Page 51 of Renegade Kings

When the others finally emerged from the bedroom, it was like they could tell we’d reached a moment of peace and they all joined us at the seating area, eating their fill to prepare for the day ahead.

Rhidian had told us yesterday that we could start training with him and some of his men today out at the sparring grounds. They were apparently the only outside space anyone at the palace was comfortable using because it was an internal courtyard.

I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be stuck inside, afraid to leave the palace. Never really feeling the sunlight on your skin. Never having the chance to stretch out your muscles as you embraced what it was to be free.

“How many people do you think live inside the palace?” I asked, breaking the comfortable silence we’d all fallen into.

The guys looked around at each other and shrugged. Of course, they didn’t have the answer. They had no more information about this place than I did. Still, it was something worth thinking about. If we were going to protect these people, we needed to know not only how many of them there were, but where the hell Rhidian was hiding them.

“The palace can hold over six hundred people across the various levels. And that doesn’t include the barracks. Rhidian mentioned that the people here had taken to living in the barracks and the palace workers’ quarters because they didn’t want to roam too far into the palace. Apparently, the whispers of restless spirits were enough to keep them away.”

Tank frowned. “That’s not right.”

I knew what he meant. These people had lost everything. They deserved to live with whatever comfort they could find, not be relegated to some hidden places.

“I know, but Rhidian assures me it was their decision and no one else’s. Hopefully, it’s something we can change. Ideally, we need to get the town workable for them again. At least that way they have the chance to have their own homes and not have to share. Assuming Rhidian has the number of people here that I’m assuming he does.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Dean told her grimly.

I knew why he didn’t sound happy about it. Because the only way to find out was to find Rhidian and get on with the day. Staying here in our happy bubble of denial wasn’t an option. Not when we had a prophecy to prove wrong and a realm to save.

Chapter 20

Alyssa

Icould feel the tension in the guys as we made our way to the training grounds, but it had nothing to do with where we were going. As we made our way through the corridors, they slowly moved until they were surrounding me, keeping me safe at their centre. I didn’t even think they realised they were doing it.

We should have been spending time together, getting used to the bonds we now shared. Being shifters, the guys were going to find it difficult to separate from me. Not when the bond was so new and most of them were still getting used to managing their new emotions and urges.

In fact, this could be a terrible fucking idea when you thought about it like that.

Unfortunately, we didn’t really have much of a choice. Arik wouldn’t hang back and let us get through our honeymoon period. In fact, it had been far too long since our encounter with The Endless on the banks of the river. We couldn’t trust that being at the Spring Court would keep us hidden for long. In fact, when you thought about it, wasn’t this the first place people would think to come and look for me? It didn’t matter that I hadn’t exactly come here voluntarily, the Spring Court was home and I probably would have gravitated back to this land at some point.

The clock was definitely ticking and with it came a building pressure we needed to decide what to do next.

The fresh breeze of Nymeria reached us as we drew closer to the training area. I could already hear the sounds of men fighting as the clangs of swords meeting rang through the air. It was the first real sign of life we’d seen in the palace apart from when I’d gone to the kitchens alone.

I could tell by the building tension in the guys around me that they’d heard it, too. They seemed more apprehensive than anything though, as they unconsciously clustered closer around me.

When the archway leading outside came into view, Dean, who had been leading the way, came to such a sudden stop that I collided with the back of him.

“What the…? Will you guys give me some room to breathe?” I snapped, rubbing my nose from where it had collided with Dean’s unusually hard back. For good measure, I poked him with one finger, resisting the urge to curse when it just came into contact with hard muscle.

He glanced over his shoulder with a sexy smirk on his face that made me want to slap him and then suggest we go back to the rooms. Thankfully, I wasn’t on the floor drooling and kept up the act of being annoyed. Or at least I thought I had.

Dean spun on the spot, scooping me up off my feet, and my back collided with the wall before I even had a chance to object.

“You smell delicious,” he groaned as he buried his face against my neck.

I’d forgotten that one annoying fact about shifters.

My hands raised to thread through his hair and pull him closer, but I stopped myself just in time, instead gently pushing on his shoulders to let him know to let me down.

Obviously he ignored me and when I felt him trailing kisses along my neck, I was ready to say fuck it and just give in again.

The bonds thrummed hot inside of me and all I wanted to do was lean into the sensation of the magic building between us again and forget myself for a while.

A throat clearing behind us made it clear that would never happen, though. It also made Dean hold on to me tighter as a wall of mates suddenly blocked my view from whoever had been unfortunate enough to find us.