Page 27 of Unwilling Queen (Kingdoms #1)

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

Colbie

T he dining room is bright and cheerful this morning, and the smell of breakfast makes my stomach groan loudly. I put a hand over it and feel my cheeks warm with embarrassment when Gem chuckles next to me.

“You must be starving. You used a lot of energy shifting last night,” he says kindly, and I try to ignore everyone’s attention on me.

“I really am. I feel like I could eat a horse,” I tell him then wince with guilt. I’m not sure I should use the phrase now that I can shift into one.

“I’ll fix you a plate,” Violet offers, brushing past me and heading toward the breakfast buffet. I watch her to make sure she’s okay. She was nervous this morning about how she’s going to fit in, but I don’t think she has anything to worry about. Talon and Ember, Hunter’s siblings, both greet her warmly, as do the two princesses. Brodie gives her an empty plate when she approaches the buffet, and I let out a sigh of relief. I think she’s going to be fine.

“Ah, Colbie, there you are,” Lucas says as we approach the table, my hand still tucked into Gem’s arm. He knocked on our door this morning and asked if he could check me over. He explained that he is a phoenix shifter with the power of healing, and I couldn’t really argue with that. His powers felt like the comfort of a warm fire when he ran his hands over my body. He was very professional about it, but I couldn’t help wondering what his hands would feel like if he wasn’t being so professional. “How did you sleep? I’m assuming Gem has checked you this morning?”

“Yes, I did, and she is a little low on energy, but nothing that a good meal won’t fix,” Gem answers.

He’s right, I am exhausted, although my body seems to be in one piece with no aches or pains, just a mild headache, and I think that probably has to do with my lack of sleep. When I finally regained consciousness last night, I was in my bed, and Violet was asleep in a chair next to it. I didn’t bother waking her. Instead, I ate the plate of fruit and crackers that were on my bedside table and tried to go back to sleep, but my mind wouldn’t let me. I just kept replaying everything that happened a few hours before. The memories of shifting into a hydra, then a wolf and a pegasus played through my mind over and over, as did the jumbled sensations of unrestrained magic burning my nerve endings. The whole thing was really weird. Instead of different consciousness every time I shifted, it was like it was the same, but our form and abilities shifted, the inner thoughts remaining unchanged. I was so tired, though, it was like I was just along for the ride. I couldn’t communicate or make heads or tails of anything.

Finally, I gave up on sleeping and went for a walk. Violet didn’t even stir, and there wasn’t any palace staff to be seen as I traipsed through the hallways, looking for a way out. I needed some fresh air. I was having trouble catching my breath with my anxiety. Once I found a door and stepped outside, the sight of the stables made me smile. I remembered Archie’s excuse that he wanted to play with the stable kittens, so I went in that direction. Despite my violent interaction with Stormheart, Nox’s rabid beast, I actually love cats, and it was exactly the distraction I needed at the time.

I was finally relaxing for the first time, my thoughts on nothing but the adorable bundles of fluff in front of us when I felt an intruder. The magic of my animal inside me perked their head up and started rolling around inside me in excitement. There was no fear or aggression, just pure joy as a fucking huge white tiger crawled its way into the stables. I couldn’t believe my eyes, and if the kittens hadn’t scattered, I would have thought I was asleep and dreaming.

His deep, ocean blue eyes connected with mine, and he chuffed as he crawled a little closer and laid his head in my lap. I didn’t know what to do. Somewhere inside that huge creature was a human, but I think his animal was firmly in the driver’s seat. What self-respecting man would act like that? Then it occurred to me that maybe he was one of my mates, but didn’t want to scare me off, so he chose to show himself in his tiger form. With the way my own animal was reacting, it wouldn’t have surprised me, so I just went with it, giving him a belly scratch and holding still when he decided to nap on me. My eyes closed as I listened to the sound of his heavy breathing, almost like a soft snore, and my mind finally felt empty. I’m not sure how long I dozed, but eventually, I had to get up. I shuffled my body, supporting the cat’s head with my hands so I could move out from under it. It cracked its eyes open, yawned, and went back to sleep, so I left it there and hurried back to my room.

I stripped off my dress, which was covered in tiger fur, and threw it in the laundry before digging through the closet for a T- shirt to wear, then I climbed back into bed and fell asleep quickly after that.

“Colbie?” Lucas is looking at me with concern, and I realize I didn’t answer him.

