Captive Princess: A Dark Paranormal Romance (Feline Royals Book 2) Page 14

  “We’ll help,” Lord Balam said, picking up Camila’s bag and rifling through it. “Or at least I’ll help. I can’t speak for the Keeper.”

  Shadow growled, the sound low and reverberating like a panther was about to leap out of his chest.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” I said, turning to survey the room so he wouldn’t see how much his refusal stung.

  “I’ll help you,” Shadow said. “But I can’t in good conscience help your sister take over your country. She’s more dangerous than even your father.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “What makes you think that?”

  “Observation,” he said.

  Lord Balam raised an eyebrow. “That’s saying a lot, coming from you, Shadow.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Shadow growled.

  “Talk about what?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” Shadow said. “Let’s find that amulet.”

  Twenty-Seven

  It didn’t take us long to find what we were looking for. The servants’ quarters were as sparse as they were plain. There weren’t a lot of places to hide things, but we found the two amulets wrapped in a silk scarf and stuffed under the mattress. At least she’d hidden them as well as she could and wasn’t keeping them on her person.

  “Let’s go,” I said, heading for the door. “As long as Gabor’s with her, she should be safe. If they dragged him away…”

  I didn’t dare complete that sentence.

  I punched the button in the elevator, still not trusting it to do as I wanted, but I must have passed Sir Kenosi’s tests at last, because I seemed to have clearance to use the elevator as I pleased. I stopped on his floor and asked a guard where to find him. A few minutes later, we were escorted down a hall I hadn’t been down before. The guard opened the door for us, showing us an enormous room with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city, the sun gleaming off the tall buildings of the skyline.

  Sir Kenosi sat at a long, mahogany table with three other men, all of them dressed in black suits. Tablets and pads of paper covered most of the surface, and an enormous screen mounted on one wall showed what looked like a boardroom full of more professionals.

  “Where is she?” I demanded.

  “Ah,” he said, pushing back from the table a bit when he saw us. “I expected a visit from your paramours, but I didn’t think you’d be making another appearance, Princess.”

  “Where is my sister?” I said through clenched teeth.

  One of the men at the table cleared his throat. Sir Kenosi rose from the table. “Let us not discuss this in the middle of a meeting,” he said. “If you’ll wait an hour or so, I’ll devote all my attention to the question at hand.”

  I opened my mouth to demand that he tell me now, but Lord Balam’s thick hand closed firmly around my upper arm. “Thank you,” he said, giving Kenosi a slight bow. “We would be honored to have an audience with you, Sir.”

  I gaped at him as he turned and marched me out of the room. When I twisted around to glare at Kenosi over my shoulder, I found Shadow trailing behind us, looking as confused as I felt.

  “What the hell?” I asked when the door closed behind us. I yanked my arm from Lord Balam’s grip. “You said you’d help.”

  “Princess Itzel,” he said, inclining his head as if to bow to me. “You would be wise to remember who you’re dealing with. Sir Kenosi is the most powerful man in the Cheetah Nation, and we are his guests.”

  I took a deep breath, calming my simmering anger. He was right, of course. I had done enough political schmoozing to know that. I’d let my anger and panic over Camila’s welfare get the better of me. After being so intimately acquainted with Sir Kenosi on almost all our encounters, I had treated him like a lover, not a powerful man of great importance. If he wanted, he could probably toss us all in a real prison, not the swanky room he’d locked me in.

  As long as he was in his meeting, I knew that he wasn’t terrorizing my sister, so I tried to relax. We sat down on a few of the polished marble benches outside the office. They looked lovely, but they were torture on my ass. A pretty, scantily clad secretary brought us drinks and snacks, which I downed with way too much gusto. I had days of starvation to make up for.

  “About this amulet,” I said when the woman had left us alone. “What does the cheetah one do?”

  “That’s something only the cheetah clan knows for sure,” Lord Balam said.

  “And everyone who has done this tour,” I pointed out. “Every king and queen currently on the throne.”

  “They are bound by shifter law not to share that with anyone.”

  “Okay, then the panther amulet,” I said, turning to Shadow. “I know that Camila has to put it with the others to complete the puzzle, and they’ll open for her, showing her the mate of the future heir. But what if she opened yours before that happened? Would it show her True Mate?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then what’s to stop her from opening it now and cutting her tour short?”

  “That defeats the purpose of the tour,” Lord Balam said. “It wouldn’t gain the trust or respect of any of the other nations.”

  “Well, that’s a lesson in restraint,” I said. “Good thing I don’t have to do it. There’s no way I could resist.”

  “There’s a curse on it,” Shadow said in his low growl.

  “What?” Lord Balam asked, turning to the panther.

  “An heir did that once,” Shadow said. “Afterwards, the high priestess placed a curse upon the amulet. If an heir opens it before it is joined with the other amulets, his or her mate receives a True Mate mark but can never consummate their relationship until they pass into the spirit world.”

  Lord Balam gave a low whistle, but I just stared with my mouth agape. It was like Shadow had lapsed into another language for a minute—the secret language of supernaturals.

  “Um, you’re going to have to translate,” I said, motioning for him to go on. “Human here, remember?”

