Page 116 of Mated to Monsters
“What’s wrong is that the three of you have been using me as your personal zonak,” I grumble back at her, turning back toward the roaring fire in the hearth. Valindra is eyeing me as if she doesn’t believe me, but I press ahead, taking the opportunity to air out my frustrations.
“All of you are old enough to clean up after yourselves. Do you know what kind of state this room was in when I got home today? I’m tired of being walked all over in my own home, you’re all perfectly capable of picking up-”
“We have the zonak for that. What are you really upset about?” she says, propping her hands on her hips and leveling me with a look that reminds me so much of Drannatha that my chest tightens with pain.
“Nothing the three of you need to be concerned about,” I say dismissively, realizing my error a moment too late.
“So there is something wrong?” Tenulia asks, coming to sit at the foot of my chair, her dark eyes wide with worry as she gazes up at me. I run my hand over her flaxen blonde hair, smoothing it over her budding horns.
“No darling, nothing is wrong,” I murmur, hoping to quell her anxiety.
“Well, it must be something if you’re so grumpy,” Valencia quips, sitting on the arm of my chair. I groan, unable to contain my ire as I shoot her a look for scaring her sister.
“The three of you need to go to your rooms. I’m not interested in another sparring match today,” I growl, letting my aura turn dark and pulsing around me. I suck the heat from the room, setting the fire flickering, hoping that my magical display will get them to clear out and quit bugging me.
No such luck.
“If you tell us why you’re grouchy, I promise we’ll go to our rooms. We’ll even pick up after we’re done playing,” Elincia says sweetly, a slight whine in her voice as she bats her lashes at me.
We both know that’s a lie, but with three sets of demonic, adolescent girls’ eyes on me, I finally yield under the pressure. “We have a new guest.”
The words are hardly out of my mouth when the girls begin squealing, jumping up and down excitedly and talking over one another.
“A guest? Who is it?”
“Is it a woman? We could really use someone more fun to play with!”
“Why is she staying with us? Is it because you like her? Is she on the council?”
“Where is she? Can we see her?”
I sigh again, already regretting having opened my mouth. I can stand before the King, coordinate raids on the surface of Protheka, snap necks without so much as lifting a finger, and yet these three teenage girls can drag information out of me in the span of a heartbeat.
“Yes, our guest is a woman, no, she is not on the council, and no, you can not see her,” I say on a sigh, rattling off answers to the questions they hurled at me. “She’s a human, and very frightened. I doubt the three of you would put her at ease,” I tell them, giving them each a pointed look.
“A human?” Elincia says, a hand flying to her chest, the picture of an aghast socialite.
“I’ve never seen a human before. Pleeeease can we see her?” Tenulia begs, grabbing my pant leg.
“What if we promise to be on our best behavior?” Valindra bargains.
“No,” I say sternly, adding an air of finality to the word. “The three of you are not to disturb her. And stay out of the west wing,” I add as an afterthought.
Big mistake.
The girls exchange a meaningful look, and then sprint from the room, squealing and giggling up the stairs down the hall.
“GIRLS!” I yell after them, leaping to my feet as I run after them up the stairs, taking them two at a time. The triplets have too large of a head start, however, and are already turning down the west wing by the time I reach the top of the stairs.
“Gods damn it all,” I grumble, chasing after them.
70
NATALIE
I’m still moping in my room over the strange turn of events in the dining hall when the distant sounds of squealing seep into my room. I freeze next to the window, my head whipping towards the door as the sounds of laughter get nearer.
The floor rumbles with the pounding of several pairs of footsteps, and my eyes dart desperately around the room, looking for a place to hide. Before I can think better of it, I dive into the bed, halfway under the covers when the door to my room bursts open, a clamor of voices following after it.