The Villainess Will Live a Good Life

34. Confusion

"Zen supposedly did what now?" Nana's brain gave up and her mouth ran freely.

Troy's eyes scanned over her, and Nana could feel Amil and Karan doing the same. "Killed the king." Troy reinforced the message as he sat down next to her.

Nana's mouth dried out and she licked her lips. The miserable heat did nothing to help her brain function. It felt like she was baking next to an open oven. Karan leaned forward. His tongue flicked out, tickling her lips briefly before returning to where it belonged.

Nana couldn't compute the sudden kiss. It was a good thing she didn't have to.

"You need water," Karan said firmly.

Amil shot up to get Nana a cup. She took the water she received and gulped it down. Her cup kept getting refilled until she stopped emptying it. Amil even topped it off despite her not finishing the last glass. His movements were jerky and rushed. The tension in the den hadn't dissipated yet.

Now hydrated and slightly cooler, Nana worked her overheated, mushy grey matter and tried to think.

Why would Zen kill his own dad? No, could he even? The fox king had six freaking marks and Zen had three. There was no power up in this world that could bridge that gap. The fox king would have to be on death's door already for Zen to even stand a slim chance. And again, why would he? Zen was not an extremist and Akito couldn't force him to do something like that. Not even with magic since Zen, being of royal blood, would be near impossible to sway. So why?

Nana chewed on her thumb nail despite that not being one of her normal habits. Her nail was rescued by Karan's gentle hand, but Nana continued to question the validity of the situation with intense focus. Her mates tried to distract her with food, massages, and later, her cubs, but none of it was successful.

After an hour of formulating various conspiracy theories, Nana grasped at the most likely straw. If the guard wasn't wrong and Zen really did kill the king, he couldn't have done it without help. It was more likely that Zen was the scapegoat. And based on the message he left behind, he wasn't too surprised about that.

He purposefully left Nana in the dark about all of this. That was both good and bad, but a smart move nonetheless. Nana didn't have to play stupid when in fact, she really had no clue. It stressed her out anyway, but him keeping her out of the loop made sense. That unfortunately meant there was little she could do to help.

Digging up what happened and poking her nose around was an option she had but... if Zen found it better to keep her out, maybe she should stay that way? Was it really the right thing to do? To leave everything in Zen's hands?

Nana got up and paced. Karan sulked at the loss and followed her. So now, Nana was being shadowed by her mate as she dug a trench into her den floor.

Troy snorted, but had the tact not to laugh at the ridiculous sight. He didn't like his mate stressed either, but he wasn't going to add to the tension. He'd rather find something to take her mind off of the situation... He didn't want to be that male, but it was getting late. Actually, that would work as a diversion.

"What about dinner?" Troy asked.

Nana stopped in her tracks and her shadow did the same. "Oh." Nana had forgotten about that. Food was not on her mind right now, but it was getting late... "Amil," she elected. Amil jumped up immediately. "Can you go purchase enough for all of us. Don't worry about price and listen for any news."

Amil accepted his orders enthusiastically. The atmosphere in the den was making him jumpy. His tail flicked about wildly as if to agree with that thought. "Yes!" He enthusiastically went for the purse. He slung the fashionable item over his shoulder and ran off. The newly-placed door creaked in pain as Amil whooshed out of it.