Page 3 of Broken Hearted
A messenger would never interrupt my mother during a big event like this for something trivial. It must be urgent. She took the scroll with a smile, as if she’d expected it, and waved him off. Then she clutched it in her hand as we moved quickly around the room, thanking people for coming and accepting their well wishes.
Once we got to the stage, we stepped back into the small private alcove behind which was the ancient mirror portal. It was covered in dust yesterday, but now it shone.
Queen Liliana was there and greeted me as I gave her a small bow. My mother ripped the seal from the paper and scanned the message, her lips pursed as fear crossed over her face.
“What is it?” I asked.
She folded it and stuffed it into her pocket. “Nothing we can’t handle. Let’s get you off to the mirror world so that this entire nightmare can end.”
Chills rose on my arms. I was a Winter fae, so that was saying something. “Mother, what does it say?”
I’d been preparing to take over from her for the past few years, she shared all matters of state with me.
Mother shared a look with Queen Liliana and cleared her throat. “The curse has started at the western edge of our lands. A deep freeze hit in the night and killed a dozen fae. They are frozen solid, and it comes this way.”
I gasped. It was eerily similar to my power. Okay, itwasmy power, but without any intention behind it. It was just moving forward, killing everything in its path. It took a lot to freeze a Winter fae to death. This was frightening.
“It doesn’t matter,” Queen Liliana said. “You are about five minutes from stopping this curse and bringing harmony back to all of Faerie.”
Right.
Crap.
I gave her a small smile, but I didn’t like the way she scanned my face, as if trying to ferret out something I was hiding. Her gaze went to the dagger at my thigh, and I grabbed it, gripping it tightly like she taught me.
She relaxed a little then. “Remember, dear. Don’t even let him speak. Get the heart, get home, and this is all over.”
I nodded, my mind a whirlwind of anxious thoughts. What if that whole thing with Dawn was a trick? What if she’d lied to me? What if—
The mirror began to swirl in front of me.
“Okay, clear your mind. Just focus on the heart. The black heart of an Ethereum lord,” she said.
I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath, and doing as she said.
Black heart.
Black heart.
Tan skin, dark hair with honey-blond highlights, and bright teal eyes.
No. Don’t think of the engaged guy, you idiot.
Black heart.
Before I lost my nerve, I opened my eyes and looked over at my mother.
“I love you. Forgive me,” I said, and then jumped through the swirling portal before Queen Liliana could stop me, but the echoes of her furious screams followed.
Chapter Two
There was a tug at my navel as dizziness washed over me, and then my boots landed on white sand. I was temporarily blinded by the bright sun, something we barely saw in the Winter Court. My eyes adjusted and I gasped when I came face to face with a shirtless man. Beads of sweat rolled down his neck and onto his abs, cascading over each knot one by one.
Bless the stars.
I glanced up at his face and swallowed hard. It was him. Long hair. Honey-colored highlights. Engaged.
It was him.
