3. Breya

THREE

brEYA

T he castle was absolutely massive.

Breya had an idea of the grandness she might encounter, but the powerful sight still caught her off guard.

She knew the moment that they had entered into the king's territory. The whole scene had changed from one of the village with man-made structures and planted trees to one that grew hot with the sun and stretched out far with sparse vegetation and an open savannah.

The castle blended well with the environment. Far away, it seemed like a modernized stone castle, but up close it was much larger with stonework as intricate as Greek statues. And yet, it still looked very natural.

"He has this whole place to himself?" Breya asked, stunned as the carriage stopped in front of the massive stone steps.

"This is the home of every king, his family, and servants," one of the men answered matter-of-factly.

"How does all of this stonework look so natural and not custom cut?"

The two men shared an annoyed look, but Breya didn't care. She knew they weren't much for conversation since she sat in agonized silence the entire journey.

"You'll be escorted to your rooms by Sarielle. She will be your guide and confidant upon your stay here," the short dark-haired one said as they exited the carriage.

Breya took in the view as she stood in stark contrast to the castle that she was possibly about to call home.

By this size, I bet even the servant quarters aren't too shabby. Nice. Breya was starting to feel more excited than nervous as she was overcome by the positive feeling she was making the right choice.

"Breya?"

She turned, startled by the woman walking toward her.

"Yes."

The woman smiled warmly. "I'm Sarielle."

Her grip was firm. Breya's magical energies tingled, telling her that Sarielle was a lion shifter.

"Hi. I hear you're the lucky one to show me to my quarters." Breya offered a nervous laugh as she grabbed her bags from the dusty ground.

Sarielle seemed nice enough. Breya just wasn't sure what to expect because she still hadn't been told why she'd been brought there.

As they began their way through the castle, Breya tried to make conversation. She was eager for some kind of chat, especially given her last two escorts.

"So, do you stay in the servant quarters too?"

"Too?" the shifter asked, looking confused.

"Where us servants stay."

Sarielle chuckled. "You're not staying in the servant quarters. I'm taking you to your own set of rooms."

"I'm sorry, did you say rooms? "

Another chuckle. "I did. This way."

Breya was about to walk right past the doors until Sarielle grabbed her sleeve.

"These are yours. The king wants you to be comfortable." The slender lioness pushed open the massive doors effortlessly.

Breya's mouth dropped.

It was the most extravagant chain of rooms she had ever seen. And not gaudy but beautiful and simple.

"Help yourself to anything you find in these rooms. They are yours."

The speechless witch slowly walked through the entire space. Not only was there a huge walk-in closet as well as a full bathroom, but a front-sitting room with a giant glass window.

"This is way more than I need," Breya finally said as she made her way back to a pleased-looking Sarielle.

"Good. There's one more thing for you, though." She shut the door to reveal a gorgeous golden gown glowing against the door's backdrop.

"You'll be wearing this tonight for dinner. The king requests it."

Breya ran her hands lovingly over the beautiful dress. "I've never seen anything like this before. In real life anyway."

"Well, you get to wear it tonight, and I think it will be very flattering on you."

Breya smiled at the genuineness of Sarielle's words. Still, she couldn't help but question all of the… flattering gifts.

"Please don't take this as ungrateful, but why would a healer like me need to wear a golden silk dress for me to do my job?"

Breya only received another quizzical look from Sarielle's pronounced face.

"I don't know anything about that. Only that I have been assigned to help you with anything you might need."

Breya's frustration grew immensely. Did everyone really just do the king's bidding, no questions asked? Would the same be expected of her? Or would she be allowed to ask more since she wasn't a part of the king's pride?

All of these questions overwhelmed her, suddenly making her feel very tired.

"Now, go ahead and get ready, and I'll be outside ready to escort you to the dining hall." Sarielle went to leave. Before shutting the door, though, she gave another comforting smile. "Don't worry. I'll only loiter until you start to get your bearings."

Breya tried to smile back, but her stomach flipped at her chaotic and nervous thoughts.

