Page 36 of Broken Hearted
My goals were simple now. Travel to the belly of the sea, unlock the Shadow Heart, and get back to Faerie. With any luck, Zane would find a way back to Faerie quickly, and before the end of the fortnight, I’d be back in my beloved land, telling my sisters all about my adventures.
As I told Adrien what needed to be done, he listened intently.“There is a lot of lore about the ‘belly of the sea’. Some say it’s an island, others say it’s a sunken ship, but me and my fellow sailors think differently.”
Great. We had a couple of leads. “Do you know where it might be?” I asked.
He nodded. “I have an idea. There’s a place we all avoid because it messes with our navigation. It’s garnered many names over the years and the belly of the sea is one of them because it eats any ship that tries to pass through it, never to be seen again.”
Interesting. Not exactly ideal. “Sounds like a good place to start,” I told him. I wasn’t letting some local lore scare me off my task. My family, my people, my whole realm was depending on me.
Adrien, still shirtless, eyed the cabin door. “Zane went with you to the Wise Ones?” he asked.
I nodded. “He was a great help.”
Adrien frowned. “Where is my brother now?”
“Oh, right. He had a meeting with the Wise Ones too and they sent him on his own mission of sorts.”
Adrien’s frown deepened. “My brother let his mate go off on a mission alone to save me from a witch? Doesn’t sound like him.”
“Oh.” He thought Zane and I were mates. “About that.” I fidgeted with the cuff of my shirt, uncomfortable with this conversation, but knowing it had to be said. “Zane and I aren’t mates.”
Adrien’s eyes flared. Was that relief in his gaze?
“How can you be sure?” he pressed.
I shrugged nonchalantly. “We kissed. Nothing happened.”
“You kissed my brother?” Adrien shouted, jealousy laced through his voice.
He jolted a little after his outburst, seemingly as surprised by the intensity of his reaction as I was. Clearing his throat, he glanced away, but I still caught the faint hint of color that appeared high on his cheeks.
I couldn’t help but grin a little. That was an interesting reaction. “I did. No sparkles or whatever he was expecting. Shall we get back to Soleum? I’m sure your staff is worried about you.”
And please put on a shirt before I reach out and stroke those pecks, just to see if they are as hard as they look.
* * *
Adrien finally dressed—thank the stars—and we rode together back toward Soleum in the wagon I’d stolen from his wedding. Once we reached the nearest village, Adrien sent a raven ahead of us to tell his castle staff and army to detain Elisana and await his arrival.
As we journeyed back down south, he asked me things about my life in Faerie, my family, my hopes, and dreams. He was as easy to get along with as Zane. Telling him things I wouldn’t normally tell someone I didn’t know well, just came naturally.
“So women rule in Faerie, I hear?” he asked as we passed a small village on our left. By my calculations, we were almost back to his castle. Adrien sat next to me on the open bench seat behind the horses with the riding crop in his hand.
I nodded. “My mother is the Queen, and when my father was married to her he was king consort.”
Adrien frowned at my wording. “Was married?”
“They divorced when I was fifteen.”
His frown turned to understanding. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
I gave him a polite smile and tried to think of something to change the subject, before he asked another question about it, but my mind came up blank.
“That must have been really hard on you,” he said.
I swallowed hard. “It’s fine. I had six younger sisters to be strong for.” I tilted my chin up high.
He was staring at me with his teal eyes like he could see right through me, like he saw the little battered and bloodied fifteen-year-old inside of me that was still healing from the pain my parents caused.
