Chapter 32

Kalani
She watched Sasha walk into the dining hall. Her eyes went straight to Aiden sitting at the head table in deep conversation with Shaun and Emile. The king inhaled and his head snapped around to look at her as she hovered in the entryway, nervously. He stood up and Sasha took a step back. Kalani nodded her head at Ana, who was sitting on the other side of Aiden. She put her hand on his arm and leaned close to him. Aiden growled, but sat back down. Sasha bit her lip for a moment, before moving to the closest seat available. Kalani gave Gregory a smile and got up. Ana hurried to her side and together they went to sit beside Sasha.
“Hey, Aja. How are you today?,” Kalani asked cheerfully.
A servant placed a plate with a loaded chicken sandwich on it in front of her. She picked it up to take a bite.
“Are you and my brother fighting?”
Sasha choked on the bread and grabbed her drink from in front of her. She guzzled it down, before glaring at Ana.
“No! Why would you ask that?”
“He has been more temperamental than usual. It’s like someone stole his favorite toy and won’t give it back. He won’t tell me what’s wrong and he usually tells me everything.” She tilted her head. “What did he do wrong? I will punch him for you if you want,” she whispered, enthusiastically.
Sasha stared at her for a moment before bursting out in hysterical laughter. She laughed so hard her face turned red and tears poured down her face. She laid her head on the table, gasping for air.
“Oh my Goddess! Can you two stop wanting to hurt him? He’s a really good guy,” she murmured softly, looking fondly at the man in question. “Besides, he has been in meetings all week. We just have not been able to spend time together. That is all.”
She picked her sandwich back up.
“Then why are you sleeping in the adjoining room and pushing him away when he comes to you?”
Sasha sighed and pushed her food away. “How in the fuck do you know that?”
“Aiden talked about it with Gory. He asked for advice. He doesn’t understand what he did wrong. He said after the meeting with the kings, you became standoffish. What happened?”
She glared at her little sister. “Nothing.”
Kalani leaned close to her. “Aja, I don’t know how you can’t tell that the man loves you, but everyone else can tell. You need to talk to him. You also need to talk to me. This isn’t us. We don’t hide things from each other.”
“We are fine!,” she hissed. “Now drop it.”
Sasha jumped up and stormed off as they stared after her.
“Something is going on with her.”
“So, what do we do?”
Kalani grabbed Sasha’s sandwich, took a bite and began to walk out of the hall, clutching the sandwich in her hand as she finished it.
“We follow her and see what she’s been up to. Gory said she’s been going to visit all the girls, but he doesn’t know about what. We can get close enough to listen.”
“How?,” Ana asked as she followed her out of the hall. “She’ll see us.”
Kalani smirked. “I am not sure if you heard, but I am kind of a thief.”
Ana’s eyes widened. “What did you steal?”
She held up a small shimmering blue silk bag. “Pixie dust.”
Ana giggled. “No, freaking way. Awesome!”
The doors closed behind them and Kalani quickly covered them in the dust. They were almost to the front door when there was a loud curse behind them. Kalani glanced over her shoulder and had to bite her fist when Gregory, Emile and Aiden all were standing outside the door, seething. She took Ana’s hand and began to tug her towards the door. She leaned close to her ear.
“When we open the door, follow me and stay close.”
She pulled the other item she had stolen from the guard room out. A highly sticky substance that was almost impossible to sever. Kalani swung the door open, sliding the sticky stuff over the door frame and slammed it shut. The substance made a squishing sound and Kalani took off, following the fresh footprints she hoped were from Sasha. She slowed to glance over her shoulder when loud thuds could be heard coming from the castle. A few seconds later, flames poured out from around the door, making it explode out. The three men stalked through angrily. Aiden had smoke coming out of his nose and his eyes were completely black. He looked around, growing bigger in stature the more pissed off he became.
“FIND THEM!,” he roared. “NOW!”
