Zane shrugged. “It’s a serious problem, and we need to address it. We only have two weeks. It was smart of you to tell us ahead of time, Tina.”
She smiled gratefully at the compliment, relieved to have her decision out in the open and a huge weight off her chest.
Anthony ran a hand through his hair, eyes on the floor. “We’re going to have to fight our fathers, gentlemen.”
The lingering laughter died, and each of the men became somber at the thought. Tina had to admit Anthony was probably right. Each of the kings was expecting one of two things: either his son would be chosen, giving him Damara’s power, or he would go to war to steal her for himself.
Killian rubbed his neck. “Anthony, have you and Zane found out anything about your father’s involvement in bringing Damara into this world?”
Anthony shook his head, and it was Zane who answered. “He covered his tracks well, and there were no bodies left on the abandoned airstrip when my father went back to look for them. Just the jet, which had been blown to pieces to destroy any lingering evidence. We can’t identify any of our attackers, nor do we have a single shred of proof.”
Tina stiffened. “You didn’t tell your father what we think happened, did you?”
Zane chuckled. “Of course not. I admire many things about my father, but he tends to overreact when he feels threatened. If he so much as suspected what King William had done, the two of them would already be at war.”
Tina rubbed her arm, her concern only worsening with his answer.
“Here’s what we do.” Flynn clapped his hands together, rubbing them as he spoke. “We have two weeks before they all come here, so we need to prepare. There is a chance they will see reason, but if they don’t, I don’t think it will come to blows immediately. They may think ill of each other, but they won’t attack the five of us.”
“I disagree,” Killian said softly.
Anthony lifted one eyebrow. “Why?”
Killian gestured toward the window behind Tina’s throne. “The world doesn’t understand Damara’s powers. They may think you’ve brainwashed us, Tina, or that you’re somehow controlling us, especially after that display of power when this contest started. In their minds, they may think they’re saving us from ourselves. They may very well attack us or even her.”
The eagle shifter crossed his arms and shook his head sadly. “Besides, each of them will likely have an army waiting nearby in case they lose, ready to storm the temple if need be. No, gentlemen, I think we need to prepare for bloodshed. Perhaps we should just run.”
Draven shook his head. “I refuse to flee without at least speaking to my father first.”
Zane pinched the brim of his nose, while Flynn crossed his arms with a disappointed sigh. No one refuted the eagle shifter’s words, and worry sank clear to Tina’s toes.
“Then we get stronger,” Anthony said firmly.
Flynn nodded. “And we come up with one hell of a good plan.”
Each of Tina’s men turned toward her, and she suddenly realized what Anthony had meant by getting stronger. He didn’t just mean more sparring, and she couldn’t resist a playful smile at the thought of having each of them in her bed more frequently.
She chuckled. “Well, if you insist.”
55
Flynn
Their final two weeks before the kings arrived had passed far too quickly for Flynn’s liking.
Though he had plenty of delicious opportunities to strengthen his newfound powers by spending time between Tina’s legs, he wondered if their emerging magic would truly be enough. They had no defenses protecting the temple, no army of their own. He had refused to hire mercenaries since they could always be bought by a higher bidder, but he didn’t know how else to protect the temple.
Hands behind his back, he stood to Tina’s right as they waited for the kings to arrive. To better protect her should the need arise, the five princes stood with her on the platform rather than on the ground below it. The waterfalls on either side of the throne cast a thin mist through the humid room as their nervous tension built.
Beside him, Tina shifted anxiously on the balls of her feet. He set a hand on the small of her back to help her stay calm, and she flashed him a grateful little smile.
The doors swung inward, and the five kings stormed into the throne room. As requested, each of them had come alone to the meeting, though Flynn knew better than to think they had come unaccompanied to the temple. His father likely had a small army stationed nearby, with a much larger one and possibly an entire fleet hidden somewhere in the oceans around Indonesia. The king of the demigods would never go into such a significant meeting without a backup plan in place, and that worried Flynn more than anything else.
The king of Wolfcrest stood in the middle of the five royals, his arms folded across his chest as he glared up at Tina. It took everything Flynn had to keep from assaulting King William, to rein in the accusation that the old man was behind Damara’s forced return to the world. The wolf king scowled, and Flynn noticed Anthony’s hands ball into fists.
Instead of remaining with them in the throne room, the high priestess returned to the hallway and closed the doors behind her.
Such was the plan. Ray would evacuate the temple. The priests and priestesses had spent the last two weeks clearing most of the rooms of anything valuable, hiding it all in various vaults underground. Now that a pending battle was on their doorstep, it was up to Ray to make sure everyone got out safely through the underground tunnels before the bloodshed began.
Flynn tensed, muscles aching for movement as he prepared for the inevitable fight. Though he hoped their fathers would see reason, he knew far better than to rely on it.
King James folded his arms over his chest. “Now that you have us in front of you, we are all eager to hear your decision, goddess.”
Flynn’s father nodded to the line of princes around her. “And I would like to know why my son is standing next to you instead of down here with me.”
Tina lifted her chin defiantly. “Because I’m not choosing one prince. I’m choosing them all.”
Flynn set a protective arm around her shoulder, showing that he was in agreement with her.
A surge of angry voices erupted in the throne room, the sheer volume bouncing off the walls. A few of the kings’ forms shimmered with the threat of a shift.
Flynn’s jaw twitched. He’d had enough. “Shut up, all of you!”
His outburst temporarily stemmed their fury, and his father glared at him with disgust. “How can you possibly be okay with this? Sharing your woman? Have you lost your mind?”
“For the last century, we have been looking for a solid and lasting way to unite the five kingdoms.” Flynn met his father’s glare. “The peace we have has been rocky at best, and we always seem one offense away from an all-out war. This right here is the answer. She is the answer.”
He nodded toward Tina, and she stiffened as each king’s attention returned to her.
King Edward grimaced. “These are the crown princes of each of our kingdoms. Each of them has a duty to their people to rule one day, and they cannot share a queen. Draven, you will return to the dragonlands at once, or I will drag you there myself!”
“Father!” Draven’s form shimmered with the threat of a shift.
Flynn hoped the shifters could contain themselves, or at least not shift in the throne room. With so much crumbling around them already, he didn’t want to destroy Damara’s temple as well.
“It’s safe to say we do not accept your decision,” King Alexander said. Though he hadn’t begun to yell, he glared at Tina with a deadly expression that hinted at the full weight of what he could do to those who wronged him.