Masked Fate (Fated Love #3)

CHAPTER FOUR

Soren

There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my king and queen, but traveling to another kingdom with just the witch isn’t exactly my idea of a fun time. Not to mention, Astrid made it clear I’m not allowed to fuck Milana, the female I’m meant to get information out of, which is another strike against this mission. However, I’ve never been to the Goblin Kingdom, so I can’t say I’m not intrigued. Goblins are secretive creatures and rarely leave their territory. They are known for their strength, size, and darker magic.

“You ready to go?” Pandora asks in her soft, melodic voice as I step outside the castle. She’s wearing an emerald satin gown that clings to her body like a second skin, her breasts pressing against the material. Her cherry scent hits me and makes my cock twitch against its will. Her full, pouty lips are painted a fire red, covering the scar she has there. That large black diamond sits on her chest like always, drawing my attention.

She pushes a lock of her silky, black hair behind her ear and arches her brow. It hits me then that she’s waiting for me to answer her, but I’ve been standing here eye fucking her instead.

What is wrong with me? I need to get laid tonight, and not with the evil temptress in front of me.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest and studying her. “Rave has made it clear that I’m to protect you, so I want to know where you are at all times. What’s your history with Salem? Did your Mom torture him too?”

Fuck.

I don’t know what made me say it because I usually don’t speak about it. I don’t want her or anyone else to know how much being down in that dungeon fucked me up. I suppose I usually ignore her, though. So now that we have to spend time together, I guess it’s hard for me to keep my mouth shut. I’ve only been around her for two fucking minutes, and I’m already giving too much away. This is why I normally pretend she doesn’t exist.

Something I can’t decipher passes over her face, and her violet eyes flash with hurt. “Don’t worry about Salem. I can handle him.”

“That’s not what Rave said.”

“Rave is just being protective,” she says, lifting her chin. “You don’t need to worry about me, Soren. You get the information you need from Milana, and then we can go back to ignoring each other’s existence.”

My lips tighten. “Okay, good.”

I’m usually full of charm and easy humor, but this witch knows how to get under my skin and press all my fucking buttons.

As if I’m not going to fucking take care of her. Nothing will happen to her on my watch.

I offer her my hand so we both end up in the same place when we zip, and she hesitates before accepting it. Sparks fly up my arm as we touch, but she keeps her head down, which makes me wonder if I imagined it. Her hands are so small and soft. Fragile.

The sooner I can get away from her, the better.

We zip outside the Goblin Castle gates, and my eyes widen as I take it all in. Dark, thorny bushes wrap around the iron gates, not giving a warm welcome. Pandora and I share a look, and her lips twitch as she starts to walk up the long entrance. The sky is overcast and dark, and there’s a chill in the air. It’s much colder here than it was in Aravelle.

“Do you want my cloak?” I ask her, my fingers already at my neck, undoing the tie.

But she shakes her head. “No, it’s okay. It will be warm in there.”

My eyes drop to her hard nipples, and my jaw tightens. I don’t know what she has going on with Salem, but I doubt he’s going to be able to stay away from her when she looks like that.

“Should we enter separately?” she asks, and yes, we probably should, but I don’t like that idea.

“It’s fine. No one will be paying attention.”

My fingers slide across the dagger at my hips as I take in the large gargoyles on each side of the cobblestone pathway, their ominous, stone eyes on us.

“Don’t look at them,” Pandora whispers, keeping her eyes forward.

Scowling, I flicker my eyes away and look toward the door, where a large goblin male is greeting guests. He’s about seven feet fall with green skin and horns on his head. His black eyes turn to us as we climb the stairs.

“Queen Pandora.” He bows, taking her hand and pressing a kiss on her knuckles. I entertain the thought of punching him in the face. “Welcome to our home.”

“Thank you. I’m so happy to be here,” she replies, offering him a kind smile. She steps in front of me and disappears into the crowd.

“Warrior Soren,” the goblin greets me, bowing. “King Rave told us you will be visiting in his stead.”

Smiling, I greet him and then head off, looking for the witch, annoyed that she’s already gone missing within the first two minutes of us arriving. Her emerald dress soon catches my eyes, standing by the drinks table, a glass of wine in her hand. She sure didn’t waste any time.

She’s talking to Halia, the Mermaid Princess, someone Rave used to sleep with before he found Astrid.

Seeing that she’s safe, I scour the ballroom, looking for my target. It doesn’t take me long to find her, wearing a long pink gown, her blonde hair billowing behind her. She’s standing not with her father, Declan, but King Zython, Astrid’s father. Part of me wants to walk up and punch him in the face for trying to settle a debt by using my queen, but my gut tells me there might be more to the story. Or maybe I’m just hopeful. I know Zython wants Milana to marry Axe, his heir, and I wonder if that’s why Astrid made her off-limits. It would be fair enough if she didn’t want me to fuck her future sister-in-law.

Still, I’m a male who likes the forbidden, and I’m not going to lie, she is a beautiful female. The second Zython walks away from her, I slide right up in there, flashing her my panty-dropping smile that usually gets me what I want every time.

“If I knew there were so many beautiful females at these events, I would make an appearance at more of them,” I say, picking up two glasses of wine from a passing waitress and handing one to her.

She takes the glass, arching her eyebrow as her blue eyes flicker with amusement and suspicion. “I guess that explains why I’ve never seen you before.”

I take her hand and press my lips against her knuckles. “Soren. And you are?”

“Milana,” she replies, smiling widely. She seems sweet and not at all like the Vale-snatching creature we know she is. She was also friends with Vera and the daughter of a shady-ass warlord who wants to have babies with Astrid purely for the bloodline. So far, all these facts point toward someone who is likely in their villain era.

“Are you single, Milana?” I ask, purposely noting her bare wrists. “Not bonded, at least.”

She shifts on her feet and bites her lower lip. “I will likely have an arranged marriage, but nothing has been signed as of yet.”

“How… romantic,” I tease, my eyes darting back to the witch to find her now surrounded by two males. My eyes narrow. She doesn’t look to be in any distress, though. In fact, if she bats her lashes any harder, she might fly away. No broom necessary.

“So, who is the lucky male,” I press, needing to know more.

“Axe, the incubus heir,” she replies, and I move closer to her, looking down at her pretty face.

Reaching out to touch the side of her soft cheek, I look into her eyes, and I know that mine have turned a dark gray now, almost black. “And what plans does your father have for Queen Astrid?” I ask, my tone filled with my persuasive magic.

Her blue eyes go blank as she speaks, unable to control her mouth. I listen carefully, smirking once I get what I need.

Gotcha.