Page 14 of Broken Hearted
“But the thing is, they were right. Zander couldn’t do anythingbecause it was Dawn who defeated the rondak. She was the one who ultimately won Zander’s kingdom back for him, so they were right when they said that there was nothinghecould do.”
Pride for my friend swelled in my chest. “That’s my Dawnie,” I said with a grin.
Zane smiled as well. “I’m quite fond of her as well. She’s perfect for my brother. Zander was always a notorious flirt. There was a time when I had doubts that he’d ever settle down, but seeing the two of them together, it’s obvious how in love they are.”
I thought back to when Dawn and the others appeared in my room back in the Winter Court. The way that Dawn had looked at her husband, I’d never seen her look at someone like that before. And there was a softness to her she hadn’t had since we were children, before her mother trained it out of her.
Zane didn’t need to convince me. Even that short interaction made me believe that they were in love. That Dawn was happy with Zander. Which was wild because I always imagined Dawn would marry for political reasons, not for love.
If love had changed Dawn’s mind, maybe it could change mine, too?That thought was equal parts exciting and terrifying.
“Tell me of your brothers,” I said, changing the subject before it went too much into the territory of love and mates, which I wasn’t yet ready to broach with Zane. “Who’s the oldest?”
“That would be Stryker,” he said, leaning back in his chair, but then added, “only by a few minutes, so the rest of us don’t really count it.”
“Only a few minutes? Then that makes you twins?”
He shook his head. “Quadruplets, actually.”
“Really?” My eyes widened as I imagined carrying four babies at once. Ouch. “Are you close?” I asked, and Zane’s smile slipped a little.
“We used to be,” he admitted. “And we’re getting back to that place. For a long time there was a rift between Stryker and the rest of us. But we’re working on healing it now. Aribella has helped in that regard.”
“I can see that. Aribella has always been known to be wise as well as kind-hearted. A natural-born peacemaker.”
We spent the rest of the meal trading stories of our families. Zane told me of the times he and his brothers played pranks on their parents. Apparently, the quads had given their mother and father a run for their money and his stories were hilarious.
I told him all about my sisters, and how close I was to them, especially Seraphina. There was a small ache in my chest when I spoke about them because even though I’d only been gone a short time, I still missed them terribly.
At the end of the night, I had to admit to myself that the meal was delicious, and the company was even better. Zane was amazing. He was everything someone would desire in a mate or a husband, yet whenever he told a story about his childhood I found myself hanging on to the information about Adrien. I wanted to know what he was like as a child and adolescent. I wanted to know more about the fae who was engaged to that horrible woman.
I repeatedly forced my mind away from Adrien, only to have my thoughts drift back to him again and again. And that was concerning on a number of levels. If anyone was my mate, it was supposed to be Zane, not Adrien, so I needed to banish him frommy mind. Besides, Adrien was already as good as married, and I was no homewrecker.
By the time we said our goodnights, I had to force my smile, and I worried that Zane could tell. It wasn’t anything he’d said or done. He was practically perfect. It was that I couldn’t chase thoughts of his brother from my mind through the latter half of our evening, and that frustrated and confused me.
I wanted to get a good night’s sleep. I didn’t know what the upcoming days would bring and couldn’t help feeling like this was the calm before the storm. But sleep didn’t come easily, and when it did, the eyes in my dreams weren’t dark blue with a speck of brown, they were teal, like the shallow coastal waters of the sea.
Chapter Five
Adrien
Iclosed my eyes, letting the evening sun warm my face as the ocean breeze ran cool fingers over my exposed skin. Inhaling, salty air filled my lungs, making me feel alive and rejuvenated.
I was made for the sea. I always felt that was true. I loved the sound of the gulls calling overhead and the waves as the surf rolled in. I loved the feeling of wet sand beneath my bare feet and the smell of brine. There was nowhere else in all of Ethereum that I felt as at home, as myself, as the shores of my kingdom, or when I was at the bow of my ship, cutting through crystal clear surf.
A smile bloomed on my face as I felt a presence come up behind me.
She was here.
A delicate hand appeared on my shoulder, and a moment later, her fingers caressed the side of my throat. I tilted my head, giving her more access to the sensitive skin. When she placed a barely there kiss on the back of my neck, delicious awareness ran down my spine, and need formed in my gut.
Reaching up, I grabbed hold of my fiancée’s hand and turned, ready to take her in my arms, but when I looked into her eyes, they were ice blue instead of brown, and her hair was raven feather black instead of chestnut.
A bolt of pure adrenaline shot through my system, and I took a half step back.
Isolde?
I must have said her name out loud because the beauty in front of me nodded and smiled. Like the lure of a siren’s call, my eyes were drawn to her lush, berry-red lips. The urge to taste them was intense, overpowering my common sense, and so I stepped forward, tugging her to me at the same time.
