Royally Exposed

by Catherine Banks

  We landed in the center of their market area. There were vendors selling produce, meats, seafood, crafts, jewelry, and some cooking various foods and treats.

  “You have to try the sweet bread,” Gavin said and jogged towards one of the vendors selling pastries.

  “It’s a whole other world here,” I whispered to Rhys.

  “Yes. There are many who never go out into Jinla,” he whispered back to me.

  “So, they never meet anyone outside of dragons?” I asked. That didn’t seem like a great way to raise children, never introducing them to the other beings that were out there. Yes, there was evil, but there was also so much to learn from the other races.

  “We encourage them to venture beyond our gates, even offer field trips for those schooled here, but there are many who choose to stay here,” Emrys told me. “We discuss all the other races and ensure they understand that there are good and evil in all races and no one race is all evil.”

  “Except vampires,” I whispered to myself.

  Rhys put his arms around me and hugged me into his chest. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  “Don’t be sorry. You saved me from them multiple times,” I mumbled into his chest and wiped my tears on his shirt.

  “Here,” Gavin said, pulling me out of my reverie.

  I stepped back from Rhys, reminding myself that we were supposed to be keeping our relationship secret. “What’s this?” I asked and accepted the pastry Gavin held out to me.

  “Take a bite,” Gavin encouraged me.

  Rhys nodded that it was safe.

  I took a bite and moaned. “This is amazing.”

  Gavin, Emrys, and Rhys smiled at my reaction.

  “I told you,” Gavin said with a wide smile and took a huge bite of his.

  “I guess I’ll need to start ordering these for delivery,” Rhys said.

  “Lots,” I replied and finished eating the one Gavin had given me.

  “Oh, let’s try the meat stick next!” Gavin said and started to rush off, but looked back at me expectantly.

  I squeezed Rhys’s forearm, then ran with Gavin to get in line for the next vendor.

  “I don’t have any cash,” I told Gavin.

  “Don’t worry,” he assured me. “I’ve got money.”

  It was strange to see Gavin and think that Rhys may have been like him as a teenager. Rhys had been raised in this very area.

  “What’s your favorite thing to do in the den?” I asked Gavin.

  “The festivals,” he answered immediately. “They’re full of fun and action. You should come to our next one! Our fall festival and is in just a few weeks. You would enjoy it, I know you would. If my eldest brother won’t bring you, just talk to Dad. I’m sure he’ll let you come. I’ll show you around if Rhys isn’t here,” he offered.

  “That is a very generous offer,” I said with a smile.

  “Well, I can tell that my brother cares for you. That must mean you are a special female. He never really showed affection for other females. But, it’s like he’s drawn to you. Like magnets.”

  That was partly due to our bond. One of the reasons I considered breaking the bond was to see if they really were in love with me and drawn to me because of me and not the bond.

  “I’m pretty drawn to your brother too,” I whispered and glanced at Rhys who was watching me with a smirk on his face while Emrys talked to him.

  The line finally moved and we were at the front. Gavin ordered for me and then handed me one of the sticks that had a few different types of meat on it, with some with sauce dribbled on them.

  “Go on,” he encouraged.

  I tried a bite from each of the meats and smiled at him. “These are great!”

  His smile widened and his chest puffed out a bit. “I told you.”

  “Can we go look at the vendors?” I asked. “Christmas is coming up and I think I saw something that would work great for one of my friends.”

  “Sure,” Gavin said and led the way. People moved out of his way without him even saying anything, which made it much easier for me to get through them. Rhys caught up to us and walked behind me.

  “What’s up?” I asked him, glancing back.

  “Nothing. I just wanted to walk with you. If that’s alright?”

  I reached out and squeezed his hand. “Great.” A few females glared at my hand touching Rhys, so I lowered it and faced Gavin again, as he made his way to the first vendor who sold handcrafted items.

  “Good afternoon, Princes,” the woman behind the table greeted them. She looked to be in her late sixties, but that could mean she was two hundred years old since she was a shifter. “And greetings to their friend.”

