He groaned in frustration, torn between his own interests and that of his people. He had wanted to speak privately with Tina from the moment he had seen her in her bedroom window, but he had resisted out of propriety. He had to wait his turn, after all. It was the respectful thing to do. Today was his first chance to spend any real time with her, and the letter’s timing couldn’t have been worse.
The grandfather clock in the corner chimed ten, and a jolt of surprise shook him as he realized he was late to meet with Tina.
Damn it all.
Preoccupied with the news, he hurried to her room and knocked on the door, mind still racing with worry and doubts.
She answered seconds later wearing a stunning white gown with golden detail along the sleeves and bodice. The colors reminded him of home, of the elegant spires of his father’s palace. Her dark curls cascaded over her shoulders, and she smiled warmly as he caught her eye.
For a moment, Killian’s mind went blank. The worry and doubt faded as he drank her in, happily distracted by the beautiful woman before him. Deep in his core, his eagle preened. It fluffed its feathers, scratching at him with its beak as it urged him to get closer. It wanted to observe her, to study and understand her better.
How odd. His eagle was usually calm and obedient, not one to make itself known outside of a life-or-death situation. But around Tina, it was awake and lively.
“You look stunning,” Killian said to the goddess.
Tina’s smile broadened. “Thank you, Killian. Have you eaten breakfast yet? One of the priestesses just brought me food enough for four people. Not sure what she thinks I’m doing in here to need that much bacon.”
“Hey, you can never have enough bacon. It’s basically meat candy.”
She chuckled and gestured into the room. “Help yourself.”
He crossed the threshold, surprised and honored that she would let him into her bedroom. She led him into one of the back chambers and sat at a table with a large platter set on its surface, the tray brimming with at least three pounds of bacon, ham, sausage, toast, and eggs. Piles of grapes and oranges lay on a second platter nearby.
“That is an obscene amount of food,” he admitted.
“Told you.” She bit into a strip of bacon.
He joined her and helped himself, confident he couldn’t possibly eat enough to so much as make a dent in the pile.
Even though her stunning face and the plunging neckline on her dress distracted him, he found himself staring out the window more than once as they ate in a comfortable silence. He tried to make small talk, but his gut told him something was truly wrong outside the temple walls. This was the sixth dignitary to go missing and the second eagle.
“Killian, what’s the matter?” Tina asked.
Her voice snapped him out of his daze, and he sighed with frustration. He ran his hands through his hair in defeat. “Tina, I’m sorry. I’ve just gotten terrible news, and I’m having trouble letting go.”
“Then don’t. What happened?”
He hesitated, searching her face as she waited patiently for him to speak. “I don’t want to ruin our day together.”
She waved her hand to dismiss the thought. “Nonsense. You seem genuinely worried. Get it off your chest.”
He relaxed, amazed she would care. He figured a powerful goddess wouldn’t bother herself with his problems, but Tina waited calmly for him to speak.
“Very important people in my kingdom are going missing,” he said.
Her brow wrinkled with concern. “Do you know who’s behind it?”
“No idea. It’s a global problem. Dignitaries from the shifter and demigod kingdoms alike have been slowly disappearing for months. Do you know anything about this?”
She shook her head. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“It began back in January when a dragon emissary disappeared while visiting the cat shifter kingdom Cimarron. It caused quite an uproar. He’s been missing ever since, and the only clue was a blood-drenched room.”
“That’s horrible,” she said softly.
Killian nodded, leaning his elbows on the table as he ignored the food in front of them. “A cat dignitary went missing next, this time from my home in Aurous.”
Tina interjected. “And some think the dragons are responsible for the cat shifter’s disappearance but are trying to frame the eagles?”
“Exactly. The dragons deny everything, of course, but few believe them. It’s snowballed since then. Now every kingdom has lost someone. Everyone blames each other, certain it’s a petty bid for revenge over any number of minor infractions we’ve caused against each other.”
She frowned. “Is that why everyone was at each other’s throats when the kings were here?”
Killian leaned back in his chair and propped his foot on his knee. “It’s part of it, sure, but the kingdoms have always hated each other. I think each sees the others as a threat. We live in fear of each other. While humans have greater numbers, they don’t have our power. The other paranormals are our only real equals in terms of ability.”
“Hmm, interesting.” She tapped her finger on her red lips as she lost herself in thought.
Despite the situation, Killian smiled as he watched her. The women back home didn’t usually care about politics. Even his older sister, who had grown up with a place of honor in their father’s war rooms, had bowed out of it the moment she was married, sending her husband in her place.
Yet Tina seemed genuinely interested. It seemed like she understood the stresses of a politically charged environment and how fear could make good men do terrible things. Like his father’s threat against Tina’s life. Killian’s smile fell.
“Hold on, wait,” she muttered to herself. Her chair scraped along the floor as she stood and disappeared into another room. She reappeared seconds later with a pen and a sheet of paper.
Killian tried to peek at the page as she wrote. “What are you doing?”
“Brain dump of ideas. Tell me more about who’s missing. Let’s see if we can find a pattern.”
For a moment, he didn’t answer. Instead, he simply observed her, smitten by her intelligence and heart.
When he didn’t say anything, she looked up expectantly. “Do you not want my help?”
That snapped him out of his daze. “Of course, I do. Let’s relocate to my office. I have all of my notes there.”
She grinned. “You’re just trying to get me into your bedroom, aren’t you?”
He lifted his hands in gentle surrender, all honor and pride. “Absolutely not. I apologize if that was too forward. I won’t—”
“Relax, I’m kidding,” she said, standing once more. She gestured to the door. “Lead the way.”
With a relieved smile that she understood his intentions were pure, he set his hand on the small of her back and gently led her down the hallway.
Much to Killian’s surprise, they spent their entire day poring over his notes. The conversation only slowed when they both reclined on separate sofas to read through pages and letters, looking for new clues he might have missed before. From time to time, they took a break to eat and share stories from their childhoods. He described the snowy mountains he called home and the reverent way his mother had spoken about the gods.
It almost scared him how easily he shared his fondest memories with her. Nothing seemed too sensitive to share, and she listened to it all with a relaxed smile on her face.
No scrutiny. No manipulation. No expectations. She simply listened and enjoyed his company.
As the final light of the day began to fade, Killian stretched in his chair by the door. He rubbed his eyes, absolutely sick of reading through his notes. Thus far, they hadn’t discovered anything of significance, but it had helped significantly to get his worries off his chest.
Across from him, Tina sat at his desk with her arms curled around a book and her eyes closed, an ink smudge on her cheek. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically. Enamored, Killian smiled as she slept.
Any number of other men would have taken advantage of a sleeping goddess, but she willingly let her guard down around Killian. Inwardly, his eagle fluffed its feathers with pride. He ran a hand through her hair, grateful she trusted him enough to sleep in his presence.
Her eyes fluttered open at his touch, and she rubbed one eye as she woke. “What time is it?”
“Late. Should we relocate to your room?”