Page 14

“Come in,” Juniper called out at Tiber’s knock.

He opened the thick door, still camouflaged, saw that Juniper was with her mate, Zephyr. “It’s me. Tiber. Didn’t want to drop my camouflage without asking for clothes.” If it had just been Zephyr he wouldn’t have cared, but Juniper was a princess.

And Starlena’s granddaughter.

The rules were different.

Zephyr stood, grabbing clothing from a nearby armoire. Unlike Valentina’s office, Juniper’s was spacious with thick silk drapes over the stained-glass windows, and a plush seating area with snacks and drinks already set out on a gold platter.

It was messier than he would have imagined, with things tossed about, but that wasn’t his business. Once he dressed in the simple tunic and pants from Zephyr, he let his camouflage fall.

“Sit, please.” Zephyr nodded at the seating in front of Juniper’s desk and while the male was all politeness, he would never be a regal prince.

The male had been stuck in a Hell realm for longer than Tiber wanted to think about, every day a bloody fight for survival. There was a wildness that clung to him, was a part of him. Something Tiber understood because that same primal energy flowed through his own blood.

When he’d first been introduced as Juniper’s mate, then subsequently been put in charge of a battalion, there’d been grumbling and talk about Zephyr not deserving it. That hadn’t lasted long and now he ran a small battalion of three hundred soldiers who specialized in maritime warfare.

Tiber had never personally worked with him, but two of his people had transferred to Zephyr’s command and respected him. That was enough for Tiber.

Juniper looked distracted, but she nodded. “Yes, please sit. Is everything okay?”

Tiber didn’t want to sit, but since she was royalty, he obliged. “I have some concerns about the visiting party of vampires.” He succinctly laid out what he knew and what he’d overheard.

When he was done, both the other dragons were frowning.

Finally, Juniper spoke. “This Charles is from an old royal line. A human and a bloodborn. I cannot eject him from the realm without causing an incident.”

Tiber vaguely wondered what kind of incident killing the vampire would cause.

“But I can task some of my people with shadowing them,” she said.

“Ah, I have that taken care of.” Before he’d scaled the castle wall this morning, he’d already tasked three of his people to shadow the coven in shifts, though right now they were working as a team.

He’d seen all of them in the library blending in well, so he knew they were doing their jobs.

If they hadn’t been, they would answer to him.

Juniper’s smile was dry. “Of course, you have. So why are you here? Because I know you’re not asking me for permission.”

“I’m worried about Mia’s family back home.

Perhaps not right this second, but I worry this vampire will be a threat to her sister, to anyone who is important to her.

” It was one of the reasons she’d come to this realm, to try and protect them by removing herself.

“And I don’t know enough about her family and friends to send people to shadow them.

” He paused. “Nor do I have a relationship with the Alpha of the New Orleans territory.” And Starlena was out of the area so he couldn’t ask her for help.

Juniper nodded in understanding. “But I do.”

“Exactly.”

Juniper looked at her mate and it was as if they had a silent conversation of simply facial expressions.

Finally, she turned back to him. “Zephyr and I have been talking about taking a quick trip to see Stella anyway. We can leave tomorrow. I’ll speak to King directly once I’m there and we’ll come up with a plan for keeping an eye on her loved ones.

This won’t take care of the problem long term, however. ”

“I’m not worried about that,” he said as he stood.

She narrowed her bi-colored eyes at him. One was gray, the other a bluish-green that reminded him of an ocean he’d visited long ago.

He held up a palm. “I won’t kill him in this territory.” He paused. “Unless I have to.”

Juniper sighed but didn’t say anything else.

It isn’t like she can stop us , his dragon purred.

On that, they were in agreement. He loved his realm, had bled for it, would do just about anything to keep the kingdom safe. But keeping his future mate protected trumped everything else.

And he would neutralize this threat permanently.