71__The bickering royals

Maia stared up at the two besides King Aiden in unhidden awe. They were… breath-taking.

Had Rogan’s hand around hers not kept her at his side, she would have unconsciously stepped forward to gaze at the royals.

The man, tall with broad shoulders, raven-black hair and the bluest eyes she ever saw was absolutely ethereal in his beauty. Very slightly, his looks reminded her of Rogan. If she wasn’t mistaken, there was some resemblance there.

Before Maia could dwell on the thought, her attention moved to the woman by his side, only to find her gaze also glued to Maia’s face.

Just looking at the woman made Maia want to hide behind Rogan. She was so perfect, a total femme fatal. The scent of royalty wafted off of her! Her hair cascaded down to her waist, a river of thick, red wavy curls, a shockingly beautiful contrast to her creamy, pale skin. Her eyes, emerald green as they were, were stuck to Maia’s face, a look of slight wonder in their depths.

“Wow,” the woman whispered. She glanced at her husband. “Do you *see* her, Viktor? Are you looking?”

Viktor blinked and nodded. “I— I *see* her, my Queen.”

“I mean,” Kamilla went on, looking back at Maia with pleasant surprise. “She’s so *adorable* with pink cheeks and big eyes. How…?” Unable to hide her puzzlement, Kamilla’s gaze went from the girl to Rogan, who looked at her with the usual thunder in his eyes.

“How did they fall in love?” Kamilla murmured without thinking.

Viktor blinked. “Kamilla.”

“It’s like a cute, pink bunny and a mean, old dragon together.”

Rogan scoffed. “Old… old *dragon*?!”

Kamilla pressed her lips together. “Oh… sorry. How… how have you been, Rogan?”

“Obviously seducing cute, pink bunnies, being the old dragon that I am,” he responded bitterly.

Kamilla looked at Maia again, smiling. “I heard you’re human. Same. Kamilla, lovely to meet you.”

She began offering Maia a hand to shake, but Viktor caught it. “Kamilla, my Queen, you’re *not* human and we did not come here to make new friends.”

“Well, why did you come?” Rogan asked with poorly hidden impatience. “*King*… of Onyx.”

Before Viktor could answer, Aiden stuck his head between the two couples. “I hate to interrupt here… but it’s starting to look like I’m refereeing a tag-team match out on the street and my people are watching. As royals, I believe it will be beneficial if we go somewhere private."

Rogan nodded. “I agree.”

Without a word, he walked off, leading Maia into the Hostel.

Aiden made a face as they watched Rogan stalk off. “By somewhere private, I meant my castle, but I guess a brothel will have to do. Apologies, King Viktor, this might tarnish your reputation.”

Viktor shook his head, watching as Kamilla already happily took off into the building before them. “No need to apologize, King Aiden. I’m only too well accustomed with Rogan’s character.”

*******************

Once more, the women of the Hostel found themselves stunned by what Rogan had brought home.

The moment he walked in through the door they’d been stunned.

Maia lightly gasped as the women approached one by one after Rogan’s entrance. Cassidy was the first to exclaim after spotting Maia.

“Cassie…” Maia whispered with wide eyes of confusion.

“Maia! You’re alright!”

Two strong arms wrapped Maia into a tight hug as the other women gathered, all greeting her in excitement, adding themselves to the hug with Cassie and Maia cocooned in the center.

“Oh, my God,” Maia said, her voice small, but her heart full of everything from love to shock as she was hugged. “Clover, hi. Cecile, Cleo. Claudia....” They fussed over her and Maia smiled, nodding at their questions. “I’m… okay. I’m sorry if I’m strange… I just feel like I’ve come back from a very long journey.” She shook her head at the women, confusion clouding her eyes. “I… I had absolutely no thought of you… no memory… until I saw your faces. It’s so strange. I feel… very overwhelmed.”

“You still don’t remember Rogan?” Clover asked wide-eyed.

At the mention of Rogan, they all looked over to where he stood watching them.

All eyes were on him, but Rogan couldn’t have changed his facial expression even if he tried. He stood utterly still, mouth open as he stared at Maia.

Wow. *Never* in his life had he ever felt so betrayed. She remembered the others?! And not *him*?! What was so special about the others?!

He scoffed, turning away and strutting off to the dining hall.

Maia frowned, overcome with guilt. “Oh, no… he really… he really was telling the truth, wasn’t he?”

“You really don’t remember him?” Cassie asked.

Before Maia could respond, the royals entered.

The women were, once more, stunned into silence.

Kamilla stopped in the middle of the room, rooted to the spot by the wide stares on her.

Blinking, she lifted a hand and smiled. “Hi, I’m Kamilla. Former human, now Vampire and Queen of Onyx. You ladies wouldn’t happen to have any Cassius wine around here, would you?”

Clover blinked. “A queen…”

Right then, Viktor stalked in and took his wife by the hand. If he didn’t watch her closely, who knew what trouble she’d get herself into?

“No wine, thank you,” he said to the women who were gaping at him open-mouthed.

“Alright then!” said King Adrian as he practically sashayed into the room, his royal garments falling gracefully to the floor.

“Ladies. The people before you are royals, greet them as such.” The ladies curtsied, their polite bows sliced through by Cassie’s sharp glare at Aiden. He pointed at her. “You there. Prepare your grandest dining hall this instant.”

“We don’t have any grand halls,” Cassie retorted. How dare he bring his royal friends here? Was he trying to mock her?!

Aiden narrowed his eyes. “Cassidy Germaine Philips. You will do as I say, or suffer the consequences.” Aiden would be damned if the little wild cat disrespected him before his guests.

