Queen of Aparia (Obsidian Queen Book 5) by Shari L. Tapscott

Author:Shari L. Tapscott [Tapscott, Shari L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-03-12T16:00:00+00:00

A knock at the door startles me awake. I crack open an eye, grab my phone, and blink at the screen until my eyes focus on the numbers.

Four thirty-seven.

Jonathan grumbles from the cot, and then he crosses the room to answer the door. “What?”

“Finn’s here,” Gray says. “He insists he needs to talk to us.”

Jonathan exhales, and in the light coming from the crack in the door, I see him rubbing a hand through his hair. “Do we want to talk to Finn?”

“I think we do,” Gray says heavily.

“Fine.” Jonathan yawns. “We’ll be out in a minute.”

I flop back on my pillow, not particularly wanting to start my day with a chat with my slimy ex.

“I’m turning on the lights,” Jonathan says.

Even with the warning, I wince when light floods the room. Jonathan’s eyes run over me, smiling at me and all my sleep-mussed glory.

“That bad?” I pull my hair over my shoulder, eyeing him and his low-slung pajama pants. He doesn’t sleep in a shirt, and he didn’t bother to pull one on before he answered the door.

“Why does Finn want to talk to us this early in the morning?” I complain.

“Who knows.” Jonathan rolls his eyes, obviously not harboring any admiration for our future duke. “Do you want to get ready first?”

“Yeah.” I force myself out of bed, listlessly grasping the handle of my suitcase and dragging it behind me into the master bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, with our teeth brushed and both of us dressed, we look respectable enough for a before-sunrise talk.

We reach the door at the same time. Before I turn the knob, Jonathan takes my shoulder and turns me, leaning in for a kiss. “Good morning, by the way.”

I shake my head.

His chocolate eyes light with amusement. “It’s not a good morning?”

I give the cot a pointed look. “It could have been a better morning.”

He laughs, opening the door.

Finn sits on the couch that faces us, looking uncomfortable—maybe even more so when he sees me exit the bedroom with Jonathan. He looks weird wearing a T-shirt and jeans instead of a suit. I’m used to pressed and polished Finn. This version of him seems vulnerable.

I don’t like it.

He swallows, lowering his eyes as he takes a sip of coffee.

Who gave the snake coffee?

And where’s mine?

Gray takes a spot next to his brother, and Jonathan and I sit on the couch across from them. Eric fusses in the kitchenette, and Rafe leans against a nearby wall.

Teagan’s here this morning, too. He sits in the chair at the nearby desk, angled toward us. When our eyes meet, he lifts his cup in greeting.

Seriously, where’s my coffee?

“Where’s Maisy?” I ask instead of inquiring about a caffeinated beverage.

Finn reluctantly meets my eyes. “She and Elizabeth had a rough night. They’re sleeping now.”

I nod, remembering a time not that long ago when Maisy and I swore we’d stand as maid of honor at each other’s weddings and get our babies together for weekly playdates. We’d take our families on joint vacations, and our daughters would grow up just as close as we did.

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