sp; “That’s what our mother did.” Ralph laughed. “She treated our father as her personal punching bag before she finally conceded to the Claiming.”
“But…” Anna shook her head. “I…could never hurt you…”
“I know that.” Ralph stroked her cheek.
“And I don’t have much option, do I?”
“Between peacefully or violently? No,” Matt stated firmly.
“Don’t you love us?” Ralph asked.
Anna was startled. Love them? She’d never sat down and analysed her true feelings about the Martels. She was enamoured with them. Lusted them like crazy. But she didn’t dare to harbour any deeper feelings than that because she was well aware of who she was. Justin, Matt, and Ralph were out of her league. They were three of the most desirable bachelors out there and she was practically nobody.
Seeing her quiet, Ralph tugged her face to meet his. “Anna, once nymphs find their mate, they desire no one else. And neither will you, since you’ve shared our bed. If you think our claim is frivolous and let’s say, you went to take another lover, you’ll never feel the same way for that man as you feel about us.”
“Like I’d ever let that happen in the first place.” Matt rolled his eyes. “He’d have to answer to my sword first.”
Anna sniffed. She forgot that Matt had a tendency to be so territorial. “I just don’t see how this would work. I can’t leave my father to be with you. He needs me.”
“Ah. That’s a simple arrangement,” Justin explained. “Your father is welcomed in Azura. With his condition, I personally think the change of scenery would benefit his health.”
“It means I can heal your father so he could stay with us for a long, long time,” Ralph added.
Anna couldn’t believe what she heard. “You’d do that for me? But Koleniskov has him. He’s going to hurt my father if I can’t get him the secret formula.”
“Leave that to us,” Justin noted. “We have some unfinished business with him anyway.” He rose from the chair and clapped his hands. The door opened and two women dressed alike came in. “Tell the king and queen that Lady Anna is ready for visitors.”
They bowed and scurried away.
“The king and queen?” Anna just had to ask.
“Our parents. They are most eager to see you,” Justin told her.
Anna blinked. “The king is your father? So, you are all princes?”
“If you put it that way. Titles are only a formality.”
Oh, God. She jumped down from Ralph’s lap, panicking. “What else haven’t you told me?”
“Relax.” Justin calmed her. “Our parents won’t bite you.”
* * * *
Matt climbed out of the car and inhaled the damp evening air with delight. Usually, he loathed the big city’s air. Especially New York. Too polluted to his taste. His sharp sense of smell could pick up thousands of cloying scents of the city that a human couldn’t. And sometimes, it drove him nuts. Tonight was different, though. Since Justin allowed him to reunite with his sword, he was reborn. He felt like he was himself again. The stench and noise of the city didn’t bother him.
He touched the scabbard and the hilt of the sword, itching to unsheathe it and use it to punish the scum who had made Anna’s life miserable for the past couple of weeks. The last time Matt had used Shadow Black, his Azurian blade that was forged solely to punish the wicked, was when the three of them first arrived on the surface world. As soon as they had walked on the beach, a scruffy-looking man tried to mug them. Matt had to cut their robber hands, a fair punishment for a thief. But Justin had got mad and lectured him that Azurian law didn’t apply in the surface world and ordered Ralph to fix the man’s hands like new. Justin then confiscated Shadow Black. Last night, his brother gave it back to Matt since they were soon leaving the surface world forever.
Justin got out of the car and flicked the dust from his jacket lapel. His brother’s expression was serious. Matt knew he was as anxious as he was because today was the deadline for Anna to hand over the secret formula. He hoped they weren’t too late to save Anna’s father from Koleniskov’s devious plan.
Three of Matt’s chatharnaks climbed out of the second SUV. One of them yanked out the gagged, blindfolded, and cuffed Koleniskov’s goons who were sent to St. Croix to scare Anna. The men walked shakily and looked disoriented. Especially the man who’d broken Anna’s finger with the nutcracker.
Matt had found out his name was Yuri during the interrogation. After Ralph had caught Anna from the cliff and put her on safe ground, his brother went back and subdued the three Koleniskov goons. Ralph had decided to bring all of them down to Azura while waiting for Justin and him to arrive in St. Croix. Ralph said he felt safer having Anna and the goons on their own turf since they didn’t know what Koleniskov and the syndicate were up to.
Yuri flinched each time Matt’s chatharnak shoved him to move on. Matt thought he was probably traumatised. After he had learned that Anna was harmed by these goons, he had beaten the crap out them and cut off the finger of the man who injured Anna.
Eye for an eye. Finger for a finger. A fair punishment according to Azurian law.
When Justin found out about it, he had ordered Ralph to patch up the son of a bitch. Matt wasn’t happy. He had cut the man’s finger off again when Justin was occupied with something else. Ralph patched him again and it happened a couple of more times until Matt decided the scum could keep his damn finger. Even though Ralph’s healing magic could fix someone like new, Matt guessed losing a finger in the first place still fucking hurt.