Chapter 119
Chapter 119
Elvira
Why does your mate turn hotter the second he is an ex–mate?
Liora catches me staring at Axel and smirks like she just caught me committing a crime. “You’re going to burn holes in him if you keep looking at him like that.”
“I’m not looking at him,” I mutter, tearing my eyes away from Axel’s infuriatingly perfect smile. “We should keep walking.”
“Uh–huh.” She doesn’t move. “Sure. You’re not looking at Mr. Tanned–and–hot, and I’m the Queen of the Moon Court.”
Before I can insist that I wasn’t eyeing Axel like a free steak, Axel shifts into a move that makes the recruits stumble back. It clearly wasn’t expected since it disarms one and spins to block the other fae in a single, fluid motion. The gathered fae women gasp in unison, a few clapping softly like they are at a private show.
“Oh my,” Liora murmurs like she is watching the climax of a romance play. “Did you see that spin? If I faint, you’re catching me.”
“I’m not impressed,” I lie under my breath.
I am impressed. And my eyes? Already making out with Axel’s body.
Liora snorts. “Then why are you leaning forward?”
I straighten instantly. “I’m not—”
“You are,” she says with smug certainty. “Your eyes haven’t left him since we got here. Careful, Elvira, you might start drooling.”
I glare at her, but my gaze betrays me again, tracking the precise power in every motion, the way sunlight slides over the line of his shoulders. My pulse has no loyalty to common sense.
Liora leans in herself. “We will just stay for a minute. Inspiration, remember?”
I sigh, adjusting my arms across my chest. “Fine. One minute.”
That minute is all it takes for chaos to find me.
//
I step closer to get a better view, my boot catching on a patch of uneven ground. Gravity tilts, and I lurch forward in full view of the King’s Guard, the gathered fae women, and Axel himself.
My hand shoots out for balance.
It lands on a training table.
A training table with a pie on it.
Why is there a pie on it?
The pie does not survive.
My palm hits dead center, sending it flying in a slow–motion arc that ends with a perfect splat against the shoulder of the tall, elegant fae woman who had been leaning just a little too close to Axel moments ago.
Silence.
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Chapter 119
My stomach knots, panic curling up my spine. The woman’s glare could flay skin. She definitely wants me dead.
Before I can apologize, someone in the crowd whispers, “Oh no… she pled Selene.”
Selene. Of course the most dangerous flirt in the Dream Court has a name as dramatic as her cheekbones.
Before I can process it, Axel’s laugh cracks through the tension. It is not your usual polite chuckle, but a full, rich belly laugh that turns heads. Even the recruits stop doing what they are doing. The sound rolls warm over the training grounds, startling and disarming all at once.
“I… I didn’t mean to do that!” I blurt, pie filling dripping from my fingers.
Axel’s grin is pure trouble. “Bold move, Elvira.”
One of the recruits whistles low. “Never seen him laugh like that before.” Another mutters, “He never laughs during training.”
Selene makes a strangled sound, but before she can step toward me, Axel shifts slightly, his eyes cutting toward her in a way that sends her backing off without a word. He stays where he is, but the warning is clear. My chest warms despite myself.
Still shirtless, still irritatingly beautiful, he steps close enough to offer his hand. As I take it, his thumb brushes over my skin. My heart goes doki–doki and I feel my breath catch. “You always know how to make an entrance.”
I try to sound unaffected. “Don’t get used to it.”
His eyes glint. “Too late.”
One of the recruits mutters something about “the ball being interesting this year” as Liora steers me toward the path.
Once we are out of earshot, she finally bursts out laughing. “Elvira, that was beautiful. You just pied Selene, the Dream Court’s most notorious flirt. I almost want to thank you on behalf of women everywhere.”
I groan, covering my face with my hands. “I looked like a complete idiot.”
“Sure,” she says, still grinning. “But a memorable idiot. Trust me, you’ve just guaranteed every single person here will remember you at the
ball.”
“I don’t want to be remembered!”
“But you will be!” She winks and starts mimicking my trip, complete with flailing arms and a dramatic gasp. “And then…bam! Pie justice and your rival in love gone!”
I swat at her shoulder. “You’re impossible.”
Before I can decide if her praise is comforting or horrifying, a shadow cuts across our path. Selene sweeps by, perfume so strong it could knock a weaker woman out, her smile the kind of sharp that makes you check for bleeding.
She slows, just long enough to give me a look like I’m a piece of gum she is prying off her shoe. “You think that little stunt was cute? Enjoy it. He laughs now, but when he is in my bed, we will see who is laughing.”
It’s a cheap shot and it lands. My stomach flips, my breath stutters, and for a second all I can think about is clawing that smirk off her face. Liora’s head whips toward her, a retort already loading, but Selene is gone before the shot can fire.
“Wow,” Liora says flatly. “She is even worse than they say. I didn’t think that was possible.”
I glance back and see that Axel is still watching me. That maddening smile is tugging at his mouth like he knows exactly what Selene said. And then, just to twist the knife, he tosses a training cloth at me with a lazy flick, like he is handing over something harmless instead of starting another hundred thoughts I don’t need.
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17:34 Mon, 11 Aug
Chapter 119
I catch it on instinct. It smells like him. Sweat, steel, and that other scent I know too well. I cannot explain it, but it is the one that used tote the smell of safety when we shared a bed. Before he forgot me. Before the mate bond shattered.
And damn it, I want him back.
Which means…
This isn’t over.
AD
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