  “Hello, Estella,” Rhys said and smiled at her. She picked up a bag that had some tissue paper in it and handed it to Rhys. “Is this my full order?” he asked, peeking into the bag.

  She nodded. “Yes. I made sure to follow your guidelines and specifications exactly.”

  He handed her some money and bowed his head respectfully to her. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you, for your patronage.”

  The items she sold were mostly knitted and crocheted beanies and gloves. I eyed one of the knitted scarves, but reminded myself that I was not supposed to be here buying things for me.

  “Your items are lovely,” I told her with a warm smile.

  She smiled in return. “Thank you.”

  We moved on to the next booth with a younger man selling daggers. I picked up one of the smaller, thinner daggers and admired the design etched into it. “This is gorgeous,” I whispered and showed it to Rhys.

  “Rhys,” the man greeted him.

  Rhys nodded at him. “Afternoon, Felix.”

  “Who have you brought to my booth? You rarely have visitors,” Felix said with an arched eyebrow.

  “Jolie, this is Felix. Felix, this is Jolie, Princess of the Four Clans.”

  Felix’s eyes widened and he dropped his head in a bow. “Apologies, I didn’t know-”

  “Please, don’t treat me any differently than you do Rhys,” I said quickly. “Though, I would like to know how much this dagger is.”

  “Fifty,” Felix said right away.

  “What are you going to do with that dagger?” Rhys asked me.

  “It’s not for me. I was thinking it would make a good present for Fox,” I admitted to him.

  Rhys smiled. “It would make a good present for him.”

  “Can you bring me back tomorrow?” I asked Rhys. “I didn’t bring cash with me, since I didn’t realize I would be shopping.”

  “You can pay me back when we get home,” Rhys offered and handed Felix money. Felix took the dagger from me and wrapped it up, put it into a wooden box, and then put that into a small brown paper bag.

  “Thank you. This is just what I was looking for, for him,” I told Felix.

  He bowed his head. “I’m glad to have been of service.”

  “I’ll just make you a tab and you can pay me back or work it off,” Rhys whispered so softly into my ear that I almost didn’t hear him.

  I gaped at him, shocked that he would flirt with me to that magnitude in the den…in public. “You’re shameless.”

  He winked. “I thought you knew that by now.”

  “What did you say to make her blush like that?” Gavin asked.

  “Nothing,” I gasped and hurried to the next vendor.

  Rhys picked up a few more orders from vendors we went to, and I found a few more Christmas presents for the other guys. I still had no idea what I was going to get Rhys. Honestly, if I hadn’t known that the guys would be happy with whatever I got them, I would have zero idea what to get them. What do you get four rich princes who can purchase whatever they want?

  Rhys bought a basket of strawberries and we shared them as we perused more vendors. One jewelry vendor in particular caught my eye and I was mesmerized by the rings she had. Not the rings for women though, but the rings for the men. They were made of a gorgeous, dark meta
l that shone in the sun.

  “Thinking of proposing to someone?” the vendor, a man who looked about thirty, asked me.

  “No,” I said quickly, not glancing at Rhys. “I just find these incredibly beautiful.”

  “Thank you,” he said with a wide smile. “I make them myself from a type of metal that will never break and so, you can’t get them resized ever. You have to make certain that the ring you buy is in the correct size.”

  “How much are they?” I asked out of sheer curiosity.

  “Hello, Paul,” Rhys greeted the vendor. “What’s she hounding you about over here?”

  “Nothing,” I replied quickly. “Just telling him how much I admire his work. The jewelry is gorgeous.”

  Rhys nodded. “He has some of the best jewelry.”

  “Can you get me something to drink?” I asked Rhys. “I’m really thirsty after all of that food.”

  He nodded and went towards one of the food vendors who had bottles of water.

  “Four hundred per ring,” Paul whispered quickly to me. “However, since you’re a friend of the Prince’s, I will drop the price to three hundred.”