Kalani swallowed hard and dashed off, once again following the tracks that she hoped were Sasha’s. About ten minutes later, the footsteps ended at a small cottage with a beautiful red and brown stone pathway leading up to the door. They walked slowly up to the door to peek into the open window. Sasha and Angenette sat in a small living room drinking tea. Sasha smiled at her as they chattered about nonsense for a while. What was she doing? She never liked Angenette, but now they were sitting here as if they had been best friends since birth. Was this all a ploy, because the king had made it known that Sasha was his mate? Was she trying to ingratiate herself to Sasha?
“So, are you going to tell me the real reason you are here? And don’t tell me that it’s because you wanted to see how I was settling in. I heard you have been to see most of the other girls.”
Sasha set her glass of tea down on the coffee table hard, causing some of the tea to splash over the edge.
“Fine! Let’s do that.” She tied her hair back. “Were you given an assignment before we left Tursum?”
Angenette took a sip of tea. “No. Your mother came to me to talk to me about one, but I turned it down.”
Sasha glared at her. “And why should I believe you?”
She took another sip and smiled. She stood up, turned around and pulled her shirt up. A fresh healed whip mark that hinted at her disobeying a direct order, could clearly be seen. She let her shirt fall back down.
“After you won and named me as a tribute, I did not wish to be involved with the town’s activities anymore. I didn’t have to hate you anymore. I didn’t have to hate Kalani. I could just be me until my death.”
“What do you mean you didn’t have to hate us anymore?”
“Our parents always told us to be mean to you two. They wanted you to run away. I’m glad you didn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I always watched you and I loved how strong you were. When we got here and I learned that King Aiden was your mate, I was happy for you. I hear Gamma Gregory is Kalani’s mate. Is that true?”
“That’s not my business to tell.”
Angenette laughed. “If he is, please tell her that I am happy for her. You two deserve the best.”
Sasha sat back on the couch. “What makes you think I believe you?”
“I don’t expect you to. I can only show you.”
“And how do you intend to do that?”
“After your mother came to me, I heard Carla and Tiffany talking about killing someone. I heard them say the only way to truly do so was to extinguish the person’s fire. I know she knew they were dragon shifters before we came here and she was plotting to take them out. When we got here, I heard her and Carla plotting on how to get into the king’s bedroom, so I assume he’s her target.”
“She will never hurt him,” Sasha growled. “He is mine and I will not allow her to hurt him. Either of them.” She stood up angrily. “If I find out that you are lying to me, I will be back and I will kill you myself.”
Angenette leaned back against the chair. She took another sip of tea. “Can I ask you something Sasha?”
“What?,” she snapped.
“Do you love the king or is this all because Tiffany was given this hit instead of you?”
Sasha’s mouth dropped open and Ana’s nails dug into Kalani’s arm. She pressed her finger to her lips, warning Ana to remain quiet.
“How I feel about the king is none of your business. I am not jealous of Tiffany. I will not let harm come to him.”
Angenette smirked over her mug. “When you become queen, can I be your bodyguard?”
Sasha rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“Hey, Sasha, I also heard you're asking about your biological father. His initials are L.S. Everybody assumes it’s for Soma, but it’s not. His last name is Sterling. I heard your mother talking about it to Councilman Slonsky. She was angry, because he told her that he would not be giving her money for you anymore and that he would be coming to get you and Kalani in three months. That’s why they made you come here. She couldn’t let you go back with him. She said it would give too much away, so she would rather you two die.”
Sasha stood still for a minute, before leaving the room. Moments later, she was exiting the house. Kalani led Ana slowly back towards the castle, trailing behind Sasha. Sasha entered the castle and Kalani gestured to the back of it where a small river ended in a pool. They walked in and sat down, washing the pixie dust off. Ana eyed her.
“Is my brother going to die?,” she questioned, terrified.
Kalani looked back towards the castle. “Not if Sasha has any say on it. We need to get her to tell him. If we do it and she knows about it, then it will look like she was lying to him again and we both know well that worked out for them last time.”
“Yeah, my brother almost burned Tursum to the ground.”
Kalani sighed. “And my sister almost died. They really are stupid.”
“Yeah, they sure are, but they are perfect together.”