She looked at the dress waiting to be worn, her excitement creeping up again.

Maybe meeting with the king would help put her mind at ease.

Breya couldn't help but admire her reflection as she twirled in the golden silk that seemed to drip perfectly over her body. She swept her deep brown hair up but had to settle with some loose curls that didn't want to stay put. Her green eyes seemed to glow against the warm glittering sun that made up the color of the dress.

Not wanting to keep the king waiting any longer, Breya opened the door and followed Sarielle.

"Change of plans. King Bawold is in his throne room. We will go there first."

Breya nodded as she tried to swallow to keep her suddenly dry throat from croaking.

It took a lot of self-awareness for Breya to not gawk at the king when they entered. He was lounging lazily on his throne while discussing something with his attendants.

King Thorne was strikingly handsome, but then, of course, he was. He was a king and a shifter. His large muscular body seemed taut though he was as laid back as one could be.

Golden and royal blue threads colored his own dinner attire. His golden hair was loose and matched not only the gold on his dinner jacket but the dress he had given Breya as well.

When he noticed they had entered, he straightened and asked everyone to leave them.

"Including you," the king said, nodding toward Sarielle.

Before she had time to think, everyone was gone, leaving only her and the king. Alone.

There was silence between them. She was afraid to meet his piercing gray-blue eyes. Yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that those eyes were examining every inch of her.

She couldn't take it anymore and glanced up.

King Thorne was looking over her very closely. Finally, he spoke.

"You look absolutely divine in that dress. It compliments your body perfectly." He smiled as he spoke, his eyes never leaving Breya's form.

She could feel herself growing flush.

"Thank you, sire." She did a small curtsey, not sure how to properly address him yet.

"Your beauty is unmatched." He stood with a step toward her.

Breya felt frozen in place. He walked around her as if sizing up his meal. Even without her knowledge or supernatural senses, this man screamed lion .

When he finished looking her over, he must have decided he liked what he saw. His smile was smug yet sexy as he stroked his golden-stubbled face.

"Yes, I think you'll make a fine mate indeed."

That wasn't what Breya was expecting to hear. Now, she was even more confused than when the men showed up at her sister's door.

"Um, sorry. But what do you mean by mate ? A partner in your kingdom as your healer?" Breya wasn't familiar with shifters or their terms. But mate sounded like a partner, right?

"Oh, no. I didn't bring you to be my healer. I said mate , as in the person I am to be with. You just so happen to be my fated mate. That's why I brought you here. So we could be together."

From all that had happened so far, Breya thought she wouldn't be surprised anymore. She was wrong. Now, being confused had become so natural she wasn't sure if she was actually growing comfortable or just immune to these life-changing things that the shifters seemed to be so casual about.

"Whoa, that's not what I signed up for." Breya took a step back from the prowling king.

"Then why did you come?"

"Because of what I said. I assumed you needed a healer."

"Did the dress not give it away?" he asked smugly.

Breya felt embarrassed for not seeing this. But then again, why would she? This was all new to her.

He chuckled, bringing Breya back from the verge of tearing up with embarrassment and anger.

"Besides, there will be no time for that when you take on all the duties of Queen."

Queen?

"The biggest one being your duty to please the king." He winked at her.

Repulsion made her stomach churn. His personality had overpowered his god-like physique, and she was disgusted.

Finding her voice, she stood her ground. "This has been a mistake." She spun on her heel to leave.

"Where are you going?" The king's voice still held an arrogance to it.

"Home."

"Wait."

Before she could take a step, the king grabbed her wrist.

The touch sent a vibrating sensation through every nerve ending, making her hot and cold all at once. They both froze, her wrist clenched in his hand.

Everything inside of her screamed that this man was meant to be hers. She was ignorant of how he knew she was his fated mate, but the way that her magic reacted to him told her there was something there worth looking into.

She'd told her sister she was ready for this, but now that it was here gripping her wrist, she wasn't so sure. Not because of doubting who he was to her. But for the simple fact it scared the shit out of her.