  “They’re gorgeous, but I’m not sure if they’re going to work for what I have in mind. Do you have a website or something?” I asked and glanced quickly back to see Rhys heading our way.

  “Here’s my business card. It has my website, email address, and phone number,” Paul said softly. Then, louder, he said, “I hope to see you again soon, miss. Have a wonderful day.”

  I tucked the card into the bag of my other presents and smiled at him. “Thank you.”

  Rhys handed me my water and I took a huge drink of it, glad I had asked him to get me some because I truly was thirsty after eating a bunch of sweets and meat.

  “I still haven’t decided what to get you for Christmas,” Rhys told me as we headed toward Emrys, who was waiting on the outskirts of the market area.

  “You don’t have to get me anything. I’ve got all I want at home,” I said and glanced at him with a smirk.

  “I’m going to get you a present. I’m just trying to figure out what is the best gift to give you,” he said with a smile and put a hand on my back as he guided me around a small crowd in front of a vendor.

  “Something under a hundred dollars,” I muttered.

  He laughed loudly, his head thrown back, and eyes closed for a moment. “That’s hilarious.”

  I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. “What is so funny?”

  “There’s no way that you’re going to keep us from spending what we want on you. I know the amounts some of the others have spent already, and let’s just say that your number is miniscule.”

  “It’s not fair,” I whispered. “I don’t have a lot of money to spend on you guys.”

  “We don’t need anything.”

  “Neither do I,” I growled and faced him.

  “She’s talking back to Prince Rhys,” someone said in the crowd.

  “Does she not know who he is?” another person asked.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered to Rhys and walked towards Emrys, feeling like an idiot for forgetting that we were in his clan’s home, with tons of people watching our every move. I shouldn’t speak to him like I do at home.

  Rhys grabbed my arm, spun me around to face him, dipped me to the side, and kissed me deeply. There were gasps, shocked murmurs, and some laughs.

  When he pulled back and set me upright, I stared at him in disbelief. “Why did you do that?” I whispered softly to him.

  “I just felt like kissing my girlfriend,” he told me and took my hand in his.

  Girlfriend? Royalty didn’t usually have girlfriends, especially not Other royalty.

  “Girlfriend?” someone asked.

  Rhys tugged on our joined hands and I stumbled after him, looking at Emrys in shock and worry.

  “That’s one way to go with things,” Emrys whispered and chuckled. “Now, they will just think that you’re taking the human route for your relationship, since she’s human. And it will allow you to touch her more in public. Pretty smart, kid.”

  “I have my moments,” Rhys replied and stroked his thumb across the back of my hand.

  “I don’t understand what happened,” I whispered. “You guys don’t do girlfriends.”

  “Well, we do girlfriends, but not like you’re talking about,” Rhys teased.

  “No, we generally don’t, but Rhys has never done things like the majority of us,” Andras said. “Normally after we graduate, we don’t have girlfriends any longer. Girlfriends are more of a teenage experience for us, since we aren’t allowed to have sex until after we graduate. But, since Rhys said you’re his girlfriend now, it will spread around the clan and you won’t have potential suitors coming after you. Or females, who want Rhys, coming after you for your head.”

  “I thought we were keeping our relationship secret?” I asked Rhys and glanced at Emrys.

  “We were, but I am tired of not being able to touch you. This was an easy way around all of that,” Rhys explained and shrugged his shoulders. “Plus, aren’t you my girlfriend?”

  “I guess,” I whispered. “I hadn’t really thought about it in those terms.”

  “Well, now you have,” ‘he said with a wide smile.

  “Why didn’t you think of it before?” I asked. “It seems like such a simple solution.”

  “I’m not perfect,” he said with a smirk. “No matter how many times you tell me I am.”

  “I meant your body was perfect, not you,” I teased and spun away from him with Andras and Emrys laughing behind me.

  Rhys followed me, his presence causing the hairs on the back of my neck to rise since there was a predator stalking us now.

  “Still hungry?” Gavin asked from the line he was standing in.

  “What are you getting?” I asked him, ignoring Rhys.

