Mitch knew one thing. He would give his life—if that’s what was needed—to ensure her safety. He would die for her.
And that was something he had taken for granted in his line of work. He’d said the same thing about Ria, the young Nyx. But with Ria it had been a matter of duty. Of honor. When he said he would die for Gina, there was some previously unknown emotional intent behind the words. His heart—which he had thought was frozen in ice—was fully involved in the declaration. He felt something for Gina that he had never felt for the Nyx. It was more than duty. More than his honor. It was his heart on the line. And though he had readily put his body in front of danger for his charges in the past, never had he put his heart out there.
It was a stark realization. If he’d had time, Mitch would have shifted form and taken a good hard run to help him put it all in perspective and figure things out. But he didn’t have the time. He’d finished reading the Rule a few minutes ago, though he’d pretended to still be concentrating on the last few pages as he sat there at the small table.
Gina was puttering around the kitchen area, getting things ready. Her father was expected shortly.
When the knock came at the door to the cabin, it wasn’t the distinctive thundering of the tiger king. No, this was a gentler sound. Made by feminine hands. Apparently, the queen had decided to come to lunch as well.
Mitch stood, crowding Gina as he checked the small screen he’d found hidden discreetly near the door. Every entrance and exit—including the small windows—had hidden cameras trained on them. The exiled king didn’t take security lightly even here, on his home territory.
Sure enough, both of Gina’s parents showed on the screen as she went to open the door. It was safe.
Nevertheless, Mitch moved to stand behind her in a respectful pose. He had often adopted such a stance when guarding the Nyx. It was a position from which he could easily protect her if such a thing became necessary. It was also second nature to Mitch after so many years as a Royal Guard.
Gina greeted her parents with hugs as she ushered them into the cabin. The queen held a basket, which Mitch took from her. It was heavier than it looked and his estimation of the queen’s strength rose a notch. She looked so delicate—shorter even than Gina—but perhaps this queenly tigress had more to her than met the eye.
Mitch stood and waited while the lunch was set up. Gina had prepared what they had left in the way of provisions, but the basket the queen had brought contained a great deal more food. They set it out and soon were sitting around the small table. Mitch waited until the others sat and then only joined them at the king’s specific request.
The king sighed as they began to eat and turned his attention to Mitch.
“Look, Mitch,” he began with seeming resignation. “Although I am glad of your manners and respect for our position, you must realize by now that things have changed drastically for you in the past days. For that matter, things changed drastically for my family when I chose exile over bloodshed. I renounced the position, and unlike you, I cannot change my stripes.” A hint of humor crossed his lined face. “Your formality is appreciated but unnecessary. I am no longer king and you are no longer d’or. We are equals, and you must call me Fred.”
Mitch was shocked by the invitation to such familiarity. Speechless actually. And it only got worse when the queen joined the discussion.
“And I am Candis,” her majesty added. “When we decided on America, we changed our names. Even Gina’s. She was very young at the time. Her real name is Gleda. In our old land, her name was meant to be a wish for her. Happiness. I didn’t like the sound of Gladys, which would have been a closer translation, but I always thought Gina had a nice ring to it.”
“You picked right, Mom,” Gina smiled wryly. “I don’t think I’d have enjoyed being a Gladys in grammar school.” The women chuckled as Mitch tried to understand what was happening.
“Fridrik Americanized easily to Frederick,” the king added. “But Snaedis had a little harder time until she decided on Candis. It’s close enough in sound, though there is no comparative name that we have found in English for my snow goddess.”
Mitch knew the Icelandic language. He’d been born in Iceland, though he’d left there as a child to go to his adoptive parents’ home in the States. Most tiger shifters learned the language since the traditional seat of power had been in Iceland for centuries. It hadn’t really occurred to him that Gina and her folks had given up their homeland in order to come the States. Not only that, but they’d had to give up their original names as well. It seemed like adding insult to injury.