“Who is it that brought this to yer attention?” he demanded, his gray eyes flashing.
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. If they want to risk the safety of the village, let them.”
“Princess …” Ranulf argued, but I held up a hand.
“I don’t want to cause discord within the Council.” I took a moment to scrutinize the face of every person situated around the table. “But when tragedy strikes, and it will, just remember this face.” I pointed to my face, knowing I looked smug as hell.
Callum grunted, “We’ll be fine.”
I grinned. “Sure you will.”
Alexander looked uncertain. Unlike his council, he believed me and knew there was truth in the looming threat, which made him realize relaxing our security protocols was a very bad idea, especially this close to my coronation. But I gave him a reassuring look.
“All in favor?” Alexander asked. Everyone minus me and Ranulf said aye. “Very well. We will reduce the security in the village.”
Jacob grunted, “Finally! We can take on whomever tries to threaten us.” The others around the table agreed with his bluster, puffing their chests out in turn.
I snorted derisively. “Not this Lycan. Even I couldn’t take him.”
Jacob laughed, the sound sharp and grating. “Yer just a luna!” The rest of the Council laughed with him, sharing in their mutual disregard that a luna could possibly be a fierce fighter.
Alexander held out a hand to stop me when I made a move to rise, and Ranulf gave me a very stern look, but I simply couldn’t help myself.
“Really?” I cut into the laughter. “Because I’m a luna, you think I’m helpless?”
Don’t they remember my fight against the Wendigo? I’m a total badass! The memory of that fight should be explanation enough of my prowess. Not to toot my own horn and all, but you know, toot toot, bitch.
“Do ye really think yer stronger than any of us, Princess?” Finlay asked, dismissing me as a joke.
Maybe I was too arrogant for my own good sometimes, but maybe it was just confidence. Yeah, let’s go with that.
“I think I can take you all on. Want to give it a try?” I leaned forward expectantly, placing my elbows on the table with an unconcealed gleam of excitement in my eyes.
“I got one even better,” Jacob declared, obviously finding this all very entertaining. The old bastard. “My grandson is the best fighter the village has seen in twenty years. Think ye can fight him?”
“No!” Alexander roared, slapping a palm on the table. “There will be no fighting. Mackenzie is a princess and will nae level herself to—”
“Bring it on, boomer!” I yelled, the adrenaline pumping in my veins and clearing out any rational thought I may once have had.
The men of the Council glanced at each other, asking what a ‘boomer’ was, and I wanted to slap my forehead. Sometimes I was still too human.
“Mackenzie!” Alexander looked like he was about to have a heart attack. “This is nae the behavior of a princess.”
“Listen to yer father, Princess,” Ranulf urged calmly, ever the voice of reason.
I shrugged at them both. “It’s just a little harmless fun. What’s the worst that can happen?”
I looked over at Jacob, who sat there looking satisfied, like Christmas came early for him. He thought he was about to teach the Princess a lesson.
Sorry old man. It’ll be the other way around.
After the Council meeting, I grabbed Bash from the guest wing and we headed to the south side of the castle. Where the rest of the castle was pristine and elegant, the south side was like entering a different world entirely, eerily reminiscent of what I liked to call dungeon chic. The walls were made of chipped stone covered in smudges of dirt, further accented by a dank, moldy smell that didn’t exactly scream Welcome! There were few windows and the dim lighting made it difficult to see, but at least we weren’t underground.
We pushed through a set of heavy doors studded with heavy iron hinges and a burst of light shone in our eyes as we entered the Guard’s Tower—an open, circular space where the King’s Guard practiced and trained. The moment we entered the south tower of the castle, I heard the metallic glint of steel hitting steel and deep growls coming from the guards in the midst of their sparring sessions. An immense rack was mounted to the far wall that bristled with weapons ranging from wicked knives to heavy broadswords and so much more.
Bash didn’t ask any questions when I stole him from our room without explanation, but now he asked, “What are we doing here?”
“So … I’ve been challenged,” I said quickly without looking at him, focusing my gaze on a set of daggers as I trailed my fingers over the solid wood hilts.
“What?” he exclaimed. “By who?” Bash grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him.
I gave a ponderous sigh as if I wasn’t pleased at how things had played out. “Jacob from the Council suggested that I spar with his grandson. Supposedly, he’s the best fighter in the village.” Though I tried to play it down, excitement unfurled in my belly and I was already anticipating the fight. The suspense was killing me.
“Let me be your champion, Mackenzie,” Bash proposed.
I started to laugh. “Oh, Bash. Let’s not do this again.” I gently tugged my arm from his grasp. “It’ll be fine! Quick and easy.” I didn’t know that for sure, but I felt compelled to reassure him. For all I knew, Jacob’s grandson was a beast. I kinda hoped he was. It had been a while since I fought, and I needed a challenge.
“Princess!” Liam, one of the guards who was assigned to shadow me, came running toward us wearing only a pair of shorts. His hair was wet and sweat glistened on his chest
