Page 72 of Broken Hearted
“I’m fine,” I lied, and a small frown turned down the corners of Zane’s mouth.
Even though I knew he saw right through me, he had the decency not to call me out on my lie.
“Dawn told me some interesting news,” he said, not able to keep the corners of his mouth from lifting in a smile.
“Oh, yeah?”
I had a feeling that I knew what he was going to say, which was confirmed when he asked, “So, do you believe in mates now?”
“It’s not that I didn’t necessarilybelievein mates,” I started, but then Zane gave me a look that I couldn’t help but laugh at. But my levity quickly faded as Adrien entered my thoughts.
“He said he loved me,” I confessed, my eyes suddenly starting to sting.
A gentle look softened Zane’s features. “Of course he did. And how could he not? You’re fierce, determined, beautiful, and a million other things that make you the perfect counterpart for my brother. He never stood a chance,” he finished with a smile.
I sighed. “But we haven’t known each other for very long. Hardly any time at all when you think about it. And there’s still so much we don’t know about each other.”
Zane shrugged. “So, why does that matter?”
I shot him a look that said that it should matter.
Zane tilted his head as he regarded me. “Let me ask you something. Do you feel the same way he does?”
Yes, I felt the same way. But those feelings scared me, so rather than admit them, I deflected. “Feeling so strong about each other so soon … it’s just, not logical,” I argued with a shake of my head.
Zane turned to me fully, looking me right in the eyes. “Love isn’t logical, it just is.”
“That simple, huh?”
He nodded. “Yes, that simple.”
Something inside me started to crumble. I’d held it together the best I could over the last day as I got my sister to safety, but here, standing on this balcony thinking about how I left Adrien, and what I’d given up in order to save her, suddenly became too much, and I broke.
“If I love him, how could I have just left him there?” I asked as unwanted tears started to stream down my face. I could no more hold my sobs in than I could stop loving Adrien as much as I did.
“You didn’t leave him there. He told you to go,” Zane reminded me as he wrapped his arms around me. He let me cry without judgment for a little while, making me wish I’d had an older brother.
“What if I never see him again? What if I never get to tell him I love him too?” My words were barely above a whisper, but somehow, Zane still heard.
“Youwillsee him and youwillget to tell him how you feel,” he said, his voice firm and sure. “But I know my brother, so I’m pretty sure he already knows.”
Zane’s words washed over me like a healing balm and my tears eventually subsided. I took in a cleansing breath and stepped back to wipe my face with my sleeve.
“Feel better?” Zane asked.
“Yes,” I said with a nod, feeling something inside me click into place.
I finally knew that it was time. Time to let go of my fears and embrace my future. And that future included the seafaring Ethereum lord I’d fallen in love with, and I wasn’t about to let something like a blood witch or an evil curse stand in my way.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Adrien
Laying wide awake on the lumpy couch, I strained to hear Elisana across the room, waiting for her breaths to lengthen and even out to confirm she was asleep. The couch in her bedroom was the only concession she’d allowed me. She wouldn’t let me sleep alone last night or tonight, claiming that our separation had caused her trauma, and now she wanted me close all the time. I hadn’t been able to come up with a way to convince her that we should sleep in separate rooms without tipping her off that I wasn’t fully under her love spell.
Thank the stars we hadn’t shared a room before, because I was at least able to stay out of her bed without raising suspicion, claiming that I still wanted to wait until we were wed to share that intimacy. She’d pouted but relented.
The last day and a half had been torture, pretending to be infatuated with her as she paraded me in front of her friends and fellow blood witches in the village. Her touch made me shudder, yet I had to act like I was utterly besotted.