“Oh, sorry, yes, I’m okay. A little tired, but I’m really hungry.”

“Well, we will make sure there are plenty of snacks for you this morning,” Evie tells me as Brodie approaches, carrying a plate full of food.

“Here, I told Violet I would look after you,” he says, smiling at me, but then he freezes, and he leans in a little like he’s sniffing me. “Why do you smell like…”

Gem interrupts him. “Tiger. Apparently our little queen needed some fresh air and found herself in the stables last night.” He already scolded me for wandering around without an escort. I argued that I wasn’t a child who needed permission, and he said it was for my safety. I couldn’t really protest after that. I mean, it’s not like I could defend myself against a shifter if they wanted to attack, and I don’t know if I can shift on command or even how to fight if I could. “A tiger approached her when she was cuddling with the kittens.”

There are a couple of exclamations of surprise.

“Oh really?” Brodie turns his attention away from me and toward another man who is standing at the buffet with the others. I frown, watching Hunter lean in and smell the man. What is it with shifters and smelling people? “Did he shift and introduce himself?” I turn my attention back to the people around the table.

“No, he didn’t, but I wasn’t scared of him. He was adorable actually. He wanted belly rubs and then went to sleep with his head in my lap.” As I tell them this, I remember something Violet said to me, and I gasp, clasping the pendant in my hands to steady myself.

“Oh my god. I just remembered Violet told me I shouldn’t touch shifters like that. Fuck, I hope I didn’t offend him. I was wondering if maybe he was one of my mates.” I look hopefully at the queens. Surely it’s not so bad that I acted familiarly with him if he is, but Mia winces.

“I’m sorry, Colbie. If he is, then he hasn’t presented himself at the front,” she says, but she looks guilty.

“Oh.” I pick up my fork and stab it into a sausage before biting it in half. The men at the table wince, and Gracelin giggles, I should care, but my creature is starving, and being ladylike isn’t cutting it at the moment. “Maybe the magic really did go wrong.” I can’t help but sound disappointed. I’m failing at this queen thing. I have three different animal forms inside me, but no mates. My mom was right, I am useless.

“I love having my tummy rubbed,” Archie announces, oblivious of the weird tension at the table.

“Me too, buddy,” Brodie mutters before returning to the buffet and having a quiet argument with the rest of his bond group, including the only man I haven’t met yet. I’m assuming that’s Gryffin, the king’s son.

“Yes, well, eat up, Colbie, we have a lot to do. I am sure mates will present themselves soon enough. Maybe the goddess is waiting for you to get a handle on your shift first,” Lucas suggests thoughtfully, his lips turning up in a smile. “Yes, I bet that’s the reason why. She never gives you more than you can handle.” He sounds pleased with his reasoning, and I grab hold of that tightly, because if I don’t, it means accepting the fact that I really am a bit of a dud.

The conversation turns to tonight’s dinner as the rest of the men join us at the table. Violet looks between the seat next to me and the one close to Talon and Ember, and I discreetly nod her in that direction. She smiles and gives me a nod back before joining them, and I’m distracted when I get an elbow in the side as Archie climbs into the seat beside me.

“Good morning, Colbie.” He wraps his arms around my neck and gives me a sticky kiss. He smells like maple syrup, and I’m guessing he ate pancakes this morning.

“Morning, my little man,” I reply, giving him a kiss on the cheek in return. He beams and settles next to me, chatting happily.

“Watching you shift yesterday was so cool,” he says. “If I had six heads, I could eat everything I want and not get sick,” he says, rubbing at his round little tummy, which is looking a lot better than when I originally saw him.

Violet told me that shifters, especially the young ones, use a lot of calories shifting, so it’s important to eat a lot to fuel your magic and body.

“What animal has six heads?” an unfamiliar voice asks, taking a seat in the chair between Lucas and me.

I turn to see a pair of familiar ocean blue eyes staring quizzically at me. “Do I know you? I feel like I’ve met you before.”

Liam mutters something, but an elbow from Brodie causes him to scoff and splutter. “Oh, Gryffin, you haven’t met our new queen yet, have you?” Lucas says, and I can hear a slight hint of annoyance in his tone.

“Actually, Gryffin met Colbie many years ago.” Gretchin snickers. “She had a superpower even back then. Her tears had the ability to have Gryffin at her beck and call.”

His eyes widen, and the confusion in his eyes fades. “Cookie?” he asks, and I frown.

