Page 176 of Psycho Gods

“Why?” Arabella whispered so quietly that I almost missed it.

I turned and stared at her side profile.

My Revered was breathtaking and fragile, and I would protect her from everyone who dared to harm her.

Her voice rose as she asked, “Why does it say that the Queen of the Fae is being courted by three handsome fae who have pledged to serve as her hounds, and why is there a picture of the three of you?”

She turned to glare at me, and her eyes were a shade of blue that was so fierce it was hard to maintain eye contact.

I held her gaze and took a step closer.

Using my size to overwhelm her personal space, I said, “Because we’re your hounds and we’re here to serve.”

She tilted her head back. “You aren’t fae.”

“Neither are you, Your Majesty.”

Her face scrunched. “Explain yourself. Why would you have this drivel published? What game are you playing?”

She stared up at me like I was manipulating her, and my hackles rose at the assumption that I was doing anything but protecting her. It was unacceptable that she was doubting my competency as her Ignis.

“There’s a reason nobody knows the full truth about angels and devils.” I shook my head. She was too smart to act this dumb.

Her eyes widened as she remembered those closest to the sun god were mostly hidden from the masses.

True power was unexpected.

How better to serve your god than to walk among the realms overpowered and overlooked?

I thumped my chest. “Now everyone in the fae realm knows their queen has protectors. They will hesitate before they come for you.”

Her lush lips parted, and she looked so angry it was adorable.

Lately words like cute and sweet were filtering into my internal vocabulary. There was something about her rage that amused me.

It was the reason I’d listened to that idiot Sadie and gotten Arabella’s name written across my toes. She’d blushed prettily and sputtered when she’d saw what I’d done.

For a split second, before she’d rebuilt her shields, she’d looked at me with softness.

I’d do anything for that expression.

I uncrossed my arms and tried to sound calm. “I didn’t lie. I’m your hound, and now everyone knows it. We’ll stand in front of you as shields and serve you, in this war and beyond. We won’t let anyone hurt you—ever.”

She exhaled a cloud of smoke. “That’s exactly why we’ll never work.”

“Excuse me?”

She grimaced. “You keep missing the point—I don’t need anyone to protect me.”

“It is fundamentally our role to protect you,” I said with agitation. “You don’t understand our culture.”

“I got you a cinnamon pretzel.” Sadie pushed past me and handed a sugary monstrosity to Arabella. “I couldn’t remember if you ate butter, so I told them to not use it. Also, Cobra tried to take a bite, but I stabbed him with a plastic knife.”

My Revered smiled at her idiotic whore of a friend and took the stupid pretzel like it was a priceless gift.

“Can we buy matching diamond push-up bras?” Sadie asked as she hugged her. “I was thinking it would raise our morale in battle if we knew we had them beneath our outfits.”

“They’re uniforms, not outfits,” I corrected her idiotic ramblings.