Kingdoms of Gold

11 | Drowned Ghoul

"Stop moving so much." Brynjar growled for the tenth time.

He tugged another damp lock of hair taunt and snipped with scissors. The dark stands dropped to the bathroom tiles, piling on the rest of my cut hair.

"Stop taking so long. My butt is numb." If I had it my way, I would've shaved my whole head off. It felt as if dirt was still caked in my scalp. That and I'd been here forever, waiting for Brynjar to finish trimming my hair.

Brynjar was the only one who had some experience with cutting hair. He'd trimmed his sibling's hair centuries ago. Malachi's talent with hair didn't go past fancy braids. Alistar and Valentino didn't bother trying to justify their experience.

"I'm almost done." Short blunts of dark hair feathered down. Then he pulled back and sighed. His fingers ruffled my hair as his hot breath dried it "There."

"Awesome." I stood, turning to the mirror.

"Wait." He caught my bicep, stopping me before I could fully turn. "I'm not a professional stylist, but I did my best."

I shrugged him off and turned the rest of the way. I already knew it wasn't going to be a high quality hair cut. At least this was free.

I tugged at my loose hair. It draped no lower than an inch below my chin, my collar bones and throat were on display. It wasn't perfect. The ends were thick and choppy, but it was at least even. Hell, it looked kinda cute.

Grinning, I tugged him down to my height, standing on my tippy toes. The towel around my shoulders dropped to the floor as I plastered a kiss to the corner of his lips. "Thank you. I love it."

His shoulders dropped with a sigh of relief. "Next time, I'm making Valentino or Malachi do it. That was some stressful shit."

"After everything we went through this week, it was cutting my hair that stressed you out?" I scoffed and tugged him out of the bathroom.

We were supposed to be getting ready for a public appearance—the fae prince finally returning. It was supposed to be more casual, a tour of the kingdom for my family and I in the nearest city.

I was sure rumors of our rendezvous with the queen in her throne room had already spread. Not to mention how we returned from The Forest of Unbinding and everything that happened there.

I already received enough hate on Earth in my life. An increase with diversity in species on Earth did little to change any racism or prejudice. It gave some people added fuel. I didn't need that here. I'd rather go back home and curl up with my family.

"This past half a year has stressed me out. I want one day where I can peacefully take a nap." He huffed, smoke flowing from between his lips.

"How am I supposed to keep you on your toes if we have enough peace and quiet time for a nap?" I wanted a nap most days too. Mirai kept me way too busy, and my mates took up any other free time. I was lucky to shower without any interruptions.

He dragged my hand to rest against his chest, where it vibrated softly. "I can think of many ways to keep us entertained." There were no pockets in my pants for him to slip his hand into. He wrapped his arm around my waist instead. "I hate these pants."

"Because you can't discreetly grope my ass in public? Heathen." I rolled my eyes and tugged us to where I thought the entrance was. There were so many buildings and halls entwining. Half the time I didn't know where the bathroom was, and it connected to our room.

"You think because your pants don't have pockets, it'll stop me?" He moved his hand lower, giving my ass a small squeeze.

"Overgrown lizard." I shoved him, hard, and stepped out the opened front doors of the palace.