Page 116 of Hateful Prince
Caspian blinked at her. “How did you know?”
“Glinda knows everything,” Kingston said.
“Who the fuck is Glinda?” Kai asked, his frustration evident.
“Who is this chucklehead?” Kingston pointed at Kai. “He doesn’t even know Wicked? Tor, “Defying Gravity” is our go-to karaoke song.”
“You karaoke?” Dahlia asked with a sputtered laugh.
“Once. When I was drunk.”
“No-o,” Moira corrected, holding up a finger in the air. “You were the karaoke champion, my friend. Your Bon Jovi medley was legendary.”
“Oh, this I have to see,” Kai said.
“Me too. I just can’t picture it.”
Caleb let out a snort. “It was burned into my brain for all eternity. You won’t soon forget the sight of a drunken pair of Vikings singing on a stage so tiny it bowed beneath their weight.”
“You, me, and a bottle of whiskey. We’re recreating this, big guy,” Dahlia said, her lips twisted in laughter. “And there will be a recording for posterity.”
“Do you think The Hag’s Tooth has a karaoke machine?” Caspian asked. “I do a smashing rendition of “It’s Raining Men”.”
“Of course you do,” Hades said.
“What’s your song? “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”?” Kai asked, giving him a good-natured ribbing.
Hades stared him dead in the eye. “”The Sound of Silence.” Your silence.”
“I’m sorry, who are these two?” Moira asked, pointing to Hades and Kai.
Dahlia stepped forward. “These are my mates. You’ve already met Cas. This is Kai and H—Cain.”
“So there are three of us with multiple mates?” Rosie asked, rejoining the conversation. “And we all seem to have a connection to each other. Interesting.”
“Concerning.” Caleb wrapped his arm around Sunday’s waist.
“I agree,” Gavin said, frowning as he slipped his hand into his pocket. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to make a call.”
“Asher?” Rosie guessed.
Gavin nodded distractedly as he moved away.
“So, how many mates do you have?” Dahlia asked. “Four as well?”
“Five, actually. Ben and Gavin you met. Pan is around here somewhere, talking to Lilith, I’d wager, and Asher and Remi stayed home.”
It was a strange coincidence. Why did it feel like destiny was in the air? That same unsettling tickle ran down the back of my neck. The one that preceded Finbar’s appearance the night everything changed. But what did it mean?
Sunday turned her attention on me, hurt and concern shining in her eyes. “I guess all this explains why you haven’t been in contact.”
“I didn’t know how to tell you—” I began, but Moira interrupted.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe a call to your favorite Belladonna witch to tell me you got yourself in a pickle would’ve been a good place to start, Viking. God, it’s just like a man to completely discount a woman’s power. You didn’t even give me a chance to try and fix whatever this is.” She gestured to my horns, frustration in her eyes. “Instead you get thrown in Blackwood? Alek has been worried sick about you. And, you know, so have the rest of us. I need you to explain what happened.”
“I’m not going to stand here and rehash my curse with you. What’s done is done.”
Moira scoffed. “Typical. You made a bad decision and don’t want to deal with the emotional fallout.”