Page 228 of The Queen’s Shadow

He slid his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me in close again, shifting our bodies so that we were facing each other. “I’m stone cold sober, Kasha.” He purred, looking at me with so much intensity I felt my cheeks flush. I opened my mouth to say something, but words failed me. His eyes dropped to my lips. He smirked, seemingly amused by my inability to form a coherent sentence, when we were interrupted.

“Why am I not surprised to find you wrapped around a female instead of greeting your guests.”

My hot blood suddenly turned cold at the snide comment and I pushed Rycon away again, turning to find a male watching us incredulously. He was tall, chiseled and had dark, wavy hair that brushed against his broad shoulders.

Rycon growled softly as I put distance between us and he reluctantly turned to face the male.

“Why am I not surprised to find that you’re still a massive fucking buzzkill, Malik.” He reached out to grab my hand as he spoke to this new shifter, but I pulled away. The way Malik had said ‘wrapped around a female,’ reminded me who Rycon was and the reality of our situation. I was just another one of the many females he probably wanted to fuck. Once the chase was over he would move on, and I didn’t know if I could manage that right now. Before I had been kidnapped, I had been open to something casual with him, but I couldn’t handle something like that at the moment.

Rycon’s eyes flashed at my obvious attempt to put distance between us, but he let it go, instead returning his attention to Malik. The new shifter eyed me curiously. Like the rest of them, his gaze fell to the mark on my neck and his eyes widened.

“She bears your mark.” Malik said. He was the second one to comment on it and I frowned. I was starting to wonder if it meant more than just a symbol of protection.

“Yeah she fucken does. Do you have something you want to say about it?” Rycon challenged, his voice a low growl. His mood had soured considerably.

“You have not consummated it.” Malik observed, his nostrils flaring. I narrowed my eyes. What did that mean?

I was about to open my mouth to ask but a vicious snarl ripped out of Rycon’s throat, just as Rhyalla came forward and threaded her arm through Malik’s.

“You must be hungry, Malik. Come, let’s get you something to eat.” She said, steering him toward the buffet. He shot a dark look back at us before allowing Rhyalla to lead him away.

“Who was that?” I asked and Koda grunted while taking a sip of his drink.

“Malik is the Azmarnar of the Arabian Colony of Golden Eagles.” He chuckled. “Rycon tried to eat him when Malik was just a chick. They have had a bit of a rivalry ever since.”

Despite how tense the situation had been I bit back a laugh.

“Understandably.” I giggled, glancing over at the now visibly disgruntled Rycon.

He shrugged. “Whatever. You act like prey, you’re going to get eaten.”

“Malik is not prey anymore.” Koda observed, watching the large male chat with Rhyalla by the pyre. The eagle shifter glanced back at us, making eye contact with me from across the fire. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I looked away quickly. He had not seemed as welcoming as the rest of the shifters I had met that night. I was hoping he was the last one I would need to worry about. It was not lost on me that I was currently living in the middle of a nest of predators without access to my powers.

“Anyone else coming?” I asked, and Koda shot me a furtive glance.

“Anaya should be here soon as well.”

“What kind of shifter is she?” I asked, and Rycon glared at Koda, a deep growl unfurling from his throat.

Koda chuckled. “Anaya is a viper, and she doesn’t play nice.”

Rycon

‘Alexa, play Lose Control by Teddy Swims.’

Malik had successfully obliterated the brief moment of bliss I had enjoyed in the aftermath of marking Kasha. His comment about how I hadn’t consummated the mark was ringing in my ears. I shouldn’t need to consummate it for the message to be received, but the fact that he had mentioned it meant that Anaya would certainly say something about it as well.

To make matters worse, I kept catching Malik staring at Kasha from across the pyre.

If he wasn’t careful I was going to pluck his ass and serve roast fucking eagle at the next gathering.

“Ignore him,” Koda said quietly to me, so Kasha wouldn’t hear.

“You know I can’t do that.” I hissed through grit teeth and Koda cut me a stern look.

“You will have to, if you want his allegiance.” He warned me and I forced myself to calm down. He was just looking at her. As long as he didn’t touch her, I could handle it. Or, that’s what I told myself.

It also wasn’t helping that the longer the night wore on, the more on edge I felt waiting for Anaya to appear. After another hour, when she still hadn’t shown up, I finally gave up waiting. Hopefully she had decided not to come. That would solve a lot of fucking problems.