“Hell yes.”
Tina sighed with joy and kissed him. As he ran his tongue over hers, she marveled at her new life and the amazing men who kept her company.
She was one hell of a lucky girl.
34
Tina
The roar of a jet engine hummed through Tina as she stared out the plane All five men had agreed it would be safest if they could to get out of Indonesia as soon as possible and change the plan to throw off anyone else who might know where they were originally headed.
In the silence, Tina’s mind went to a deep, dark place. Those dragons had shown up for her, and they were willing to kill to get her. She had nearly lost her men, all of them. Tina tried to think of where to begin, what to say now that the adrenaline had faded, but she didn’t know where to start.
Sorry.
Maybe this whole contest thing was a bad idea.
I can’t believe you put yourselves at risk for me.
The last one hit her the hardest. These were five incredible men with promising futures and kingdoms to run, and yet they had risked their lives to keep her safe.
Yes, they agreed to travel with her. Yes, they acknowledged the risk. However, it had been her idea to leave, not theirs, and she felt deep-seated guilt for putting their lives in danger.
When she and Zane had first met, he said her future mate would die to protect her. The statement hadn’t really registered with her until the dragons attacked. She had never met anyone willing to put his life on the line for her, and seeing it demonstrated put a heavy weight on her shoulders.
Anthony slid into the white leather seat across from her and leaned in, his hands gently grabbing her thighs as he caught her gaze. “Whatever’s going through your mind, you need to get it off your chest.”
Tina shook her head, still not quite able to form the words.
Flynn sat next to her, and Killian sat beside Anthony. Zane and Draven stood behind them, all five of the princes watching her.
“You have a traitor in your temple,” Zane said.
Killian scoffed. “Is now really the time for that? Make sure she’s okay first.”
Tina didn’t care. She snapped her head around toward Zane as he confirmed what she had feared. “Who’s the traitor?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’ll figure it out.” The tiger shifter scowled. “No one can hide something like this from me for very long.”
She nodded, gritting her teeth as she slowly accepted the painful reality that she wasn’t safe anywhere, not even her home in Epara. “We have to figure out why those dragons attacked and what they wanted.”
“I will,” Zane promised.
Draven crossed his arms. “I’m sure my father can coax some clues out of that Turncoat bastard as well.”
Zane lifted a curious eyebrow. “You’ll tell me what he discovers?”
“At least the information that pertains to the traitor.”
Zane pursed his lips, apparently satisfied with the answer and surprised at the same time.
“Tina,” Anthony said softly.
She lifted her chin until their gazes met again.
“You may not be safe in Epara, but you’re safe with us.”
His statement broke through her melancholy. A slow smile crept across her face as her heart melted with gratitude. “You’re right.”
Draven’s gaze drifted to the floor in shame. “I apologize that the Turncoats were involved at all, Tina. I’m ashamed that an organization from my kingdom could threaten you in any way.”
She shook her head. “I can’t possibly be mad. You were all so brilliant. You jumped into the fight and put your lives on the line for me. But … but …”
“What?” Anthony pressed.
Tina sighed. “If any of you had gotten hurt, I could never have forgiven myself.”
“Stop,” Flynn ordered, his voice thick with authority.
Everyone stared at him in silent shock. Anthony looked ready to rip him a new hole, but Tina merely blinked in surprise. Flynn had never snapped at her before, and it kind of turned her on in ways she didn’t fully understand.
Flynn studied her with stern compassion. “We know what we signed up for, Tina, even if you weren’t aware of the stakes when this contest began. For a demigod, his greatest pride is in protecting his woman. I can never let anything happen to you, and all the other princes feel the same. We are vying for your hand and your heart, and that means treating you exactly as we would treat you as our wife.”
The weight of his words settled between her shoulder blades. At first, she simply watched him in surprise. Flynn crossed his arms, his biceps and chest thick as a tree, and she knew without a doubt that he was right.
“I’m so lucky to have you all in my life,” she said softly. Eyes shut, she simply simmered in her gratitude for these men.
“I think that’s about all the feelings I can handle for the day,” Draven said with a chuckle.
Laughter bubbled among the six of them, and Tina simply nodded. “Fine, no more feelings.”
Draven winked. “Thanks, boss.”
Flynn’s gaze shifted out the window, and he nodded toward the glass. “Tina, look.”
Tina shifted her head as a brilliant flash of light glimmered on the horizon. As the plane raced closer, the details of an intricate city lush with bluffs and forests came into view. Cliffside mansions lined the island’s horseshoe-shaped mountain. A few helicopters hovered over landing pads at the peak, and cars whizzed by on the winding roads cut through the mountainside.
As the private jet circled the island, the valley at the base of the mountain came into view. A sprawling metropolis filled the center of the horseshoe. From the sky, the city appeared larger than any Tina had ever seen in her life. More towering skyscrapers. More streets. A glimmering blue palace rife with towers inspires sprawled out from the center of the city, a beacon of power and royalty.
“It’s stunning,” she said, breathless.
“Welcome to Olympus,” Flynn said in her ear.
Roughly an hour later, after landing safely and being ushered swiftly to the palace, Tina explored the four-bedroom suite she had been given in one of the topmost towers. Thankfully, the palace had elevators because she would not have wanted to climb forty-three flights stairs several times a day.
The view, however, would have been worth it.
She yanked open the double balcony doors and stretched as she took in the beautiful day. A breeze tugged on her hair, warm and wet from the sea. The nostalgic burn of saltwater stung her nose. Before her, the glimmering Pacific Ocean stretched to the horizon. Behind her, the mountain loomed overhead.
Flynn had suggested she take the day to relax and unwind after their stressful morning, but she buzzed with fitful and nervous energy. Once she had explored every room in her expansive suite, she realized what she needed to do. She needed to get out and get some fresh air.
After spending the last week cooped up in a temple, the last thing she wanted was to be cooped up in a palace, too.
Tina threw open the doors to the hallway and ventured out into the palace. It was as beautiful on the inside as the exterior had suggested and twice as large. Anthony and Draven shared rooms in the floor below, while Zane and Killian the floor above hers. For now, though, she wanted to see Flynn.
She wandered for a bit before a helpful older gentleman, one of the servants on her floor assigned to assist her, guided her through the halls and down into the palace. Ten minutes of elevators, walking, and polite chit-chat brought them out of the towers and to an elaborately carved set of double doors.
With a gentle knock, the servant opened the gold-painted doors and bowed, gesturing for Tina to enter.