Page 86 of Kingdom of Aramis

“Could the five of you please remove your shirts and show me your chests please?”

Liam doesn’t even flinch and quickly does as she asks. I think, like me, the other guys are stunned into inaction.

“You want us to remove our shirts?” I ask, trying to wrap my head around her request.

“Your queen gave you an order, boys, so I suggest you comply,” Lucas growls at the four of us, and I slowly get to my feet and pull my shirt off, bewildered by the strange request. Gryff, Brodie, and Gem do the same thing. I toss my shirt onto the table in front of me and raise an eyebrow at our queen.

“Darling, if you wanted to get us naked, you only had to ask, but really, do you think the dinner table is the right place for this?” Gem smirks at the queen, his eyes sparkling.

She rolls her eyes and gestures at our naked chests. “If you would indulge me for a moment, please look at your bond mark. Is it different than it was when you woke up this morning?”

My frown deepens, and I exchange a look with Gryffin. Is the queen losing her mind? My eyes drift lower to his chest and widen in shock. The mark that is, or was, the exact match of mine has changed. It now has eight branches instead of six. I gasp and look down at my own, running a finger over the mark that has sat over my heart for ten years now.

“Holy fuck, ithaschanged. Did the magic do this?” I ask as the other three mutter something along the same lines as me, but Liam is not surprised. I narrow my eyes on him suspiciously. “What did you do?”

He throws his hands up in disgust. “Why does everyone automatically assume I did something?” he mutters, sounding pissed.

“We think the goddess made some changes when that wave of magic hit us today. Like we told you, there are now eight crowns in the throne room…” Lucas trails off as if he’s expecting us to react, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.

“Eight crowns and eight branches,” Gem murmurs, his eyes going wide as his attention locks on the queen, and she nods her head.

“I guess it might make sense if I do this.” She strips her tank top off, leaving her in a sports bra. Colbie turns around, and my jaw drops. In the middle of her back, sitting above the band of the sports bra, is a bond mark that is an exact match to the one above our hearts.

“Mate,” I whisper reverently. Holy fuck, the queen is our mate. Brodie, Gryff, and Gem look as stunned as I feel, but Liam is smirking. He obviously knew about this already.

“When? How?” I stammer and lean forward to grip the edge of the table so I don’t haul her over my shoulder and drag her back to our apartment to have my wicked way with her. My dragon is screaming to do just that, but we are a bond group of five, not eight, so we can’t be a match.

“I knew there was another member of our bond group,” Gryff shouts triumphantly before frowning. “Does this mean there are actually three more members of our group?”

“Put your shirts back on and sit down, then we can discuss our theories over a meal. Colbie needs all her energy if she’s going to spend the afternoon shifting with you,” Layla suggests, and I drop into my seat, quickly tugging my shirt over my head. There’s an impatient silence as Lucas directs the staff to serve the meal. I can’t tear my eyes away from my mate. I see her squirm under the intense scrutiny of all five of us, but she’s smiling like she’s happy.

“This explains so much, like why my tiger couldn’t get enough of you in the stables and felt comfortable going to sleepon your lap.” Gryffin stares at her with wonder. He reaches for Gem’s hand again, but this time it’s in plain sight, like it’s automatic, and I sigh in relief when Gem doesn’t push him away. Colbie will need to understand they come as a package, but I don’t think she cares. She looks at their joined hands and smiles, squirming in her seat. A fresh waft of cookies and frosting hits my nostrils, and I almost groan out loud, not upset in the least.

Lucas instructs the staff to leave us and gestures for us to begin eating. Everyone else at the table does, but the six of us don’t. It’s kind of like nothing else exists around us and we’re in our own little bubble, all of our attention focused on the queen and her on us.

Dad clears his throat. “Well, I’d say congratulations are in order and welcome to the family, Colbie.” He beams at her and raises his glass to the six of us. “You couldn’t find a better group of mates if you picked them yourself, but I don’t envy you trying to keep them in line. It’s taken the six of us all our strength since their group formed to keep them out of trouble.”

Everyone at the table laughs, and the tension in the air breaks. “Eat, my queen,” I rumble. “You are going to need all your strength,” I tell her, not hiding the desire I feel for her anymore.

“For shifting?” she asks, picking up her fork.

“And other things.” I wink at her, and it’s like her brain short-circuits for a moment, her fork pausing on its way to her mouth. A pretty blush heats her cheeks, and I chuckle at her discomfort. God, she’s adorable.

“Phew, the sexual tension at this table is off the charts.” Gretchin wrinkles her nose. “Can we maybe discuss our theories about the magic and what happened?” she asks.

“So eight mates? Does this mean there are three more out there somewhere?” I drag my eyes away from the woman who just became the most important person in my life.

Gryff is frowning but is still holding Gem’s hand while he eats with the other one. “The witch only told me there are six of us.”

“I told you she was a crackpot,” Liam mutters.

“I think originally there may have only been six of you,” Lucas says thoughtfully, “but something we did today must have changed it.”

Violet gasps. “Colbie decided to invite the fairies and mers to have representation on the council.”

My eyes widen in shock, and I look at our queen with surprise. I’m not the only one. Dad and my brothers are doing the same.

“You did?” Brodie asks her, and she nods and smiles, returning her attention to her meal.