One thing I hadn’t considered when I’d hitched a ride with a group of prostitutes was that I would then be considered a prostitute as well.
Slight miscalculation there.
The wagon hadn’t even come to a full stop before we were surrounded.
Most of the men clamoring for our attention were fully armed soldiers, which at first made me freak, worried they had figured me out—oh no, a dreaded Graykey was in their midst; hang her from the highest tree.
Or maybe they knew I was an alien intruder on their quaint planet.
Either way, my muscles coiled tight with dread, and I started looking for the fastest way to escape.
But it didn’t take me long to realize their intentions lay elsewhere. About six inches below their beltlines, to be precise.
Rumor must’ve gone up the line that this was a wagon full of working girls because they immediately started asking about prices and availability.
The next guy wanted Naveen herself, but she laughed and waved him aside, telling him she was going to save herself for the king’s harem, so he settled on Erinn instead.
Meanwhile, I excused myself from the group by making my way to the tailgate area of the wagon, where I intended to inconspicuously climb out and follow my mark to the only reason I’d joined these people to begin with.
One of the soldiers met me there as if to be a gentleman and assist me down, but instead of helping, he paused to ask, “What about you? What’s your fee, milady?”
“Oh, Rowena’s new to our ranks,” Naveen spoke up, immediately noticing a side hustle taking place without her. “For an unknown like her, the price would have to be—”
“Not for sale,” I said, cutting in and casting her a hard look for daring to speak for me.
When she furrowed her brow in confusion, I cleared my throat and turned back to the soldier. He too looked discombobulated.
Crap. Maybe I should’ve run with the hooker disguise.
Okay, then.
“Sorry, but, uh… I…” I fumbled a moment before inspiration struck, and I finished with, “I, too, am saving myself for the king.”
Hey, if the excuse had worked for Naveen, it sounded like a good enough lie for me.
And, wow, the guard nodded in respectful compliance before immediately backing off. He even reached out to give me a hand off the wagon. Yeah, I had to give serious props to some inhabitants on this planet for being so dang polite.
“Thank you,” I told him with a bright smile, only to wince when I landed on my feet because riding in a wagon for hours on end really did a number on the old muscles.
The guard kept hold of my arm until I was able to straighten and look up at him, nodding that I was okay.
When he met my gaze, however, he blushed. “The name’s Tolman, milady, in case you change your mind.”
“Oh! I…” Oh boy. I hadn’t meant to catch myself such a persistent admirer.
Since he seemed too sweet to upset, I inclined my head and murmured a kind, “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”
I glanced toward the harem girls I was leaving behind as I hobbled away, thinking I’d never see them again, only to catch Naveen’s dark scowl following me.
“Don’t forget, Rowena,” she called with tight-lipped displeasure. “You still owe us fare for the ride before this trip’s over.”
I had definitely pissed off the boss mama.
I’m not sure if she wasn’t a fan of the way I hadn’t let her manage me or if she didn’t like how I put myself in direct competition with her for the king’s attention.
But whatever.
It didn’t bother me. She could have old King Kole all to herself as far as I was concerned. And as soon as I met my “supposed” soul mate and realized this true love-detecting nonsense was pure malarkey, I’d be on my way back to Elaina, and then home to Earth, and she’d never have to deal with me again. So…problem solved.
Blowing out a breath, I started gingerly toward the rest of the caravan, wincing as I worked out my stiff joints with each step, and I moved in the direction that I instinctively knew I needed to go.
Thankfully, my queasiness had dissipated. Actually, it was hard to imagine that I’d even been ill at all a few short minutes ago. I flattened my hand gratefully over my settled stomach and took in my surroundings properly.
There had to be at least a dozen wagons, carrying supplies and dignitaries, cooks, maids, and servants, not to mention the soldiers that rode on horseback. The King of Lowden had to have between fifty and a hundred people with him, seeing to his needs.
I wasn’t even sure what to say to the guy when I met him. Unity had told me that most people outside High Cliff weren’t even aware of what the love marks did. They knew the tattoos meant that person was a High Clifter, but they had no clue how strongly the marks tied you to your one true love.
If I went up to this guy—who was obviously from Lowden—and just announced, “Hey! My tattoo thinks we’re soul mates,” he’d probably assume I’d lost my mind. And I’d probably have to agree.
So maybe I should try to just introduce myself first and get to know him before dropping the whole true-love bomb onto his lap.
I blinked, sobering immediately. Unity and Vander had been years apart in age, which had worked against them for most of their lives, and I had heard that Vander’s older brother had found himself paired with a servant woman, which had not been accepted well by their father, the old king. He’d given them a bitch of a time because of it.
Crap. What if my true love was an ancient old man? Or just a boy? Or a cruel, heartless asshole?
“Oh, you better not have paired me up with a prick,” I warned under my breath.
The tattoo pulsed with a spark of hot pain, and I yelped, “Hey!” Frowning, I touched the tattoo and rubbed the sting away. “I’m just saying… I’d appreciate a man I can actually stomach, thank you very much.”
