Page 49 of Consort's Glory
Valen was staunchlyagainst allowing both Theodore and Margot to meet with Angelique, but there were certain things Theodore refused to bend on. One of those things was the need to use his own claws on the person who made his consort bleed. Another was leaving Margot.
She seemed surprised that he wanted her to come along, but it was never a question for him. Not only did Angelique stalwartly refuse to meet with any elves unless she got eyes on Margot herself, but because he would not be separated from her.
The pull had him in its steely grip. Even the thought of being away from her for more than a few moments made him want to gnash his teeth and start tearing at the walls.
That was how they ended up in front of a small restaurant on Geary, swaddled in coats to keep out the February chill and flanked by the Sovereign’s Guard, on high alert. Margot glanced around nervously before peering into the darkened windows of the restaurant. It was closed to prepare for the dinner rush, but Theodore picked up the tenor of a few minds, buzzing with more than the usual activity within.
“I’ve never actually been to one of her restaurants before,” Margot admitted. The wind whipped down through the narrow canyon of the street to send tendrils of her red hair flying around her bruised face.
Theodore caught a lock between his claws and carefully smoothed it behind her ear, ignoring the shy look she threw at his guards. “Neither have I. But most places don’t serve elvish food.”
Her wrinkled nose was adorable. “No, I don’t suppose they would.” Shifting a little on the sidewalk, she cast him a speculative look out of the corner of her eye. “Though, they might if elves were more open about what they actually eat.”
“The information exists,” he replied, almost missing the strained note in her voice. “Why do you bring it up?”
“No reason.”
Theodore leaned down to murmur in her ear. “Do you want to find out what happens when you lie to me, darling?”
He was close enough to hear her sharp intake of breath over the sound of cars rushing behind them. Even though her scent was dulled by city smells and the astringent sting of Noscent, he could make out the faintest thread of warm desire in it. A rumbling purr built in his chest, but he stubbornly willed it away.
If only his erection were so easily snuffed.
“I just meant that elves are notoriously secretive,” she answered, defensive despite the luscious warmth permeating her scent. “If you want to have options like the rest of us, maybe you guys should get out more. Make friends.”
Theodore considered her suggestion with more seriousness than she probably realized. It was true that elves didn’t mingle much. That was a product of the disease that nearly wiped his people out a thousand years ago. As soon as iron came into wider use by the other races, elves and fey started dying. It wasn’t until the invention of the Metallurgic Inoculation for newborns that they were freed from the grip of enforced isolation.
But old habits die hard. That tendency toward antisocial behavior was yet another holdover from a distant past that only hurt them in the present.
“Would that make you happy? If we got out more?”
Theodore caught some movement in the back of the darkened restaurant. He took a step in front of Margot, shielding her from view, as a small female figure stepped out into the main seating area and began to make her way towards the doors.
He felt Margot lean slightly around him to peer at the glass doors when she answered, “What does my happiness have to do with it?”
Everything,he wanted to tell her. It means everything to me.
One of the glass doors opened with a jingle. Angelique Batacan was a small, curvy woman with skin the color of rich honey and long black hair she kept out of her face with a hot pink scrunchie. She was dressed in a long floral skirt and a white t-shirt, an outfit that implied a softness at odds with the vicious scowl wearing grooves around her mouth and eyes.
“Restaurant’s closed,” she snapped, eyeing him up and down with open hostility. “Even for sovereigns.”
Theodore arched a brow. “I recall being invited.”
Angelique narrowed her eyes in a shrewd glare. Her eyes were normal enough, except for the fact that they were two different colors. One was a warm brown and the other was burnished gold, the telltale sign of a dormant were. “I said she could come. The invitation didn’t extend to you.”
He wasn’t ruffled by her dismissal. Theodore didn’t care about her casual disrespect. His power was vast, his dominance unflinching. The were could spit at him all she liked.
What he couldn’t abide was the suggestion that Margot should face someone responsible for her near-murder alone.
He would look that person in the eye. He would be responsible for her safety. He would be the one to make sure she got the revenge she was owed.
Letting his usual easy smile fall, Theodore straightened his shoulders and stared down the line of his nose at the small woman. “I go in with her, or my guard goes in to retrieve the captive without either of us. Your choice.”
The low, purring rumble of Angelique’s growl cut through the traffic sounds around them. “I won’t let even the sovereign threaten me in my own place, elf.”
“Angelique.” Margot made to step around him. “This isn’t necessary. If you can just ignore him for a minute, we can talk to the guy and then be out of your hair.”
Theodore clenched his jaw, the muscles of his neck straining, but turned her lack of caution into a boon for himself. Lifting his arm, he caught her as she moved to step forward and used her momentum to swing her into his side, his arm draped protectively over her shoulders.