  “Sweet bread,” he said and licked his lips.

  “I want two,” I said with a wide smile.

  “I’ll pay,” Rhys told Gavin. “She’ll eat your savings dry.”

  “Did you just insinuate that I’m fat?” I asked and spun to face him.

  He startled me by grabbing me and pulling me against him, his face inches from mine. “You know I didn’t, you brat.”

  “You’re in so much trouble when we get home,” I whispered to him, trying very hard to swallow my arousal and failing miserably.

  He chuckled, the deep sound vibrating through my body and traveling south to cause a warmth I didn’t want to experience with his teenage brother right next to us. “You’re the one who is in trouble,” he told me and nipped the tip of my nose.

  “Ouch,” I grumbled and rubbed my nose as I pushed away from him. Arousal gone.

  “Can I get a dozen breads now and two dozen to go?” Rhys ordered.

  “Certainly, Prince Rhys,” the baker replied.

  “Are you staying for dinner?” Gavin asked me.

  I looked at Rhys. “I don’t know. Are we?”

  “No, we have plans tonight,” Rhys told Gavin.

  “We do?” I asked, not remembering us making plans.

  “We’re going out with the guys tonight,” he informed me. “Didn’t Fox tell you?”

  He might have told me, but I was most likely a few drinks deep when he did. “I think he told me something around the middle of the raid, but I was drinking by then and…”

  “Ah, you were drunk,” Rhys chuckled.

  “She plays video games?” Gavin asked, his mouth popped open.

  “More than I do,” Rhys said.

  “That’s so hot!” Gavin exclaimed.

  “Little brother, you need to work on your inappropriate comments,” Andras chastised him and gently tapped the back of his head.

  “I’m right,” Gavin told him. “You know I am. Finding a girl who plays games instead of trying to get you off of them is super rare.”

  “She’s a rarity, alright,” Rhys said and winked at me.

  �
�Here you go,” the baker said and held out a bag with the two dozen he had ordered to go and a box with the one dozen for now.

  I opened the one dozen and took three before handing the box to Gavin. Rhys snagged the rolls from me and I pouted at him. “Hey!”

  He held them up over his head, way too high for me to be able to reach. “You have to pay for these,” he said and walked back towards his father.

  “What price?” I asked and tried to jump up and grab his arm to force it down, but he easily dodged my attempt.

  He turned and bent so that his face was level with mine. “One kiss.”

  “If I must,” I said with a dramatic sigh. I pecked him on the cheek and managed to grab one of the rolls from him and run behind Emrys to eat it.

  “Cheater,” Rhys said, but he was smiling wide and his family was amused as well. Before I could respond, Rhys shoved both of the rolls in his mouth and chewed them up.

  “Those were mine!” I gaped at him.

  He shrugged. “Maybe next time you’ll pay the toll.”

  “I’m going to come back without you one of these days and buy them. Then you won’t be able to stop me,” I threatened him.

  “I’ll keep her company when she comes,” Andras said and draped an arm across my shoulders. “She’ll be perfectly safe.”

  Rhys growled and his eyes shifted to his dragon’s eyes.

  “Rhys,” Emrys growled a warning at him.

  “And I thought Deryn was bad,” I grumbled.

  Andras hadn’t moved, more accurately, he had frozen at Rhys’s growl.

  “Sounds like we’ve got a plan,” I said with a wide smile. “I’ll come back, Andras will keep me safe, and I’ll eat all the sweet bread I can without making myself sick.”

  Rhys blinked twice and his eyes reverted. “Sorry.”

  “When do we have to leave today?” I asked Rhys, hoping the subject change would keep him from getting angry about Andras still touching me.

  Rhys looked at his phone and said, “We should probably head back now.”

  “Already?” I sighed. I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed Andras’s cheek. “Thanks for an entertaining day.”

  His mouth opened for a moment, but he quickly recovered and smiled. “Come back whenever you want.”

  I hugged Emrys. “Thanks for forcing his hand, so I could visit. I had a lot of fun learning about your clan today.”