  “Most shifters spend a lifetime looking for a True Mate,” Lord Balam explained. “Sometimes you get lucky and find her right away, but usually it takes decades. A lot of people never find theirs. It might be that the person is dead, or lives across the world, or isn’t born until you’re a hundred years old. And there’s not a beacon shining from your True Mate. You might hate them, or maybe you’re already married so you ignore your suspicions. You only really know they’re your True Mate when you fuck them.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” I muttered.

  Lord Balam grinned and squeezed my knee. “When you mate with your True Mate, you get a mark, kind of like a tattoo.”

  “Wow,” I said, surveying his tattooed brown skin. “You must have like a hundred True Mates.”

  Lord Balam laughed. “Don’t be jealous. I’ve never met mine.”

  “And this curse shows you your True Mate by giving them the mark, but it makes it so you can never fuck them or you’ll die.”

  “Yes,” Shadow said. “But only the heir. A normal person like Sir Kenosi can use it. It will only show him his True Mate.”

  “And who put this curse on it? This high priestess? Should I know who that is?”

  “No one knows who she is,” Shadow said. “It would be too dangerous.”

  “She’s an extremely powerful sorceress,” Lord Balam said. “Basically, the embodiment of the divine feminine. You really don’t want her cursing your sex life.”

  “But she cursed the panther amulet.”

  “Only if opened by the heir before the appointed time.”

  “Well, I’ll make sure Camila knows,” I said. “Not that she’d be tempted.”

  “Good,” Lord Balam said. “It would be hell to know your True Mate and not be able to mate with them. Especially during a heat.”

  I squinched one eye closed. “Are you saying shifters go in heat?”

  He grinned hugely. “You really don’t know anything about shifters, do you?”

  “Kinda illegal in our
country,” I said. “Humans and shifters don’t mix.”

  “Shifters are part animal,” he said. “They go into heat. Your sister must go through it a few times a year.”

  I nodded slowly, thinking about my sister’s solitary confinement a few times a year when she said she had a particularly bad period and a migraine. She wouldn’t let anyone visit but her maidservant. Even I wasn’t allowed in.

  “Well, this has been an enlightening conversation,” I said. “But the real question is, what would happen if I opened the amulet?”

  “Nothing,” Shadow said. “You’re not a shifter.”

  “Okay then,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “Good to know.”

  Before Shadow could make excuses for his attitude, the door to the conference room opened, and Sir Kenosi strode out, looking absolutely devastating in his tailored, slim-cut black suit and tie. Damn it. I should hate the bastard, but just seeing him got my juices all juicy.

  We all rose, and he greeted Lord Balam cordially, then me and Shadow.

  “Have you been out to the gardens?” he asked, as if nothing had happened between us at all, like I was just another visiting royal from another nation.

  When Lord Balam said they hadn’t, Kenosi invited us to stroll with him. I had to grind my teeth to keep from yelling at him, demanding to know where my sister was. If I’d learned anything while in Kenosi’s clutches, though, it was that he loved the dance, the anticipation. I had to be patient and play his game.

  Twenty-Eight

  Outside, my first instinct was to run like hell and never look back, but of course I couldn’t do that. Not until Camila was free and safe.

  Kenosi strolled along the paths that crossed the large expanse of lawn in the center of his complex, leading us to a small, circular grove of palms. It was much smaller than our garden, but impressive for the middle of a city. Tropical flowers of all colors burst from the foliage, and benches made of some kind of finely woven grass lined the path every hundred feet or so. Several noisy birds called overhead as we stepped into the grove and made our way along the pebbled path.

  “We have a proposal,” I said.

  “Do you?” Sir Kenosi said, linking his hands behind his back and watching a butterfly flutter around a small bush with yellow flowers.

  “I have done all that you asked,” I said. “I am here for the amulet.”

  “And what do you propose?” he asked. “You’re right. You’ve already given me all I asked. Why should I give you the amulet now?”

  “In addition to meeting your demands, we’re prepared to offer you a single use of the panther amulet,” I said.

  Sir Kenosi tore his gaze from the flowers, his eyes bright with interest. “I’m listening. But I thought you were here to bargain for your sister.”

  “And I thought I’d already fulfilled my end of the bargain for the cheetah amulet.”

  He turned to Shadow. “What’s the panther amulet’s power?”

  “It gives you a vision,” Shadow said. “Of your True Mate.”

  Kenosi’s eyes burned brighter, a bit of gold flickering into his black irises. He stared so intently at my panther protector that I began to get nervous. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head, calculating how he could profit from such a valuable object. He was a shrewd businessman, after all.

  “What does your amulet do?” I asked.

  “It allows your animal to enter your true mate’s body,” Sir Kenosi said, letting his hooded gaze pour slowly over the swell of my breasts and down further, sending a pulse of longing straight to my core.

  “Let me guess,” I said. “During sex?”

  Lord Balam gaped at Sir Kenosi so obviously that even I knew that must be a big deal. Yet another thing I’d never truly understand, since I didn’t have an animal to go body-crashing during sex. I was used to being left out of shifter politics and events, but this seemed especially unfair. Once again I was left to imagine the kind of intimacy that connection would forge between two people, since I couldn’t experience it myself.

