I was an expert liar, able to spin my webs until every helpless fly was captured.
The skin around the Mermaid King's eyes smoothed over, and he nodded once, accepting my story.
"Z," the Incubus King cut in. A new man had joined the group, and I took stock of his muscular form, cropped black hair, and piercing eyes. "This is Axel. He was our previous assassin before his retirement this year."
He looked young, a few years older than myself, and definitely not old enough to retire. However, I knew things worked differently here. A new assassin was chosen every five years through The Damning. He must've been my predecessor.
"Axel," I said with a respectful bow of my head. He held himself still, coiled tightly, and his muscles flexed with each movement he made. Despite that, I knew he wasn't a Shifter. No, the way he held himself, the agile way he moved, the flashing of his eyes, I deduced he was a Shadow.
"Z." He brushed his lips over my hand, and behind me, I heard a low growl.
Lupe.
The Shifter King's smile widened.
"Here's my boy!" He almost sounded like a proud, loving father. Almost. I turned just in time to see the Shifter King slap Lupe on the back. Lupe, however, was focused entirely on Axel, eyes predatory.
Axel released my hand quickly, eyes flickering between me and Lupe with something akin to understanding.
"Lupe, I was just introducing Z to Axel. You remember Axel, correct? Don't you think they would make a good team?" There was no missing the sexual innuendo behind that last word. Team.
Lupe's growl grew louder.
"Father!" Killian said easily, finally arriving with Devlin and Bash at his heels. "This party is wonderful."
His stutter, I noticed, was more pronounced than usual. I wondered if it was the presence of so many people or one in particular. One that wore a golden crown and wielded his sex-appeal like a weapon.
I flickered my gaze from face to face. My mates now surrounding me, vibrating with unconcealed tension. The mocking grins on the Kings' faces.
They knew, I realized in numb disbelief. The Kings knew about the mate bonds between me and their sons.
And they were fucking playing with us.
They were turning this into a game, a game none of us understood nor knew how to play. Expertly, they were moving us over the board, and we were dumb enough to play right into their hands.
My eyes narrowed at the realization.
To them, we were nothing more than pawns in a game of chess. Each move had a reason. The goal? To checkmate.
If I was the pawn, I would completely demolish their game board.
I would play their game, at least for now, until I could figure out what they would win from all of this. Would they use me as a pawn to control their sons? Kill me to cripple them?
Or something else entirely?
I kept a smile in place when the Genie King appeared with a wine glass, handing it to me with a fake smile.
Yes, I would play their game.
And I would win.
I always fucking won.
FIFTEEN
BASH
She looked...so fucking perfect and beautiful that I wanted to both hate her and fuck her. The contradicting emotions were giving me a headache.
The dress clung to her chest like liquid silk, a light blue color that made her blond hair shine like molten gold.
And I hated it. I hated that she made me think in terms of "molten gold" and "liquid silk".
My cock was already hard in my trousers, almost to the point of pain, as I watched her descend the staircase like some motherfucking angel of the past. Yup. Hard. I couldn't get hard to save my life, but the second my mate showed up, I was ready to squirt a gasket. So unfuckingfair. I would rather be hard all my life, like Killian, instead of the limp noodle I currently was most of the time because of her.
"She's beautiful," Killian whispered in a daze from beside me. I merely muttered something indecipherable in response. She was beautiful, even I could admit that. She looked like something plucked straight out of a fairytale book, something carved into stained-glass windows, someone to be revered and worshiped.
My heart picked up speed, slamming against my ribcage. All I wanted to do was grab her, kiss those chiseled cheekbones of hers, lick every pale swath of skin visible in her dress, tangle my hand in her blond hair...
And who the fuck was that kissing her hand?
Before I could stop myself, I was charging forward, body thrumming with an almost incandescent fury. Anger burned in my veins, a flame seconds from turning into a full-blown fire.
Dimly, I was aware of Devlin and Killian following behind me. I wondered if they saw the same red sheen that I did? Killian smoothly stepped in front of me, flashing a smile at his father. Anyone who didn't know him as well as I did would've thought he was the epitome of calm. Serene. Only we could see the tension in his shoulders, the pronounced stutter, the way his eyes flickered from his father to the asshat named "Axel" who dared put his lips on our mate.
...and why the fuck was I bothered so much?
I didn't like the woman, I reminded myself. I didn't like anyone besides my family. I tried to put on a mask of indifference - as if I didn't want to conjure up a spell that would permanently castrate the last assassin - while watching the scene.
My eyes, unbidden, flickered towards Z once more. They seemed to always go to her, like she was a magnet or something I couldn't ignore. She propelled me towards her. A moth to her flame.
Motherfucking shit.
I was whipped, wasn't
