Page 30 of Broken Hearted
At first, I thought it was good luck he wasn’t waking, but now … I was concerned.
My stomach was in knots as I stood and walked closer to where he lay, pausing at the side of the bed to look down at him.
I hadn’t wanted to restrain him, but the tea that Adrien had been drinking was clearly some potion that Elisana had used to brainwash him, so there was no telling what he would do until it was out of his system. So after the innkeeper had set him on the bed and left, I tore one of the bedsheets into strips and tied Adrien’s arms to the metal bed frame.
I cocked my head as I stared down at him, a little put out that even covered in mud I found him attractive.
He was going to be mad when he woke.
If he wakes, my mind whispered, and a bolt of fear shot through me.
No, notif,when. He was going to be fine.
Turning, I grabbed a rag and dipped it in a deep bowl of water intended for hand washing. The least I could do for him was wipe the mud off his face so he was clean when he regained consciousness.
After I had wrung the excess water out of the towel, I twisted back toward Adrien to find a pair of angry, teal eyes staring back at me.
Yelping in surprise, I dropped the rag, and it hit the floor with a splat.
“Adrien,” I said, pressing a hand against my furiously poundingheart. “You’re awake.” Sweet relief rushed me, overshadowing the angry glower on his face.
“Why am I tied to this bed?” he asked, each word clipped and laced with ice. “Andwhydoes it feel like a horse sat on my head?”
“Right, that,” I said, wringing my hands. “Well, it’s kind of a long story …” Where did I even begin?
Suddenly, a wall of shadows appeared to my left and right, boxing me in place, and I shrieked in surprise.
Was this his power?
“Start talking,” he growled.
I pulled the moisture from the bowl of water I’d dipped the towel in and created a long thin sword, pointing it at his neck. As it suspended in midair, I expected to see anger in his gaze, but I only saw mirth and a flash of respect. Like he enjoyed a worthy opponent.
“I’ll speak when I feel safe,” I told him and gestured to the walls of shadows pressing into my shoulders.
He sighed, and the shadows dissipated. I tossed my ice sword to the floor, and it shattered into a dozen pieces.
“Okay, Isolde. Why did you steal me awayfrom my weddingand tie me to the bedpost?” he asked with one eyebrow raised.
When he put it that way, it sounded awful.
I gave a nervous laugh. “Well, I went to see the Wise Ones and they told me what I needed to do in order to end this curse. But I’ll need your help.”
His brows drew together. “I will gladly help you. But why couldn’t you at least have waited until after my wedding to my beloved?”
On second thought, tying him up did seem a bit excessive now. But hearing the words “my beloved” caused a sharp pain to form in my chest.
“She’s not your beloved,” I spat with more anger than I should have had. “She’s a witch. I caught her doing a spell over your precioustea.”
A dark look overtook Adrien’s face, transforming his handsome features. “Liar. You’re here to carve out my heart!” He bucked against the restraints and the shadows were back, pressing in on me. I re-created my ice sword and pressed it against his throat.
“Adrien, I don’t know you very well, but you seem like an intelligent man. Why do you think she pushed you to drink your tea every day?”
He frowned. “Because she loves me. She cares about my health. Besides, I haven’t had the tea in a few days. I tossed it out because my sleep had improved.”
“No, because she was drugging you with some love potion,” I told him.
“Elisana is not a witch. She’s my future wife.” The dark walls pressed closer into me, and even though they were made of shadows, they began to crush me like a boulder, squeezing the air from my lungs.
