Page 4 of Quest for her Knights (The Lost Souls of Dyconia #5)

Chapter four

Elora

D id she have to use the s -word? Couldn’t she have called me unique , or quirky , or even just different ? I hate being called strange . People always used it to insinuate that I wasn’t as good as them. Being strange cost me job opportunities, boyfriends, and even female friends.

Besides, I wasn’t that strange, I was just a little bubbly sometimes. I don’t really think that warrants the label.

“Your Majesties, let me introduce you to Elora, who has come here from the same realm as Princess Freya,” Blaze announces before stepping back and leaving me alone to face the queen and kings.

I look at him with panicked eyes, but his small smile helps calm me.

I remember what he told me about being honest, so I take a breath and stand up tall .

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty,” I say to the queen, gripping my book in my left hand and reaching out with my right to offer it in greeting.

When she looks at my hand like it’s going to bite her, I realize queens probably don’t shake hands.

I snatch it back so fast I accidentally whack myself in the chest.

“Ow, my boob!” I cry, clamping my hand over it on instinct.

I hear a snort of laughter and am surprised to see one of the two men I haven’t been introduced to yet trying not to laugh.

He has pale blue eyes and sandy blond hair that looks slightly tousled, giving him a boyish charm.

Blondie was hot. Just like Blaze, but in a totally different way.

Blaze looks to be in his early to mid-thirties. He has wavy auburn hair that falls just past his ears and warm hazel eyes. A few freckles dance across his nose, giving him an approachable look. He’s got to be over six feet tall, and from what I can tell under that uniform, he seems pretty fit.

Thankfully, Freya decides to save me from further embarrassment and steps up beside me, addressing her in-laws. “It’s true. Besides her appearance, I asked her something only someone from my world would know, and she was able to answer it easily.”

“What about our daughter? Where is she?” one of the kings asks.

“She went through to my world, but don’t worry, my friend is taking care of her. ”

“You do realize she is potentially dangerous?” another king asks.

“I’m starting to realize that,” I tell them. “But that world is pretty dangerous, too. She’ll be wise to listen to my friend if she doesn't want to end up injured or in jail.”

“Well,” the queen says, glancing at her husbands and sons before looking back at Freya and me, “Welcome to Dyconia, Elora.”

“Thank you.” I smile at her as the tension leaves my body.

“Yes,” Freya says, giving my hand a squeeze. “And welcome to the family!”

Family?

I had no siblings and rarely saw my parents anymore. Now I suddenly have five brothers, a sister-in-law, four fathers, and a mother! And so far, they seemed pretty nice. Maybe coming here was going to turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.

The kings and queen take turns individually welcoming me, and I’m a bit surprised at how easily they seem to be accepting this. But I imagine having a killer for a daughter was a much harder situation to deal with.

Freya gives me a hug, and it’s only now that I notice what she’s wearing.

“Is that a wedding dress?” I ask in shock.

Freya laughs as she responds, “Yeah, you have great timing, I just married your new brothers. ”

“ Just ? As in, today?” I ask, staring wide-eyed at her.

“Yep, just a few hours ago.”

“Freya, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt your celebration! I’ll just go back to the dungeon, and you guys can come get me tomorrow or whenever is more convenient,” I babble, feeling awful for interrupting their wedding and drawing attention away from her.

Way to make a first impression.

“Don’t be silly! Of course you’re not going back down to the dungeon. We’re sisters now, so you have to celebrate with us.”

“Actually, that might not be a good idea,” one of the princes interjects.

“Sorry, but can you tell me your names? I’m having trouble knowing what to call everyone in my head.”

Freya takes the opportunity to introduce me to her husbands, Pyke, Arlo, Cash, Grayson, and Talon. The queen introduces her own husbands as Ian, Lewis, Coal, and Chase. When nobody introduces the two people whose names I really want to know, I have to cut off Grayson when he starts speaking again.

“Sorry, but nobody introduced them,” I say, pointing to Blondie and the other sexy man standing off to the side with him and Blaze. I see a small smirk form at the corner of Blondie’s lip, making me think he could be fun company.

“Those are the knights and our friends, Blaze, Arrow, and Draven. ”

So Blondie is Arrow, and the third one, with jet-black hair falling into his stormy gray eyes, is Draven. They’re knights? Wow , why does that make them so much more attractive?

