Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Shit. This time, Alejandro was the one scowling. Trust his sly older brother to get his Queen involved.
Calys headed towards them and bowed at Domenico.
The action had Domenico bowing back, although he did glance at his younger brother questioningly afterwards.
“When she’s in her fighting form, like now,” Alejandro explained, “she sees herself as a warrior rather than Queen. So she’s bowing because warriors,” he said in a very serious manner, “do not curtsy.”
“Ah.” Domenico and Alejandro’s gazes spoke of their amusement.
Calys protested, “It would look weird if I curtsied when I have a sword with me, wouldn’t it?”
“Absolutely,” Domenico agreed smoothly. “Your attention towards proper etiquette befitting warriors is to be applauded. It is more than what I can say for your Cavaliere here.”
A frown marred Calys’ forehead. “Why?”
Alejandro cursed under his breath. “Sly bastard.”
“Last night, I caught sight of him with some of the younger male shifters, and I distinctly heard him—-”
“Your wife’s in the forest. She left about ten minutes ago. If you go after her now, I’m sure you’ll have no trouble catching her.”
Without missing a beat, Domenico bowed low to Calys. “I’m afraid I’ll have to continue this next time. I must speak to my wife.”
“Oh. Of course.” After Calys’ bow, Domenico immediately turned back and walked swiftly towards the forest.
Bastard always had to have his way, Alejandro thought. And of course, Domenico had succeeded. How the hell had his brother known about last night? Alejandro had warned the boys not to ever ask his Queen for any tips about fighting. It could have led to a physical demonstration, and no fucking way would he allow any shifter to lay a hand on Calys.
Of course, if Calys had known that, they would have had a fight in their hands since she would have thought it “remiss” of her if she ignored anyone asking for help. Calys thought of herself as a superhero, and superheroes never ignored calls for help.
Glancing at his queen, Alejandro scowled when he saw she was still gazing at his older brother. “Stop staring at him.”
The abrupt tone startled Calys into looking at her Cavaliere, and she couldn’t help but blink when she saw the hardened look on his gorgeous face. “Are you jealous?”
Alejandro took a fistful of her hair, using it to pull her close to him. It took Calys by surprise, causing her to fall against him, and just as she did, he captured her mouth in a deep, passionate kiss. When he lifted his head, he said in a low growl, “Does that answer your question?” But his hands were gentle as he helped Calys regain her balance.
She stood on tiptoes to place a quick kiss on his lips. “You know you have nothing to be jealous of. I love you,” she said seriously, “and you are and will always be the most beautiful man in my eyes. You are the strongest fighter in the land, the one—-”
He clapped a hand over her mouth. “I get it.” His tone was a mixture of tenderness and exasperation. Calys had a knack of taking everything literally, and she also had a tendency to talk about him like he was also a real-life superhero.
Holding her shoulders, he used it to turn her around and have her facing her students. “Go back to work, my Queen. You need to remind them you’re a tough warrior and not just a woman who’s so in love with me—-”
“Alejandro!” But one look at her students’ faces was enough to have her groaning, Alejandro was right, but unfortunately it was also too late to do anything.
Hands started shooting up in the air.
“Umm—-”
Alejandro grinned at her even as he told the students, “Go ahead and ask.”
The girls let out an excited squeal just before the questions came at Calys in rapid-fire succession.
“What’s the best way to flirt with a Lyccan?”
“What’s the sweetest thing Prince Alejandro ever did for you?”
Good God. Why couldn’t she have been given boy shifters to train, Calys thought helplessly.
“What are the unofficial duties of a Cavaliere?”
Having caught the wicked gleam in her own Cavaliere’s eyes, Calys hurriedly slapped a hand over Alejandro’s mouth. “You are not qualified to answer that.”
Chapter Two
Domenico found Misty a few miles away from the manor, crouched before a long stretch of sawgrass marsh. Most strangers to the Everglades thought the area as one filled with cypress trees, but in truth a good portion of it was made up of marshes such as the ones located within Adelardi lands.
“What are you looking at?”
Misty nearly fell on her butt at the sound of her husband’s voice and would have done so if his quick reflexes had not enabled him to catch hold of her.
She allowed him to pull her up to her feet and when he turned her around to face him, her breath caught and her heart skipped a beat. Even now, she still had trouble believing that this man belonged to her.