Renegades (Hotbloods #3)

Navan flashed me a look. “Riley, you, Lauren, and Angie need to get out here and distract the guards while I move Yorrek elsewhere. We can’t risk being seen with him like this, so I’m going to have to sneak him through the hedge or something. Go and buy me some time!”

Angie, Lauren, and I headed back through the narrow passageway, making a show of giggling raucously as we stumbled onto the main path that wound through the garden. I clutched my ribs, howling at some imaginary joke Lauren had just told, while Angie doubled over in hysterics, clinging to Lauren’s arm. We were three ordinary girls, having fun at a garden party.

It was only when we looked up that the amusement disappeared from our faces. Pandora and two other guards, one male, one female, stood in front of us. None of them looked amused by the state of us, but that only sent us into further hysterics—real ones, this time.

“Nice to see you dressed up for the occasion!” Angie joked brazenly. Pandora was in her usual, all-black military fatigues, her hair up in the same ponytail as always.

Pandora frowned. “What’s going on down there?” she asked pointedly, gesturing down the darkened pathway, to the spot where Navan and Yorrek were.

To my surprise, it was Lauren who answered. “A run-in with a particularly delicious young man—said he was a soldier or something. Turns out he was one of the waiters!” she began to explain. “Anyway, you know how it is. He said he wanted to show me something I’d never seen before, so I followed him, thinking it might be a diamond tree or a glowing toad or something. Before I know it, he whips out his you-know-what, so I slap him in the face and my friends come running! We taught him a lesson, but he’s fine now. I think he’s gone back to whatever he was doing before, no doubt harassing some other poor soul. A shame he was a colossal asshat, but then the handsome ones always are, am I right?” She doubled over with laughter, prompting Angie and me to laugh with her.

“What did he look like?” Pandora asked, her face a blank canvas. I had no idea whether she believed Lauren or not.

Lauren shrugged. “You know, tall, handsome, gray skin, coldblood-looking.”

If Pandora had been unamused before, she was downright irritated now. Fortunately for us, the unexpected arrival of Bashrik distracted her attention, her focus turning to his concerned expression.

“Is everything all right?” he asked, looking at the three of us with wide eyes.

Lauren nodded. “Just a run-in with an unruly waiter. We were just telling Pandora here what was going on. I think we caused a bit of a scene, made too much noise,” she said apologetically.

Bashrik frowned, evidently trying to piece together what was happening. With Pandora there, we couldn’t exactly tell him. “But you’re all okay?” he pressed. His eyes fixed on Angie, who nodded, a small smile upon her face.

“What is everyone doing here?” Queen Brisha’s voice cut in, silencing us all in one fell swoop. She had clearly followed Bashrik, wondering where he was headed. Now, seeing us all standing here, she didn’t look too pleased. It was just a shame that her presence attracted the attention of every single other partygoer in the garden.

Bashrik turned to her, grinning. “Queen Brisha, do you remember that woman I was talking about, to whom the stars paled in comparison? The woman with more light in her soul than a thousand burning suns? The woman who held an entire universe in her eyes?” he asked, as my heart began to race.

What the heck was he doing? Was he going to kiss the queen here, in front of everyone? It certainly looked like it. I didn’t know whether to stop him or let it happen, my eyes wide in shock as the queen gazed back, adoration written all over her face.

“I remember, Bashrik,” Queen Brisha whispered.

“Well, I have been waiting all night for the right moment to express my feelings toward this woman,” Bashrik continued, raising his voice so everyone could hear. “I’ve been looking everywhere for her, but I couldn’t find her in the crowds. I wasn’t even sure she was here, but now I’ve found her again, and I am never letting her go! Love is a precious thing, and must be sought out, even in the strangest of places!” he shouted, as he whirled around and scooped Angie up into his arms.

My jaw dropped. Angie looked at him as though he had sprouted a second head, but she didn’t pull away when Bashrik leaned down and met her lips in a passionate kiss. Looping her arms around his neck, she kissed him back, leaving the whole party reeling.

Tearing my eyes away from the scene, I saw the world-shattering sadness in Queen Brisha’s eyes, and felt instantly terrible. True, Bashrik didn’t love her, and she had become a little obsessive, but humiliating her like this didn’t seem right, either. I wanted to put an arm around her, or something, but she was the queen. How was anyone supposed to comfort the ruler of a nation?

Her gaze shot to me. I knew why. I had told her Bashrik wasn’t in love with anyone else, and though I wasn’t sure how much truth there was behind what Bashrik had just said, and what he was doing—given that he’d been trying to come up with a way to end the queen’s advances for a while now—I knew how it looked. Even to me, their kiss seemed genuine.

“I didn’t know, Your Highness,” I whispered in apology, moving to her side.

“At least he saved me from humiliating myself,” she hissed back. I could hear the unspoken sentiment in her words: unlike you.

“Your Highness, please believe me. I didn’t know about this,” I repeated, but she was already walking away from me, returning to the solitary throne at the far end of the garden.

It seemed the party was over for her.

She paused in her tracks as Navan came hurtling down the garden steps, his wings outstretched. He flew haphazardly, swinging from side to side, a giddy expression on his face. I’d seen that expression before, when he’d taken strong painkillers what seemed like a lifetime ago. Spiraling downward, he landed with a flourish, stretching out his hands like a gymnast who’d perfected a dismount.

“What did I miss?” he asked, feigning drunkenness as he chortled to himself.

Queen Brisha turned and shot him a sour look, but Navan seemed determined to make her laugh. I was grateful for that. No matter what the queen had done to try to woo Bashrik, she deserved to smile, and not feel like a fool for the way she adored him. I nodded to Bashrik and Angie, who were still canoodling in front of everyone.

“Bashrik, get away from her this instant! You don’t know what you might catch!” Navan joked, drunkenly nudging Bashrik in the shoulder. When that didn’t work, he tried to pry them away from each other, only to get a smack in the head from his brother. “I think they might be glued together.” He hiccupped. “Maybe we need to get something to cut them free before they suffocate!”