Page 9 of Broken Hearted
My eyes widened at his blunt description. I mean, he wasn’t wrong.
“Sorry, that was a joke.” He gave a nervous laugh, which I matched. He was adorable, and sweet.
He looked at the driver of the carriage. “Take us to the shops and then the train station.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You have trains?”
We had a small train in the Winter Court that went through the ice mountains and carried coal from the mines, but it was rudimentary and not fit for passengers.
I stepped inside the luxurious carriage, and Zane climbed in after me.
“The railroad is what my land is known for. That and coal mining. I’ve been working with my brothers to extend my railroad through all of Ethereum so we can travel with ease. We’re not there yet, but we are getting close. We haven’t connected the tracks all the way to Easteria, the capital of the Eastern Kingdom yet. It will take several more years to finish the big plan of having train stops in every major city, but we have gotten far. It will be nice to leave something behind that the people can benefit from.” He smiled. “We’ve just finished connecting Windreum, the capital of the Western Kingdom where I live, to Soleum, here in the Southern Kingdom. It should cut our trip time by seventy-five percent.”
“It sounds fun. I’ve never ridden on a train.” I told him.
We made small talk then as the carriage took us into the heart of Soleum and stopped at a women’s dress shop.
“Let’s get you at least two weeks’ worth of new clothes,” he declared.
He was taking me shopping? That was so kind and thoughtful.
“You don’t have to do that,” I told him.
He nodded. “I want to.”
It was late, but Zane was able to convince the proprietor to open the store just for us. As she showed me the latest fashions, Zane arranged for food to be brought to me so I wouldn’t go hungry. His care and concern were such a change from how Elisana treated me, that I couldn’t help but warm toward him.
After a couple of hours, I left the shop with a full belly and an entire new wardrobe. Even though I’d told Zane I only needed a couple of staple items, he wouldn’t hear of it and now I had enough clothes to last me a very long time. Four full trunks to be exact. Zane had to hire an extra carriage just to get them to the train. It was a mix of dresses, pants, cloaks, and shoes for both warm and cold climates. He’d essentially bought out the entire store in my size, and as we departed, the owners were close to tears, thanking him profusely and telling us to return anytime.
And on top of that, Zane also assured me that he’d have a seamstress fit me for custom gowns when we returned to his kingdom. I told him that wasn’t necessary; I only had plans to stay in Ethereum as long as it took to break the curse and then I would find a way to return to my home in Faerie, but he only smiled and said that it was no trouble.
By the time the carriage brought us to what I assumed was the train station that Zane had told me about, it was well into the evening and my eyelids were heavy with exhaustion. Who knew shopping could be so tiring?
Zane had told me that the trip from Soleum back to his castle in Windreum would take twelve hours, so we could sleep overnight and would arrive in his kingdom in the morning. I marveled athow quickly we would get to his homeland, considering the distance. I’d studied the map of Ethereum before traveling here. It would easily take at least three days of horseback riding, if not more, to travel that far. This train of his was truly a marvel, and he seemed very proud of it.
The train station was a beautiful large brick building that when you stepped inside brought you to a platform that held a gorgeous red train with over twenty cars all linked together. It was nothing like the dinky coal train I’d seen in Faerie. This was brand new, still smelling of fresh paint and varnish. I couldn’t wait to see what it looked like inside.
Zane reached forward and put a steadying hand on my elbow to help me up the steps that led into the train car.
“Thank you,” I told him, and he released me when I reached the top.
I found myself wondering if Zane acted this way to every woman or if he was treating me differently because he believed we were mates. I hoped it was the former because if he expected anything romantic from me, he was going to be disappointed. Which, strangely enough considering I’d just met him, made me feel a little bad for him. He was so attuned to my needs, he’d spent the last few hours making sure I had proper clothing and feeding me, and now he was taking care that I didn’t trip on the steps. If I were to marry anyone, Zane was the kind of partner my mother would dream of me having. He was the biggest sweetheart in the world, but when I looked into his eyes . . . I felt nothing.
No fire. No zest. No oomph, as Seraphina would call it.Not even an inkling of what I felt when I looked at his brother Adrien. The engaged one.
Stop. I scolded myself and forced my brain to think of other things.
Zane smiled at me warmly. “You must be exhausted. Let me show you to your room in the sleeping car.”
“Sleeping car?” I asked, and he nodded.
“We have several small rooms on the train set up for overnight travel.” He gestured for me to move deeper into the car we stood in just as the train started to move.
There were windows on either side and rows of padded seats where fae could sit. As we walked down the aisle and through a few more cars, opening and closing doors between each, Zane explained the name and purpose of each of them.
Besides the sleeping car we were headed toward, the train also had several coach cars to carry passengers, a dining car to eat in, and even an observation car with lots of windows so passengers could enjoy the view. He told me that the train also had storage cars and flatcars to transport materials as well.
Zane’s train was impressive, to say the least, and seemed like a wonderful way to travel. I wished we had something like it in Faerie. Maybe someday we could build a train this grand in my court as well.
