Page 35 of Courting the Tiger King (Romancing the Realms #2)
CHAPTER THIRTY
NEAH
“ H ere.” Sonnet passed a silver-chained necklace to Zennon, who clasped it gingerly in her palms.
“What does it do?”
“There’s a protection spell in the stone. Anyone with ill intent will be unable to touch you—magically or otherwise. It’s not inexhaustible though, the idea is that it will give you time.”
To get away, to protect herself. Neah’s brows pinched together, wishing this wasn’t necessary. But word of Zennon’s heritage, and her connection to Neah, had begun to trickle out to the court. It was only a matter of time until her sister became a target, this time because of her.
Sonnet wore her own version of the necklace too, as the officiant for their ceremony she was equally as important as Zennon. Though, at least if anyone came after the witch she had her magic to protect herself.
“What about for Neah?” Wren asked, pacing up and down in the small space between the chairs and the balcony in his chambers.
“Sorry, there’s not much I can do there.
Shifters have their own innate magic to contend with, different from that of a human or witch.
One of these charms would be next to useless.
” Sonnet glanced at Neah, her face apologetic, but Neah just shrugged.
She could take care of herself. It was everyone else that she worried about. “Maybe if I’d had more time…”
Wren and Neah shared a look before shaking their heads.
They’d decided not to waste any time in performing the ceremony—both to assuage Wren’s curse and to secure the crown, deterring any further attacks. Or that was the hope, anyway.
Sonnet sighed. “As you wish.”
“It doesn’t give us much time to plan your party,” Gabe mumbled and Skye nodded in agreement. Even Zennon looked put out.
“You have a whole week,” Neah said, rolling her eyes. “Why don’t we just do something all together? Right now?”
Gabriel looked at her like she’d suggested an orgy. “And do what? Chat ?”
“As opposed to…?” Sonnet raised one eyebrow and Gabe immediately sobered, murmuring something that sounded like dancing . “By all means, fetch an instrument. Let’s hear it, Gabriel. If you’re any good, maybe we’ll dance .”
Perhaps this had been a bad idea.
“How about poker?” Zen suggested and Neah clapped. “Strip poker,” she added and Neah grimaced. “Or maybe I could send for Romi?”
“Is she to be our entertainment?” Skye said dryly and Neah grinned.
“No,” Zennon huffed. “You two still need your ceremonial wear, right? Well, why don’t we get Romi to come and dress you while we all get shockingly drunk?”
Considering hums sounded before Wren looked around at them all. “I hate to say it, but I think that’s the best idea so far.”
One hour and a lot of wine later, Romi arrived with attendants from the palace carrying swaths of material and pins.
She’d smiled at Zennon, who’d practically melted into a puddle at the sight, and said, “You can be my assistant.” If by assistant Romi just wanted someone who would stand there and marvel at her while she worked, then Zen was doing a fantastic job.
Wren went first and Neah shuffled up on the couch by the hearth that they’d moved to in order for Romi to have space to work. Comfortable front and centre, she snagged the honey wine from Skye’s hand mid-pour and cackled when some escaped the bottle to trickle down his chin and over his shirt.
“Oops,” she said, batting her eyes innocently as she swallowed her own mouthful.
“You’re lucky you’re going to be queen,” he said, frowning, but she saw the good humoured twinkle in his bright eyes. “I’ve hexed people for less.”
“That’s because you’re an arsehole,” Sonnet said cheerfully from her place on Neah’s other side, taking the bottle for herself and raising it to the room before taking a swig. “You’d think royalty could spring for glasses,” she muttered after swallowing the fizzy concoction.
Romi tutted from the center of the room as she circled Wren, a professional eye running over his form. Neah might have been jealous if there had been any heat in the look whatsoever, but, as it stood, the buxom redhead eyed Wren as if he were nothing more than a design mannequin.
Her talent, however, was unmistakable. She’d been pinning pieces of fabric together, making a loose silhouette, and already Neah could see the vision.
The tail coats were long, the fabric a deep forest green that brought out the gold in Wren’s eyes and the warmth in his dark hair, and it wasn’t until Gabriel cleared his throat awkwardly that she realised she’d been staring a little too hard.
Wren smirked as he caught her scent and Neah rolled her eyes and grabbed another bottle of wine to hide her smile.
