Chapter 49: Chapter 49

LENORE

“Your Highness—” It was Calley, and Killian didn’t hesitate to cut her off as his attention shifted to the door.

“This is not the time. Leave.” His voice was so cold that I almost shivered.

“The McGuire boy is at the door,” she replied, sounding unfazed, and it took me a couple of seconds to realize that was my last name.

Who—Cameron!

“For what purpose?” Killian bit out. I tried to get off him, but his grip on me was iron.

“Well…” Calley trailed off, and the next moment, Killian’s gaze returned to me. His frown deepened like he just remembered Cameron wanting to see his sister wasn’t unreasonable, then his gaze dropped to my breasts, and his frown deepened even more while his hold on me tightened.

“My suite is not his to enter at whim. Have him leave.”

My eyes widened at him—I mean, I understood, but come on—while Calley said, “He’s refusing to.”

“Tell the guards to handle him.”

“Killian!” I burst out, hitting his shoulder, just as Calley said, “As you wish.”

“No, no, don’t as you wish him,” I quickly said. “Let him in—” It then occurred to me that I was very shirtless. “No, wait.”

“Lenore,” Killian groaned before making a noise of disapproval when I freed myself from his hold and picked my bra up from the floor. “Our agreement was I wouldn’t hit him again. You didn’t say I’d have to suffer his presence.” His gaze dropped to my breasts as I put my bra back on. “Or his interruptions.”

When I didn’t reply, he groaned again, watching sullenly as I put my t-shirt on, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Let him in,” I called out when I was done and an exasperated sigh escaped him. As I moved towards the door, he grabbed my hand.

“Stay.”

“Killian…”

The door opened without ceremony the next moment. Cameron had an unpleasant expression on his face before he even walked into sight, and he immediately zeroed in on Killian, his lips curling in distaste. Killian didn’t look too thrilled with him either.

“Cameron! Hi!” I blurted out, my voice way higher than intended, and for some reason I was worried that he could see what Killian and I had been up to on my face.

Cameron worked his jaw. “Morning, Lenore.”

“Yeah, morning,” I answered while Killian held my hand tighter. “Is there a problem?”

Cameron’s gaze dropped to our joined hands and he scowled before clearing his throat, schooling his expression to just irritation once more. “Would you like to have breakfast together?”

Oh. “Sure.”

A noise escaped Killian, drawing my attention to him, and I tilted my head. Killian’s brows were now furrowed as he stared at Cameron, and he no longer looked annoyed. He was… amused?

“Let’s go then,” Cameron said, gesturing for me to go ahead of him.

“Can you give me like thirty minutes?” I answered. I needed to freshen up and pull myself together. “I’ll meet you in your room.”

Cameron’s gaze drifted back to Killian and he let out a harsh breath before nodding and walking out.

Almost an hour later, I still hadn’t pulled myself together, and Killian was sitting across Cameron at the dining table. The plan had been to have breakfast with Cameron in his room, but after hijacking the invitation, Killian had changed the location to the palace’s vast dining hall. It seemed way smaller now as Cameron glared at Killian whose eyes were glinting as he grinned at me. He despised Killian–he’d made it quite clear since he walked in to find Killian at the table. Killian, on the other hand, treated him like background noise.

I couldn’t tell who was ruder.

“Do you like it?” Killian asked after I bit into my scone and when I nodded, he placed another on my plate. “Have some more.” Then he reached out to swipe his thumb across my lips, wiping away the smear of jam before bringing it to his mouth and licking it clean.

My cheeks heated up—the memory of his tongue driving me to the edge still fresh—while Cameron set his cup down with more force than necessary.

“Why are you here, Your Highness?” he finally asked despite the fact that the question had been written on his face throughout breakfast, and I resisted the urge to groan because Killian’s response would probably annoy Cameron. Or worse, he’d ignore him.

“Here in my mother’s palace?”

Oh, this is his mother’s palace?

“Why are you in this room right now?” Cameron countered.

“This room in my mother’s palace?”

“Stop,” I cut in, frowning, and they both shifted their attention to me. The chances of them getting along anytime soon were close to zero, but I would like it a lot if they didn’t act like they wanted to fight each other. “...Please.”

Cameron heaved a sigh while Killian blinked at me before telling me, “I’m sorry.”

That instantly threw Cameron for a loop and he stared at Killian like he’d grown two heads before Killian faced him, the corner of his mouth turning up. “Nice necklace you have there,” he said to Cameron and I shifted my gaze to Cameron’s neck, then tipped my head to the side.

I’d frequently seen that necklace back in the pack but this was my first time seeing it on his neck. “Isn’t that our father’s?”

“...I borrowed it.”

“Is that so?” Killian replied, leaning back in his seat, and Cameron shot him a look that said yeah, and?

Did he steal it? I’d never seen my father without it, so I couldn’t help but wonder.

“Why exactly does your father want to use werewolves and not vampires for his sick tournament?” Cameron asked, snapping me back to the present, and I shot him a look before realizing that was kind of a valid—and rather unfair—question. An average vampire was slightly stronger than an average werewolf after all, and there was no shortage of vampires in the city.

“You should direct that question to him,” Killian sighed, before glancing at me as my shoulders sagged. Realizing I wanted to know too, he sat upright and answered, “It’s like looking for pearls. While almost all mollusks can produce them, it’s not a guaranteed feature.”

His attention stayed on me like I’d been the one to ask the question.

“Essence in werewolves is like that too. Once in a while, one or more werewolves are like pearls, and can greatly amplify a vampire in a way an ordinary werewolf’s essence cannot. Vampires do not have this trait.”

Oh.

Fabien walked into the hall—his expression more serious than usual—before either Cameron or I could respond. He made a beeline for Killian and lowered his head to whisper something in his ear.

Killian’s brows instantly snapped and when he glanced at me, his jaw tightened.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, unease creeping into my stomach.

“...A date for the tournament has been set,” he said, and my heart lurched. “It’s starting in three weeks.”