek. “If you’re not mated, why do you have bloodstones?”
“There’s nothing there,” I told him. “You don’t have bloodstones either.”
His hands sparkled a moment, then it disappeared so quickly I thought I had imagined it.
“Nico, how is that possible?” the wolf asked. “How can he make her sight different?”
“I don’t know,” Nico growled and stomped away from me.
The elf touched my cheek, his fingertips warm. “You have two bloodstones right here,” he said. He took my hand and pressed my fingertips to the same spot. For the briefest of moments, I felt the hard edges of the bloodstones, but then it was gone.
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