“My King,” Cecile said with a graceful bow. “Allow me to lead you and your guests to the dining hall. Rogan awaits you there.”

Pacified, Aiden looked at Cecile with a stiff nod. “That’ll do then.”

The ladies watched them file out of the room, led by Cecile to the Hostel’s beautiful dining hall.

Cassie scowled. “*That’ll do then!*” she mimicked irately. “Ugh, I can’t stand him! Why would he bring those Royals *here*?! As if Geminor doesn't hate us enough already!”

Maia winced. “The Sorcerer is the one… who walked in here. I guess they were forced to follow him.”

Cassie released a harsh breath. “Bloody hell, Rogan.”

“Calm down, Cass,” said Cleo, her arms coolly crossed as usual.

Claudia pushed a few golden curls behind her ear. “Did you guys see those two?! Who were they?!”

Clover shook her head dazedly. “Who else? They were obviously angels.”

“The Royals…” said a voice.

The girls turned to the stairs. Laurel stood there, hands in her pockets and her gaze riveted to Maia. “They are the royals of Onyx.”

Maia blinked. “Laurel!”

A tight smile curved her former teacher’s mouth. “I see you’ve gotten some of your memory back.”

“Wait….” said Cassie. “The royals of Onyx?! That’s… that’s Rogan’s father’s Kingdom. That was…”

“Rogan’s brother!” completed Claudia, a dramatic gasp following her words.

“We just met Rogan’s brother?” Clover asked in quiet shock.

“That’s his brother?!” Maia said in quiet bafflement. ”The Sorcerer has a brother?”

Cleo sighed quietly. “If Genetics has anything to say about it… every man in their family probably looks like that.”

“I want one,” Claudia said tearfully. She looked at Maia. “You’re so lucky, you have Rogan!”

Maia blinked. “I have Rogan?”

Cecile stuck her head in from around a corner. “Maia? Rogan’s asking for you.”

Clutching his coat about her, Maia hurried out after Cecile.

“But what are they talking about in there?” Cassie wondered. “After that seven man army helped us fight in Cassius, has their king come to formally make some alliance with Rogan? But he and Rogan don’t get along, that’s common knowledge.”

“Perhaps now they do,” said Claudia. “I’m itching to know.”

Clover nodded in agreement with those words. It only took a moment of glancing at each other and exchanging eye signals for the ladies to come to an agreement. A few seconds later, they were quietly racing for the dining hall, calling dibs on the spots closest to the door.

******************

Rogan refused to say a word until Maia arrived.

Kamilla wondered if Maia was his lawyer.

“Now…” said Viktor when Maia arrived and was seated beside Rogan, her hand held in his. He faltered for a moment, finding it hard to go on. Kamilla wasn’t the only one who’d been shocked at the way Rogan treated the human girl.

Having seeing what Rogan was like for over five hundred years and nearly dying because of Rogan a few times during those years really made it hard for Viktor to accept this sudden change.

The mean look was still in Rogan’s eyes, but Viktor found it absolutely shocking to see that look melt into a bizarre tenderness when his brother turned that gaze to the woman beside him.

Rogan grew impatient when Viktor only stared at him silently for a minute. “Are you going to wait a goddamn decade to speak?”

Gathering himself, Viktor shook his head, waving his thoughts away. “Anyway… there’s a reason we left our Kingdom and came all this way to see you.”

Rogan narrowed his eyes. “If you think your sending the Legion to fight with me is going to change anything between us, Viktor, you better think again.”

Viktor tilted his head. “Well, you could be a little more grateful.”

“My ass,” said Rogan crisply.

Viktor rolled his eyes. “What the fuck did I expect?”

“Me to kiss your ass and be best friends with you,” Rogan answered.

“I’d rather die,” Viktor bit out.

“Don’t make me throw a fucking dagger at you,” snarled Rogan.

“*Maybe*…” said a quiet voice.

Everyone slowly looked at Maia. She was looking up at Rogan with a raised brow of disapproval. “Maybe don’t throw a dagger at your brother? That’s mean.”

Rogan stared at her for a split second before rolling his eyes so hard, he saw the dark thoughts at the back of his mind.

“Maia, baby, I’m an evil Sorcerer. Throwing daggers is what I do.”

She frowned. “Yes, and I fire arrows, but I wouldn’t at my *brother*. Not nice.”

Rogan grumbled. *“Fine!”* he spat, glaring at Viktor. “I won’t throw daggers at you. But don’t try my patience, kid.”

Both Kamilla and Viktor’s mouths fell open.

Kamilla looked at her husband, her brows rising as if to say, “Did you just see this cute little thing keep *Rogan* in line?!”

Viktor returned her look with one that clearly said, “I know, right! Nobody but us realizes how crazy this is!”

Slowly both the Onyx royals looked at Maia. Kamilla shook her head from side to side. The girl didn’t even realize it.

She didn’t even know how powerful she was. She had one of the most powerful Vampire Sorcerer’s of all time obeying her!

Viktor shook his head, waving away all the distraction in his mind. “Anyway!” He released a breath. “I’m here to tell you one thing only.”

Rogan tilted his head. “That is?”

Viktor looked him dead in the eyes. “Diana’s gone, thanks to you. You scared her shitless. Now Cassius is sitting there like fresh, dripping blood and I’m ready to take it. But it’s your mother’s Kingdom. That throne belongs to you, so my Kamilla decided courtesy would be the best way to handle this.”

Rogan’s eyes were already dangerously narrowed. “And?”

Viktor shrugged a shoulder. “Simple. Take your throne or Cassius is mine. Whether I rule it or burn it to the ground… is for me to decide.”