“I’ll leave you all to decide,” Ray said, quickly bowing out of the room and shutting the door behind her.
“Where could we go that would be safe?” Killian asked as he rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
“Transportation isn’t safe,” Flynn said at her side, his thumb gently rubbing her thigh in comfort. “If we travel, more rebels might come for her.”
“They’ll die trying.” Anthony growled softly beside her, his possessive grip tightening around her waist. She leaned her head on his shoulder, as much to soothe him as to let him console her.
Zane looked up from his phone. “I could find us a safehouse.” He frowned. “We would have to travel there, of course, but we’d be hidden once we arrived.”
“I won’t hide,” Draven said, nearly hissing with anger.
Tina perked up, an idea coming to her. “What if we visit the kingdoms?”
Slowly, each of her princes turned toward her, and each had a different expression on his face. Killian, concern. Zane, intrigue. Draven, contemplation. Anthony, uncertainty. Flynn, excitement.
“We can’t stay here, obviously.” The demigod nodded, almost to himself. “We’ll have an issue with transportation no matter where we go next. But the kingdoms—”
“The kingdoms all have armies,” Draven interjected. “You would be safe there, Tina.”
“But where do we go?” Killian asked, warily looking from prince to prince. “We all want her to go home with us, obviously.”
“It needs to be fair,” Tina agreed with a nod. “We need to visit each one. Zane, I’ll need to work with you to ensure travel is safe.”
“You’re right, Tina,” Anthony said, his hand possessively brushing her back, and she leaned into him as his sultry cologne lured her closer. “Besides, it’s important that you like your future home.”
“Exactly,” she said with a smile.
Flynn rubbed the back of his neck. “Usually when we travel, there are guards. Security. Intel making sure that wherever we're going is safe. That would take coordination and collaboration across the five kingdoms that I’ve never seen before.”
Tina tilted her head, apparently confused. “What do you mean?”
Killian answered for Flynn. “When shifters and demigods meet with each other in person, we don’t travel to each other’s kingdoms. We always convene in a neutral area.”
“Always,” Anthony added for effect.
Tina tapped her finger on her mouth as she mulled over this new information. She felt eyes watching her, and she glanced up in time to see Draven staring at her lips as though he were fighting the impulse to reach over and taste them. He nearly trembled with need, his fist tightening into a fist before he looked away.
He probably felt guilty. He probably felt like all of this was his fault, that he had failed her somehow.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” she said softly to him. He briefly smiled and gave her a small nod before he resumed his pacing.
“Well, let’s back up a bit,” Zane said, interrupting Tina’s thoughts. “If anyone comes for Tina while we’re traveling, they’re also attacking all four shifter kingdoms and the demigod kingdom. It would be an instant declaration of war.” He tucked his phone in his pants pocket and nodded to himself, as if the pieces were all falling into place. “The kingdoms wouldn’t let anything happen, so we’ll likely be guarded the whole way. Every single kingdom still wants a stake in this contest, don’t they?”
“Of course,” Draven said softly, and the words came out so tender that Tina wanted to reach out and hold him.
Zane briefly looked at the dragon shifter, but if he had registered anything unusual about Draven’s comment, he didn’t mention it. “Consider this, gentlemen. Even if we go into the other shifter and demigod kingdoms, none of our fathers is going to try anything.” He ran a hand through his tousled hair. “I know it seems impossible to think about shifters and demigods working together, but if you were kidnapped and your lives were on the line, wouldn’t your fathers work with their enemies to get you out safely?”
“He would,” Killian said, eyebrows lifting as if he hadn’t considered that before.
Tina smiled, loving this idea the more she thought about it. “So realistically, no one is going to try anything while you’re visiting the other kingdoms because it would risk a war they couldn’t possibly win.” She clapped her hands together, excited. “You all will be safe, and so will I.”
“What about our travel between kingdoms?” Flynn rubbed his beard, deep in thought. “We still don’t know who forced Damara into this world in the first place. I doubt it was a king because the implications would be unimaginable. It’s likely an independent third-party.”
Tina shrugged. “It’s in your fathers’ best interests to make sure we all get where we're going safely. They’re going to squash anyone who tries to diminish your chance to win the contest.”
“Father would hate the idea of me going into another kingdom.” Draven crossed his arms, eyes glazing over as he appeared to seriously consider the suggestion. “The moment I walk into enemy territory, I could be taken hostage and used as leverage or bait.” He briefly scanned the faces of the other princes in the room, and Tina hated that they thought of each other as enemies. Draven caught her eye, his face deadly serious. “Not even my dragon could win in a fight if I were vastly outnumbered. However, a trip to the dragonlands would impress you, Tina, and I think you wouldn’t be able to resist me if you see where you’d get to live.”
Tina chuckled, and a few of the princes shot annoyed glares at the dragon prince. However, with a cursory glance around the room, it seemed as though her four other men were having similar thoughts.
“I’m in,” Draven finally said.
“As am I,” Flynn said with a nod.
Zane and Killian nodded in unison, but Anthony hesitated. “Are you sure about this, Tina?”
“I think we can make this work.” Tina gestured to where Ray had been standing moments before. “Besides, it’s not safe here. Even my own high priestess says so.”
Anthony seemed to mull over it for a moment more before he finally relented. “We’ll make it happen.”
“It’s simple, Anthony.” Draven shrugged, dripping with indifference. “We travel by limo or private plane to each kingdom together. It’ll be secure. I’m not entirely sure Flynn will fit in a limo, though. We might have to tie him to the roof.”
Everyone chuckled, even Tina, though Flynn shot him an irritated frown.
“We’ll work out the details later. For now, let’s go to Olympus first. Does that work, Flynn?”
“Of course,” the demigod said.
“Zane, let’s talk about transportation.” Tina moved to slide off the bed, but Anthony’s grip around her waist kept her in place. She paused, watching him with a bit of confusion and concern.
“Can I speak to you privately?” he asked in a low voice. “It’s important.”
She set one hand on his chest, momentarily lost at the concern in his dark eyes, and nodded. “Of course.”
“I’ll, uh, get started,” Zane said, heading for the door. “Gentlemen, let’s give Tina some space.”
“We won’t be far,” Draven said, still tense. He caught Tina’s eye, back arched as he offered her a thin smile.
33
Tina
When the princes had filed out of her bedroom, Tina gently ran her hand along Anthony’s face. He sighed and leaned into her touch, his warm lips brushing her palm.
“I failed you, Tina,” he said softly. “I’m supposed to protect you, and I let myself get swarmed. I let that man touch you.” He leaned his head into her neck, kissing the bruise that had begun to form from the man’s attack. “I’m disgusted with myself.”