When they just stare at me, I decide to take the initiative, moving over to stand in front of the three of them. Looking up at their tall, slightly intimidating frames, I wonder if they could be in my harem. If they’re all single, I definitely want to get to know them better.

“Hi, I’m Elora. It’s nice to meet you,” I say cheerfully, holding out my hand to Draven. He gives me an emotionless stare before firmly gripping my hand and giving it a small squeeze, then dropping it quickly without saying a word.

Okay, so not the friendliest guy, but he does exude some mega bad boy energy, so I don’t exactly hate it.

Turning to Arrow, I offer him my hand. “Hi.”

“Arrow, at your service, Your Highness,” he says as he gently grabs my hand and pulls it up to kiss my knuckles, making me blush as I smile at him.

“Oh, I like you!” I tell him honestly, making his smile expand to cover his entire face.

Damn, he’s gorgeous.

If I’m being honest, all three of them are drool-worthy. I just hope they’re not total assholes or already in relationships. That thought makes me frown at them as I ask, “Are you guys single?”

“Elora, come here, please,” King Lewis says firmly .

I give Arrow’s shocked face a quick wink before turning and moving over to where the others are still standing.

King Ian steps forward to address me. “Everyone thinks Elora has been unwell for the past week. We didn’t know how to handle her betrayal.

Outside of this room, only the other knights know the truth.

It turns out that it will work in everyone’s favor now.

But before we can figure out what to do, it’s probably best you stay unseen for the remainder of the evening.

The rest of us need to get back to the celebration. ”

“I’m sorry you won’t be able to celebrate with us, Elora,” Freya says, giving me an apologetic smile.

“That’s okay. I don’t want to interrupt your party any more than I already have. Just tell me where you want me to go, and I’ll keep out of sight until you’re ready for me.”

The queen addresses the knights next. “You three are her guards until tomorrow. It will give us a chance to finish the celebration and figure out how to best handle this.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Arrow says, dipping his head at her.

“We’ll take her to Elora’s suite,” Blaze adds.

“Thank you,” she says, nodding at them. I had to admit, they all did seem like very kind and understanding people. So far, this place seemed pretty welcoming.

“I’ll see you all tomorrow?” I ask, scanning the faces of my new family. They all nod, then head back to their party .

When it’s only the four of us left in the room, the three knights and I, I let out a deep breath and turn to look at them.

“Alright, Your Highness, let’s get you to your room,” Blaze says, heading to the door.

But I don’t follow. Instead, I dramatically flop down on the fancy-looking couch. “I’m tired. Can we just stay here for a few minutes?”

“If you let us escort you to your room, you can go to sleep.”

“I don’t want to sleep, it’s just my feet that are tired. The floor in that dungeon was freezing,” I say, pulling up one foot to check the bottom. It looks a little dirty from walking around barefoot, but not too bad.

“Why don’t you have shoes on?” Arrow asks, coming to sit beside me and glancing at the bottom of my foot curiously.

“I kicked them off in my world before I came here. Everything happened so fast, I didn’t stop to think about putting on shoes.”

“I could carry you.”

My eyes widen as I turn to Arrow, sure I didn’t hear him right. Guys don’t just offer to carry people, do they? “Carry me?”

“Yes, if you like, so you don’t have to use your sore feet.”

Licking my lips, I watch him carefully as I ask, “Is that part of your knightly duties? Carrying the princess around?”

I see a smile playing on his lips. “It can be, if you command it, Your Highness. ”

“I—”

“Okay, enough, Arrow,” Draven cuts me off, speaking for the first time since I’ve met him.

He quickly moves in front of me, bends down, and scoops me up into his arms, making my arm fly around his neck as I let out a squeak of surprise.

I hold my book behind his neck as he carries me bridal style out of the parlor.

“Oh my, you’re strong, aren’t you?” I ask, staring into his stormy gray eyes. He says nothing and avoids my gaze as he storms down a hall and heads up a large staircase.

I glance back to see Blaze and Arrow talking in hushed tones behind us. When Arrow sees me looking, he gives me a wink, making my cheeks heat.

I’m loving his golden retriever energy.

Damn, these three were definitely at the top of my list. Not that I’d met anyone else yet. They better be single, I really didn’t want to have to fight some girl for them. I’ve never hit someone before, but I already had a feeling these guys would be worth fighting for.