The Tiger Prince's Witch
Chapter 42 - Preparing for The Crowning

"Are you sure it's Jarek?" Kamryn asked in astonishment.

"Yes. Let's gather everyone again. We need to be prepared if he's coming to the crowning tomorrow." Anna stood up, but Kamryn pulled her onto his lap.

"Maybe we should not let him come. I want you to be crowned, but I don't want to put you and our cub in danger." He said with fear in his voice. Anna kissed him softly and smiled.

"We need to go on as planned. You know I don't care about the crown, but I want to see how he acts around us. Maybe it will let us know his intentions. I'll be safe, and so will our cub." She replied, kissing his cheek and hugging him. "Alright, my little angel, we'll do it your way. At the crowning tomorrow, you're not to leave my side. It's almost dinner time; let's talk to everyone before we eat." Kamryn said, still not comfortable letting the lycan king into the palace. He mindlinked his parents and Micah so they could round up Anna and Jaz's parents. When they arrived at the conference room, everyone was waiting on them.

"Anna, Kamryn said you saw something?" Randal said in anticipation. The more he learned about Anna and Jaz, the more amazed he was. They may be tiny, but they were mighty.

"The one who took Elsie is Jarek, the lycan king." Anna quickly relayed what she had seen within the spell. Everyone in the room was amazed at the clarity with which she described what she saw, including her parents. "The three witches you saw, do you know who they are?" Lynn asked. Anna exchanged a look with her parents.

"Chloris, Vesna, and Silvina are the trio of goety. They practice black magic but also have help from evil spirits. Their black magic isn't typical, and it's nearly impossible to beat when the three of them are together. However, we are the exception. Spirit Energy magic draws on the four elements. When the four elements are combined, it can take them down. That's why they've always kept their distance from us. I suspect they took Elsie to see if there was any piece of her magic left for them to tap into so they could figure out a way to eliminate us." Anna spoke with weariness. If the trio wasn't working with Santi, then they had another goal in mind.

"Why would Jarek work with them to take out Spirit Energy?" Micah asked, clutching Jaz's hand. He wasn't going to let anyone harm his mate or their cub.

"That I can't tell you," Anna answered, looking toward the royal couple to see if they knew.

"All I can think of is that he wants the power. Right now, the tiger kingdom is the most powerful. If he learned that both princes were mated to Spirit Energy witches, it probably made him want to act fast. What do you think about him coming to the crowning tomorrow?" Randal asked, looking at Anna and Kamryn.

"I think we should let him come and see if we can learn anything about his plan. I also want to put restrictions on who can enter the palace. We shouldn't allow him to enter if any of the trio are with him. Is he mated?" Anna asked. She wasn't familiar with the lycan king because Spirit Energy tried to keep to themselves as much as possible.

"No, he hasn't met his queen as far as I know. Stanley, can some of the witches outside the palace make a perimeter to see if anyone brings guests that aren't supposed to be here?" Randal looked toward the warlock across from him. "Yes. After dinner Caprice and I will visit their sites and tell them what we need. We need to keep the extra powers that you four now have a secret from those coming tomorrow. We don't want them to try and attack tomorrow when we're not prepared to fight." Stanley looked around, and everyone nodded.

Soon after, they left the conference room and went to the dining hall. There was hardly anyone there, and everyone was relatively quiet during the meal. About halfway through, one of the guards approached the table.

"King Randal, we have received confirmations from everyone that you had invitations sent to regarding the crowning tomorrow. King Jarek asked if he could bring a date. We told him no because you had strict instructions on who could come. Should I tell him something different?" The guard asked.

"No, that was the right thing to say. Did he give you the name of the woman he wanted to bring?" Randal questioned.

"No, but he was upset when I said he couldn't bring her."

"Thank you, Simon. If he calls back, let me know." The guard left, and Randal turned toward Anna.

"Do you still think it's a good idea to go forward with this tomorrow?" He would be willing to cancel if she said it was too dangerous.

"I don't want to change anything. I'm anxious to meet everyone, and I hope it will give us a chance to pinpoint any other snakes in the grass." She couldn't help looking at Micah when she brought up snakes and saw Jaz laughing. Randal and Lynn looked at the young people in question.

"Did we miss something?" Lynn asked. She knew Micah was terrified of snakes but doubted that was something he went around telling others.

"When we were at the coven Micah and I were walking through the forest. We saw a large stick lying in the snow. Micah thought it was a snake, and he picked me up, running in the opposite direction." Jazlyn answered, trying to hide her smile. Everyone started chuckling, and Micah's face got red. Even if it was at his expense, he was glad that at least everyone was smiling and not frowning.

"Don't worry, Micah. We all learned that Kamryn is afraid of spiders too. Just the thought of you two giant tigers scared of anything makes me not feel so small." Anna said, patting Kamryn on the shoulder.

"Hey, why are you trying to bring me down with him?" He pouted at his mate.

"Sorry, but at least it took everyone's mind off the other stuff," Anna whispered in his ear. He looked around, and everyone was having a lighter conversation about what they were scared of. He turned to her and smiled. "What about you? Do you have anything you're afraid of?" Kamryn asked, leaning over to kiss her cheek. He couldn't imagine his fearless mate being frightened of anything.

"The only thing that scares me is losing you," Anna answered, leaning against him, enjoying the warmth that spread over her.

"You won't lose me. We're in this together. Two halves that make a whole, although I think you're the stronger half. I'm just a bystander following your lead." They enjoyed their little private conversation while the others talked, leaving them alone. Since being at the palace, they hardly had any alone time.

"You're more than that, my handsome mate. I would still be lost in the forest if you hadn't shown up. Everything that's happening is because of you finding me." Anna didn't want to break their little piece of happiness, but she still wondered who had poisoned him. So far, none of the spies they'd found had admitted to poisoning Kamryn and leaving him in the forest.

"Anna, Jaz, in the morning, Jeana will have you try on the dresses she designed for you. After that, your mothers and I will pamper you both to prepare for the ceremony. Let's try to have a peaceful day tomorrow and keep everything else at bay." Lynn stated, looking around the table.

"I agree, mom. Anna and I are getting ready to go start relaxing now. See you in the morning." Anna's face turned red as Kamryn picked her up and threw her over his shoulder before walking out of the dining hall. Everyone else started laughing, but then they all looked at their mates and followed Kamryn's lead. Before long, everyone was in their rooms, forgetting about everything bad and only focusing on the good.