  “We have a deal?” Shadow ground out, looking far less impressed than Lord Balam. Maybe animal swapping was something fetishy that didn’t interest him.

  “Alright,” Sir Kenosi said with a curt nod. He shook Shadow’s hand firmly. “Deal.”

  “So, where is this amulet, and how does it work?” Sir Kenosi asked.

  “Oh, no,” I said, holding out a palm and glaring at him. “First, you hand over yours.”

  The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Very well, Princess.”

  He slid his hand in his pocket and produced a black velvet box that looked like a ring box.

  I reached for it, my heart in my throat. I was actually getting it. I’d negotiated, and I’d earned the third amulet. My heart throbbed with the wish that Camila was here to share the moment.

  “For services rendered,” Sir Kenosi said, smirking at me like it was just that funny. To him, all I’d done was just another day in the life. I had to remember I wasn’t special to him, that what had happened between us was nothing but power plays for him, all part of his strategy.

  I eased open the box with my thumb as he and Shadow discussed the hallucinogenic effect of the panther potion, which would take the user on a peyote-like trip and show him a vision of his True Mate. Meanwhile, my eyes were transfixed by what looked like a cloudy, polished ruby the size of a robin’s egg. It hung on a glittering golden chain, which was fixed to the small end of the egg-shaped ruby. I could make out the slightest seam where it would open, finer than a single hair.

  “Wow,” I whispered. It was so different from the stone jaguar Lord Balam had used to pierce my virginity, or even the bullet-shaped crystal Shadow had given me. This looked like million-dollar jewelry compared to their simple amulets.

  “Wow is right,” Lord Balam said, his strong fingers landing on the curve of my hip. “Can you imagine trading animals in the middle of fucking someone?”

  Suddenly, I felt bad for Lord Balam. If he really did accept me as a mate despite my lack of magical ability, he’d be missing out on so much. And what if we made a life together, only to have his True Mate come along? I couldn’t hold him back from that.

  At the same time, I wasn’t going to be the person he killed time with until his real life started. What if we had kids? Would he just run off and leave me with them so he could have shifter babies with his True Mate?

  I pushed the thought away. No one but Camila thought Lord Balam was going to be my “mate.” Lord Balam himself had certainly never said anything of the sort. We’d started out with the agreement that it was just fucking. Somewhere along the way, I’d asked him not to fuck other girls, and he’d agreed easily enough. Otherwise, we hadn’t discussed our relationship. He’d been pissed at Shadow at first, but that was because he thought Shadow had hurt me. After I’d assured him I was fine, he’d watched Shadow fuck me on the plane without so much as blinking.

  I wasn’t going to be the girl who made a whole future in my mind with a guy who only saw me as a tight pussy.

  “Why would you want to trade animals?” I asked, trying to make it sound like I didn’t care, like it was unappealing to my boring human brain.

  “Besides the obvious,” Sir Kenosi butted in, “You can save your mate in a life-threatening situation.”

  “Shifters need to let our animals take over to heal us, like you saw on the plane,” Lord Balam explained. “If we’re injured too badly to shift, an orgasm goes a long way to getting strength back. At least enough strength to shift.”

  “So, if you were seriously injured, you’d just have sex, and let your mate’s healthy cat into you, and it would heal you super quickly when your cat couldn’t,” I finished.

  “Exactly,” Lord Balam said, giving my hip a squeeze. That small gesture of approval made me way too happy.

  Well, fuck. I was pretty sure I was falling for this man, whether or not he thought of me as more than a way to kill time, or another pussy to
fuck, or a common, lowly human.

  “I’m going to want to be alone for this,” Sir Kenosi said. “You have our amulet. I’ll take the panther magic, and you can leave me.”

  “Oh, no,” I said. “First, you tell us where my sister is.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kenosi said with a smirk.

  “Yes, you do,” I said through clenched teeth. “You have no reason to keep her. She worked for her room and board in your fine home. Now, our business in your nation is done. We’ll be on our way as soon as you release her.”

  “I have no reason to keep her? I have the future queen of one of the most powerful, elitist countries in the world in my home. Shouldn’t you negotiate a little harder to get her back, Princess Itzel?”

  Fuck fuck fuck. He knew.

  Twenty-Nine

  “You know?” I blurted out, staring at him.

  Sir Kenosi had the nerve to throw back his head and laugh. “Oh, Princess,” he said. “Are you really so naïve? You don’t think you can fool a shifter that easily, do you?”

  “You led me to believe,” I said, gritting my teeth even harder. God, this man was more infuriating than Lord Balam and Gabor combined.

  “I did no such thing,” he said. “I simply treated you with the respect due. Has no one ever bowed to you before?”

  “Is that what you call it? I thought you were torturing me.”

  He shook his head, the grin still lingering on his perfect lips. “I seem to remember you begging me to fuck you on the table,” he said. “Is that the torture you’re referring to?”

  I glared at Kenosi, not daring to peek at either of my other lovers, even though I’d already told them that Sir Kenosi’s bargain included complete submission.