This ought to be good. The little bastard was probably going to try to hook me up with some brainless brute, who thought his woman was supposed to keep her mouth shut and legs open. I was fully prepared to tuck tail and run.
Argh, being a hopeless romantic wasn’t very practical at all.
But I couldn’t help it.
As long as this didn’t get me killed, I decided, there was no harm in meeting him. And I had no idea how simply introducing myself to some guy could be detrimental, so…
Let’s do this.
I followed the call from my mark past a couple more carriages until it pulsed louder, growing more excited, and I stepped around a trio of horses tied to a tree, only to spot a canvas tent that had already been erected at the edge of the forest.
There.
God, this was so strange. There was no way I’d ever be able to describe the intoxicating draw these freaking love marks had to anyone from Earth. They’d never understand. It was like the very blood in my veins was pointing in one direction—at that tent—and it all concentrated and pooled in my tattoo, making me a bit light-headed and more anxious and exhilarated than I’d ever been before. Then it spread out to all my extremities until even my fingers and toes pulsed with vitality.
My entire future was only a few short yards away.
I stepped forward, holding my breath and cradling all my hopes close.
Only for a sword to flash out and press against my jugular.
“What do you think you’re doing, girl?” The guard who owned the sword stepped into my path and lifted one extremely dark and bushy eyebrow as he glared down at me.
Holy shit. Tweezers totally needed to be a thing here.
Hoping Eyebrows would step aside and let me on my way, I shifted my cringe into a hopeful, pleading smile.
If anything, his scowl deepened, and his eyebrows grew even shaggier. “You’re not allowed in the king’s quarters,” I was told bluntly. “You should know that.”
Huh, so my soul mate must be pretty far up in the ranks if he was currently inhabiting the royal tent with good, old King Kole himself. I wondered if he was the king’s right-hand man or maybe his bodyguard.
Ooh, yes, please. Sign me up for some of that. I could totally see myself with the beefy, protective bodyguard type.
I gave a delicious shudder as Eyebrows answered, “That’s right. And the king’s resting right now, so get on with you.”
He applied more pressure to my neck, nudging me back as he did, and the blade nicked flesh.
“Ow!” Lurching away, I touched my throat and gaped up at him indignantly, only to pull my fingers away to find them smeared red with blood.
Wow. This guy wasn’t playing around.
Lifting my gaze back to his face, I raised my hands in surrender and backed up some more. “Okay, fine. Alright. I got it. I’m leaving.”
“And don’t come back,” Eyebrows warned.
Not much of a people person, that one.
I rolled my eyes.
Poor apple guy.
Making sure no one was watching, I darted abruptly to the right into a thick grove of trees. My mark pulsed happily as if cheering on my rebellious ways.
Keeping the canvas walls in sight, I crouched discreetly low as I popped from tree to tree, finding my way around the clearing and toward the back of the tent. Before I made it too far, however, the door flaps opened, and someone emerged.
Dammit.
But maybe this was even better if that had been the king and not my true love. This way, my man would still be inside the tent, and it would no longer be quite so heavily guarded with all the royalty now gone from inside it, and thus I’d be able to sneak in a lot easier.
At least, I hoped so. Hurrying my pace along, I carefully made my way through the trees to the backside of the tent that butted up next to the woods and had no soldiers watching it.
Darting out from the forest, I approached the tent and set my hand against it, causing the canvas walls to billow and shift as if a heavy breeze had caught hold of it.
Relief, exhaustion, peace—he seemed glad that something unpleasant was finally over.
“Huh?” I looked down and gasped.
Swallowing back the instinctive need to scream, I leaped away, out of the path of a huge black snake in the grass, which was only a few feet away and slithering past my feet.
“Oh my God,” I croaked, pressing a hand to my throat. I’d never been a fan of snakes. And this one was huge. And close. But I couldn’t screech as I yearned to, or I’d get caught.
“So creepy,” I whimpered to myself.
“S-sorry,” I whispered, hugging myself and trying to shift carefully away without making a sudden movement that might reveal how much he terrified me.
“Eh, no worries,” he started conversationally. “I was fibbing, anyway. Need a good shed one of these days soon. In fact—hey! How is it that I can understand you? You’re a bleeding human. And how can you understand me? I ain’t never talked to one of your kind before.”
“I know,” I answered with a roll of my eyes as I made sure to keep my voice hushed. “But I have the magical ability to talk to animals.”
“Do you really?” he asked, sounding intrigued as he slithered closer. “You’re a magic bearer, huh? How fascinating.”
It took everything I had not to shudder in revulsion and make one of those eww—there’s—a—freaking—snake—right—at—my—feet kind of sounds. “I-isn’t it, though?”
“Hey, if you really got magic powers, do you think you could curse my ex for me? Damn floozy left me for my brother. All because he was bigger and longer.”
If snakes could roll their eyes, I swear this one just did.
I winced. “Oh, man. I’m sorry to hear that. That’s just awful.”
