Tina got straight to business. “I’m not sure this line is secure, little miss super spy.”
“Of course, it is. You would not believe the strings I pulled to get you this thing.”
Tina rolled her eyes. “My doting high priestess got her hands on it before it got to me.”
Amy groaned in annoyance. “But I—damn it all! Why is this so hard? Okay, hold on. I’m going to go get my favorite nerd. He can walk you through checking the phone for bugs. Hear that, Ray? Fuck you!”
Tina laughed. Whether Ray liked it or not, Tina would have a secure phone line by the end of the day.
It turned out that it only took an hour for Amy’s “favorite nerd” to walk Tina through the possible ways the phone could have been bugged, both via hardware and software. She wasn’t sure where Amy found this guy, because his knowledge of how to spy on people was scary good.
They found only one instance of spy software on the phone and easily removed it, thanks to Super Nerd. She would have to keep the phone on her at all times to keep it from getting bugged again.
As the day ticked on, Tina told Amy about everything. Her excitement. Her magic. Her fear. The kings. The princes. The death threats. As the hours wore on, her throat hurt from all the talking, but she needed to get this out and clear her head.
“Holy shit,” Amy finally said when Tina finished.
“No kidding,” Tina agreed.
“I could tell Anthony was interested in you, but wow. He’s head over heels for you now.”
“You don’t think he’s just trying to win?”
“Never. If he didn’t want you, he wouldn’t try regardless of the power struggle at stake. In the past, he has always overcome the odds and won even if his opponent is stronger. That’s just what he does.”
“But the others—”
“Look,” Amy interrupted with a tough-love edge to her voice. “This is your life now, babe. Smoking hot men. Power struggles. Political intrigue and unfair demands of you and your time. This is why I said I didn’t envy you. Considering everything you are and everything you can be, there will always be people trying to control you. At the end of the day, you just have to trust yourself. With Damara, your intuition will never fail you unless you ignore it. If you trust her, she will protect you.”
Amy let out a slow breath as she continued. “I can tell you loads about those princes, Tina, but everything I know, I learned through Anthony. It’s all biased. In the end, you need to ask yourself what you think. Trust your gut.”
Tina sat up straighter, and in that second it all clicked for her. “You’re right.”
“Duh.”
Tina laughed, but the thrill of her new realization thrummed within her chest. “You’re right. Flynn said yesterday that the more I trust Damara, the more powerful I’ll become. It’s a give and take.”
“Exactly. She wants you to not just survive but to thrive. To win. To love your life. If you’re happy, she gets to be happy vicariously through you. You’re her ticket to experience our world. She’s going to protect you no matter what.”
Tina stood tall and stared out her bedroom window at the glorious day.
“What is your intuition telling you right now?” Amy asked.
With her hand on her abdomen, Tina listened to the humming within her body. Energy and power swirled within her, churning like the storm she saw the day before. She thought over each of the men she had spent time with thus far, and the same words came to her for each of them: safe and sexy.
“I can trust these guys,” Tina finally said. “Anthony, Draven, and Flynn, at least.”
“Good. What about tomorrow’s guy? Who’s that, again?”
“Killian.”
Tina listened again to her intuition. She recalled the beady glare the eagle king had given her when he suggested they all kill her. In another instant, Killian stepped between her and his father, eager to dispel the tension.
Blips of emotion surfaced as she waited to make sense of what Damara was trying to say. Concern. Desire. Trust.
“King James wants me dead, but Killian does not,” Tina finally said.
“Good. What else?”
“My choice in this contest has serious consequences and, honestly, may not matter.”
On the other end of the line, Amy spit out whatever she was drinking. “What? Are you crazy? Of course, it matters!”
“The four princes I don’t choose will be disappointed, but their fathers will be furious.” Tina shook her head, more and more certain with every word she spoke. “The kings may even be angry enough to come after me. At least one of the kings would rather kill me than let my power go to someone else. Regardless of who I choose, there will be a war.”
She would need a backup plan in the very likely chance things went south when she made her choice. At all times, she would need to be careful and have a means of escape.
Tina leaned against the window and stared out onto the day, her mind racing with options. It seemed like Zane’s offer was even more meaningful than she had imagined. The question was, would he still help her even if he wasn’t chosen?
No, she couldn’t think about this right now. She had to focus on the task at hand: choosing one of the tantalizing princes vying for her attention. Deep down, though, she had to confess her growing affection for each of them. Choosing would be difficult, and she wasn’t sure if she even could choose just one.
Her fingers itched to be kept busy, and since her mind was racing too much to sit down and read more about Damara, she grabbed the dagger her dragon shifter had given her and ran through the now-familiar techniques he had taught her.
“Focus,” she said to herself, doing her best to remember the pointers Draven had given her. “Tense the core. Swing.” She slashed at the air, imaging King James’ face beneath the blade.
To test herself further, she turned her attention inward, eyes closed as the ran through the techniques in her empty bedroom. As she had in the garden with Flynn, she tapped into the magic in her body, connecting with the sensations all around her. Every breath, every breeze, every beat of wings on the air as birds flew by, it all swirled within her, bringing her to life. Deep within her core, her magic hummed and churned, vibrant and powerful.
Even though she was alone, she instinctively listened for heartbeats. To her surprise, a distant one thrummed to life. She could feel it coming closer as she connected with the stranger’s body, the pulse somehow familiar even though she didn’t know who it belonged to.
With too many things to focus on, Tina paused her dagger practice and listened completely to the approaching heartbeat. She gave herself completely to her magic as the person reached her door and knocked.
“Yes?” she asked, not bothering to open the door.
“Tina, it’s me.” Draven’s muffled voice came through the wood, and she shook her head at his gall. “You ready to train?”
With a sigh, Tina’s grip on her dagger tightened. Part of her wanted to open the door and let him “train” her between the sheets, to allow him to break her rules yet again so he could please her. However, he was forming some bad habits, habits she needed to put a stop to. “It’s my day off, Draven. You don’t get to have extra days in the contest.”
The locked doorknob rattled as he tried to get in, and she frowned in annoyance. He sighed through the door. “I thought we agreed you need as much training as possible.”
“I do. I’ll train with each of you.” She took a deep breath, officially annoyed by his antics. “As for today, I’m set with solo practice.”
“Tina—”
“No, Draven.”
“Come on, just—”
Since she was still connected to her magic, his heartbeat thudded in her ear. She tapped into it, pressing the accelerator ever so slightly to drive home her point. He gasped, and the door shook as something heavy leaned into it.
“I’m sorry,” he said with a gasp.
Tina released her hold on his pulse, and on the other side of the door, the dragon shifter sighed with relief.