“What Gretchin forgot to tell you yesterday is that we used to call you cupcake back then, but Gryff called you cookie.” Gracelin grins cheekily.

“Because of all the treats you used to bake us,” he says, not taking his eyes off me.

“And because she smells like cupcakes,” Gretchin adds.

“Yes, she does,” Gryffin agrees slowly. “It’s nice to see you again.” His face lights up in a grin that has flashes of memories flying through my brain of him and me hiding from the girls and jumping out and scaring them, him allowing me to paint his nails when Mom wouldn’t let me paint my own while his sisters were doing it, and us all playing dress up with him being a knight to my princess while the sisters were the evil witches. They really enjoyed playing the evil witches, but he protected me from all their schemes. I didn’t know back then he was a prince.

I hadn’t realized how much time the queens had spent at Mom’s studio. She must have been dressing them exclusively for a while. I wonder what happened, or if they have been going all this time and I just didn’t know. It’s unlike my mom not to brag about that sort of thing though.

“Sir Gryffin.” The name slips out before I can stop it, and the table dissolves into laughter.

“Uncle Gwiff, Colbie is my girlfriend, and I’m going to be her sidepiece because the goddess has given her mates already.”

The rest of the table has already heard all of this, but Gryffin chokes on his sip of coffee at his nephew’s announcement. “Sounds like solid goals. I fully support it,” he tells Archie seriously, and his nephew beams at him. I feel my cheeks flush pink. Gryffin grew up well. He was a good-looking kid, but he’s over-the-top handsome now, just like the rest of his group. His silvery, shoulder-length hair has a few artful streaks of black through it, and he has a striking jawline and chiseled cheekbones with full lips. There isn’t an ugly one amongst his bond group. In fact, everyone assembled at the table is gorgeous.

“Are there any ugly shifters?” I blurt, feeling flustered. “The sheer attractiveness at this table is overwhelming. Please tell me I’m not going to be the only bland shifter out of the whole race?” I beg, and they all stare at me with surprise.

Gracelin is the first to recover. “Oh, believe me, we are just very lucky to have good genes. There are some very unattractive shifters in this kingdom.”

“Both inside and out,” Violet adds, and I see Sable give her hand a squeeze. I remember her telling me about having trouble with a girl at college.

“And in no way are you bland, Queen Colbie,” Ember tells me earnestly, and I smile at the girl’s lies.

“You’re too kind, but I am aware of my shortcomings. My mother has told me my whole life.”

There’s an awkward silence and a few angry scowls on my behalf.

Lucas clears his throat and fidgets, staring at my plate.

“Hurry up and get some more food in you, Colbie. Lucas is getting impatient.” Layla nudges her husband, thankfully changing the subject and breaking the uncomfortable atmosphere.

“Mia told him he had to wait until you were finished eating and not rush you, but he is eager to get started this morning.” Evie giggles, and Mia rolls her eyes.

“Way to go, Evelyn. Now you’ve made her self-conscious and are making her rush,” Mia growls at her co-wife as I start to shovel more food in my mouth.

Conversation goes on around me, and the atmosphere is warm and inviting, just like being in the kitchen at my grandparents’ place. I can’t help but wish this is how this will always be, but I know it won’t. Lucas and his wives and children will move out of the palace, and the rest are only temporary residents until I am crowned and mated. Bryson and Sable might stick around, but I will have to talk to them about their wants and needs. I’m not going to force him to stay in his job if he would like to retire and enjoy his life now that his friend is moving on.

I guess these are all decisions I need to make over the coming weeks. I get up and move over to the buffet to grab a cup of coffee. A server hurries over to assist me, and I wave them away with a smile. “The day I can’t make myself my own cup of coffee is a sad day indeed,” I tell them gently, and they return to their place against the wall.

When I return to the table, Gracelin and Gretchin are smirking at me, and I flip them off. They dissolve into giggles.

“Get used to it, Colbie. There are going to be times when you’re going to have to allow them to serve you. It’s all about keeping up appearances,” Lucas instructs me firmly. “I know it’s hard, and there is such a steep learning curve, but I have a feeling you’re going to be an amazing queen. You just have to allow us to teach you.”

The rest of breakfast passes by quickly. I can feel Lucas’s impatience, so I stand up and put him out of his misery. “Okay, oh mighty king, teach me.” I give him a sweeping bow, and he jumps to his feet and rubs his hands together.

“Let’s go.”