Page 31 of Courting the Tiger King (Romancing the Realms #2)

Romi stood from her place at the table and approached cautiously. “I sew when I’m stressed. I made them for you last night, while I was with Zen.”

Zen . So they were already close enough for nicknames. Neah hid her smile as she reached for Romi’s hand. “Thank you for staying with her. And for the trousers, they’re stunning.”

“Oh, that’s alright, I just repurposed an old pair you had that didn’t look like they’d still fit and?—”

“You’re welcome,” Zennon said, nudging Romi in the side while she smiled at Neah. “And I saved you and Wren a plate before those two could devour everything.” She cast a stern glance at Gabe and Skye who blinked innocently back at her.

Neah followed them over to the table and took a seat beside Sonnet, sliding her a questioning glance and relaxing when she nodded. Everyone was okay. For now.

The sound of water sloshing in the next room made her cheeks heat as she tried to focus on her food and not the images of a naked Wren just meters away. Chatter resumed around the table but her sister watched Neah closely, as if expecting her to break at any moment.

Neah finished her chicken and had moved on to the potatoes when Sonnet spoke up.

“So, you and the king.” She waggled her brows and Neah groaned. “You’re accepting the bond?”

Wren poked his head around the corner, wet strands of hair leaving see-through droplets on his white shirt. “We haven’t discussed it yet, witch. Butt out.”

Neah smirked and opted to stay silent on the matter for now, lest she be scolded next. “What brings you all here?”

Gabe’s eyes bugged out, like she’d asked something insane, and Zennon coughed to hide a laugh. “You do remember the small fleet of guards that attempted to kill you only a night ago?”

“Mm,” Neah said, tapping her finger on her chin. “And where were you for that, again?”

Gabe glanced almost imperceptibly at Sonnet before he narrowed his eyes. “Busy.”

“Yes, well, luckily for you, I was around.”

Gabe looked set to argue when Wren walked in, barefoot as he rolled the sleeves of his white shirt up to his elbows.

“Seven guards.” There was a grim set to Wren’s mouth that made Neah shift uneasily in her seat.

“ My guards. How were they turned against me? And by whom?” Silence reigned and Wren sighed as he sprawled into the empty armchair closest to the bedroom door.

“Whoever it is, they knew that Zennon was here as my mate—misguided as the sentiment might have been,” he added with a pointed look in Sonnet’s direction.

“That intel was limited to the people there for the ceremony, and the king’s guards who were sent to retrieve Zennon in my place. ”

“And the Captain,” Neah pointed out and then shrugged at Zennon’s incredulous look. “I’m not saying he did it, just stating the facts.”

“So who does that narrow things down to?” Skye said, brow furrowed.

Wren ticked the names off on his hands. “Me, you, Gabe, Sonnet, my mother, my uncle, Jamison, his second, my cousin, and the retinue of guards.”

“And, theoretically, any of them could have told someone else,” Neah added.

“But that list isn’t exhaustive anyway, because the assassination plot I discovered was being discussed before you retrieved Zennon.

And didn’t you say that rumours were spread in the court in your absence?

Whoever our enemy is, they’ve been around for longer than just your ceremony. ”

“That’s presuming it’s the same person,” Sonnet said thoughtfully. “Or that it’s only one person at all.”

Neah stabbed at her remaining potatoes more forcefully than necessary and chewed silently as the others shared worried looks.

“Who stands to gain the most from your death?” Romi offered and then shrank back when all eyes turned to her before catching herself and straightening her spine. “As best I can tell, the most common reasons for murder are money, power, love, and revenge.”

“That narrows it down,” Sonnet muttered and Neah sighed, because she was right.

“Okay, fine. Let’s just let that simmer in our brains for a second. What about the curse? Have you found anything?”

Zennon frowned and mouthed, curse? to Neah who waved her off. She would explain later.

Sonnet and Skye shared a begrudging look of dissatisfaction. “Nothing yet. We can tell the curse is there, and it’s real, but not how to remove it.”

“Yet,” Skye added and Sonnet slowly nodded.

“Yet,” she agreed.

Wren scrubbed a hand down and over his face before nodding. “Okay. Thank you for trying.”

“Hey, we’re not giving up.” Skye frowned. “And neither should you. Of course, this would all be a lot less urgent if Neah agreed to the bonding ceremony.” Skye’s arms folded across his chest and Neah raised a cool brow at him in response.

A low growl erupted from the other side of the table and Neah’s eyes jerked up to find Wren’s glowing irises locked on Skye. “Neah’s decision is for her alone to make. Anything else is unacceptable. We’ll find another way.”

Skye shook his head, pushing to a stand and pointing a finger in her direction. “But she could?—”

He didn’t finish the sentence before Wren had shifted and knocked him down to the floor. The pair rolled, grunting and yowling while the rest of them looked on.

“Should we break this up…?” Romi winced when Skye thrust a particularly vicious elbow into the tiger’s jaw.

Gabe seemed unbothered, snagging a piece of chicken from Wren’s unattended plate. “Nah. Let them work it out. Wren’s instincts are probably running wild with the unclaimed mating bond—no pressure,” he added hastily as the tiger snapped its teeth mere breaths away from Skye’s face until he conceded.

The tiger retreated and a flare of magic returned Wren to his human form. He stood and snatched his dinner away from Gabriel with one final warning look to Skye.

“It’s been a long day,” he said eventually. “Let’s talk more about all this later?”

The group mumbled their assent and Zennon paused before she could shuffle out of the door with the others. “Oh, I forgot to mention—Jamison has organised a dinner for you both, tomorrow afternoon.”

Neah frowned. “A dinner? Why?”

“Because you’re mated to the king,” Zennon said, a touch of exasperation in her voice. “And your parents would like to meet their son in law.”

Son in law. Neah nearly choked. “Right.”

Zennon left while Neah was still contemplating the words and when she looked up, she found she was alone again with Wren.

“We don’t have to go,” he offered. “I’m the king.”

“And he’s my father.” She smirked. “I think on this, he outranks you.”

Wren sighed. “That’s exactly what I was afraid of.” They laughed and when Neah made to stand and approach the door, she halted in place when Wren’s soft voice reached her. “Stay. Please.”

She swallowed hard but let her hand fall from the handle. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Although, I hope you share the covers better in this form than you did as a tiger.”

“I’ll try,” she teased and when she followed him back into the bedroom, she was surprised to feel something she hadn’t felt in a long time: fully and completely, safe.