“Damn,” I murmured, shaking my head in sympathy. “That’s the pits. And you were so right, too. I dated this guy, Alcée, for nearly a year. Biggest, longest damn man I ever saw.” Leaning in closer, I lowered my voice. “And he never satisfied me once.”
“Such a shame.” The snake shook his head sadly. Then looked up at me in interest. “The name’s Charmaine, by the way. What’s yours?”
“Dori,” I told him, smiling warmly, and deciding snakes weren’t such bad folk after all. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
When I returned to Earth, I swore to myself I wouldn’t be so scared of them anymore.
Except, yeah, that was a total lie. I was sure I’d still be petrified.
“So what’s a decent human like yourself doing back here all alone? You lost or something, Dori?”
“No,” I heaved out a sigh. “I’m trying to figure out how to get inside this tent without anyone noticing.”
“Oh, well that’s simple enough,” Charmaine announced. “You just shimmy under this here wall thing like...so…”
“Charmaine,” I gasped, stepping forward and reaching out as if to stop him.
He paused and glanced back at me. “Yeah?”
Huh. How did you tell someone they were repugnant without hurting their feelings?
Charmaine turned his head to glance at the canvas wall, then slithered back around to face me. “You’re probably right. I’ve noticed humans don’t much like it when I startle them unawares. You’re a spooky lot, you know.”
“We are,” I regretfully agreed. “Sorry about that.”
“Meh. It don’t bother me none. Now, how sharp are your fangs? Maybe you could just chew through the wall. It’s not all that thick.”
“Hmm. Figures. There aren’t many useful parts on your folk from what I’ve seen. Unless… What about—”
“Hey! What’s going on back here?” A voice boomed from behind me, startling me into a high-pitched yelp.
Pressing a hand to my chest, I whirled around to discover that Eyebrows had found me again and was looming menacingly.
Dammit. I shouldn’t have laughed at Charmaine’s suggestions and called attention to myself.
“But I—”
I shrieked in pain and outrage, grasping his wrist and trying to get him to release me until he slapped the flat of his blade against my throat again.
“Now, it’s off with your head.”
Hissing and slithering forward, he struck out and bit the guard right in the boot.
“Leave her alone,” he cried, striking out again and only catching more boot in his fangs. “She never did anyone any wrong. Dori’s good stock, I tell you. Let her be!”
“Son of a bitch,” the guard cried when he glanced down and saw that he was being attacked by a serpent. “Get off me, you ugly bastard.”
And he swung out his sword, chopping the snake in half. Just like that.
I gaped, unable to believe what I was seeing.
But...but…
“Charmaine?” he asked, arching one of his bushy eyebrows in disgust. “Keep snakes as pets, do you? Just what kind of unnatural whore are you?”
“Assassination?” I howled in outrage. “Now wait one second. I never—”
“Yeah! Kill her!”
Apparently, the others had heard enough to cast their judgments.
“Take her out!” a cheer went up. “Cut off her head.”
I honestly couldn’t believe this was happening. And so suddenly.
The asshole with the eyebrows sent me an evil grin, and the metal from his blade glinted in the sunlight.
I whimpered and squeezed my eyes shut just as my mark gave another sizzling surge of awareness before…
“What the devil is going on out here?”
The voice that boomed the question was deep and resounding, full of authority and prestige.
And it turned my bones into pure liquid.
My eyes flew open as my body shuddered in response, heat spreading between my legs and shooting through my breasts.
The guards holding me down immediately let up their pressure so they could spin toward the voice and fall to their knees, bowing respectfully.
“Your Majesty,” they murmured.
And then...
“Holy...shit,” I couldn’t help but murmur.
But whoa.
I started from the ground and went up.
Leather boots encased large feet that were braced a commanding width apart. Then leather ties crisscrossed their way up broad, masculine-shaped calves and over dark leggings until they ended at his knees, where the tights continued along massive thighs, only to stop at a bulging codpiece just under his belt. Then, more leather hugged his trim waist, and a sword hung down one leg.
I certainly hoped so.
Eager for the rest of him, my gaze lifted to a pristine white tunic, loose but tucked into the pants until I reached the ruffled ties at his throat that displayed a light sprinkling of black hair covering a hard chest.
His skin was dark and smooth and as sinfully delicious as a chocolate cake. I just wanted to lick every inch of it.
I kept looking up his strong throat, past wide shoulders, where a red velvet cape hung. His jawline was covered by the shadow of a beard with the slightest pit for a dimple.
And I was a goner.
But God, he was gorgeous. His lips were full and plush, nose wide and majestic, and eyes dark and soulful, tilted a bit at the corners. He was so freaking beautiful that I knew I was never going to meet another man who appealed to me as much as this one did.
And atop his perfect head, where thick dreadlocks hung down either side of his perfect face, sat a gleaming gold crown that practically glowed in the sunlight.
Well, I’d definitely found the man my mark had been drawing me to.
And he was the freaking ruler of Lowden. Old King Kole—who wasn’t old at all—was my one true love.