Her mate looked good, it wasn’t her fault that she couldn’t hide her body’s response to him. Not from shifters with their keen sense of smell, anyway.
Skye opened his mouth, likely to snap back at Sonnet, and Neah held up a hand.
“Please. Just fuck already.”
Skye’s eyes bugged out and Sonnet choked on her sip of wine. “That’s not?—”
“He wishes,” Sonnet rasped, still coughing.
“You wear denial well,” Zen said, looking away from Romi for two seconds to snort at Sonnet.
“Oh yeah? You really want to wade into a discussion about romance?” Sonnet glared before smirking at Romi. “Don’t mind us, Romi. We’re just talking about Zennon’s big crush on a friend of ours.”
If looks could kill, Sonnet would be on her way to the Goddess from all the daggers in Zen’s glare.
Romi distracted them, stepping back from Wren and admiring her work before easing the material off of him, careful not to disturb any pins, and beckoned Neah. “Up.”
Amused, she stood and passed Wren the bottle as they swapped places. His gaze burned into her as she lifted her arms and turned when Romi instructed.
“Hm, I was thinking gold but…” Romi held a swatch of fabric up, the shimmer making Sonnet and Zennon ooh. “I think it’ll wash you out. Something darker would be better.”
Neah was happy to defer to Romi’s expertise. “Sure.”
Romi gestured for Zennon to pass over several other squares of fabric, holding up different squares to Neah’s skin until she found one she liked and nodded approvingly. “This one. What do you think?” Romi grabbed a longer bolt of the fabric and presented it to Neah.
It was a deep, rich colour, not quite red but not quite orange and she knew it would pop against Wren’s green ceremonial jacket.
“I love it,” she said honestly and Romi beamed.
“Well I have all your measurements down, so I’ll get to work and let you know when they’re ready to be tried on.
” She began rolling up pieces of parchments, presumably where she’d dotted down their sizes, and tucking away reams of fabric so that they were folded neatly into a large chest. “Enjoy your night.”
Zennon’s head whipped around but Neah didn’t need any prompting. “Oh! You’re not leaving are you? Stay, have a drink.”
Romi hesitated and then let the trunk stay where it was, hesitantly accepting a seat at an armchair that had been dragged over from the balcony area.
The mood felt light as they chattered, opening more bottles of wine, and cheering when an attendant brought up snacks at Wren’s request. The mood only soured slightly when they waited to test it for magic and poison before diving in.
“So how specific is this spell?” Skye was asking, examining Sonnet and Zennon’s matching necklaces. “If I pinched your leg, would it react? Or does the intent for harm have to be greater?”
Sonnet’s smile was sweet but the look in her eyes was wicked when she purred, “Touch me and find out.”
Skye, apparently not wanting to risk life or limb, wisely kept his hands to himself.
“You really think someone will try to hurt Zennon?” Romi hadn’t had nearly as much to drink as the rest of them and it showed, her solemn sobriety reminding the rest of the group of the seriousness of the situation.
“Why?” The word was soft, like she genuinely couldn’t fathom anyone wanting to hurt Zen, and Neah liked the other woman all the more for it.
“Because I’m easier to kill than Neah,” Zennon said, tone joking but words serious. “Better to be safe, than sorry. Right?”
Romi watched Zennon for a moment, eyes dark and troubled, and Neah watched them as Romi tilted her chin and shifted her body so it was between Zennon and the door. “Right.”
Neah was drawn back into the other side of the group when Gabriel placed an empty bottle of wine at his feet, joining two others, and announced, “Hey, didn’t someone say something about strip poker?”
They couldn’t find a deck of cards anywhere in Wren’s room—though Neah did wonder if that was deliberate on Wren’s part.
And so, after the wine and snacks dwindled, the others left for their rooms and Neah smiled, accepting Sonnet’s sloppy kiss on the cheek as she walked away, bracketed on either side by Gabe and Skye.
Romi and Zen left together too, the latter glaring at Neah in a warning not to comment on the seamstress spending another night.
Finally, it was only her and Wren. His arms wound around her waist, her head fell to his chest, and when he tugged her toward the bedroom she’d begun to think of as theirs she fell into bed with his arms still around her.