Page 44 of Black Hearted
Chapter Fourteen
Zane
That night, I slept soundly, but I had no dreams of Lorelei, which scared me. Was she hurt? Is that why she hadn’t visited me? Or was it simply because we’d been asleep at different times?
In the early morning hours, before the sun had risen, Nellie and I ate a quick breakfast with Glori, Thalion, and their three daughters: Octavia, Fawn, and Daisey. They were beautiful young ladies ranging in age from about three to thirteen. It was hard to look at them because of their resemblance to Lorelei, but I loved that they were trying to talk to Nellie. So far they had asked her about the games that she loved to play and whether she liked to sing. But poor Nellie.
I glanced over and saw Nellie staring at her oatmeal instead of eating it. No one in Lorelei’s family seemed to have eaten more than a bite or two of their own meals, either. A melancholy hung over the table. We were leaving on a dangerous mission, and no one knew when—or if—we’d return.
“Did she visit you in your dreams last night?” Glori asked me.
I shook my head. “You?”
“No.” She looked at her daughters and her husband, who all frowned and shook their heads.
I wanted to tell myself it didn’t mean anything, but my gut told me something wasn’t right.
Hold on, Lorelei. Just a little longer.
After breakfast, we went out to the stables to ready our horses. Even the king and the girls, who were staying behind, joined us. As I attended to Biscuit, I caught Lorelei’s sisters playing some game I didn’t recognize. One person stood in the center, and the others bopped them on the head before being chased.
Nellie was participating, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
Glori called me over.
“You will not truly be able to help save my daughter without something to defend yourself with.” At first I was not sure what she meant, but then she looked at a guard who brought over a sword.
“This is for you,” she said. “Use it well.”
I was grateful. I usually relied on my magic to protect myself, but with how unreliable my powers had been since arriving in Faerie, I felt better having a weapon at my disposal. I thanked her and assured her that I would do everything I could and that I intended to save Lorelei from whatever happened.
“I’m counting on it,” she said.
By the time the sun was fully up, the queen and I, along with her troops, were ready to leave. The queen’s children stood in a line by the stalls, heads hung low as their mother kissed them goodbye.
When she was done, Thalion stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. The king looked to be almost twice as big as his petite wife and almost swallowed her in his embrace.
I glanced away to give them a moment of privacy, and anyway, I had my own goodbye to make. I went over to Nellie. She wouldn’t meet my gaze, so I got down on one knee in front of her.
“If you find the princess and ride off into the sunset and forget about me, I won’t blame you,” she said, still refusing to look at me. But I caught the telltale sheen of tears in her eyes.
The walls this little one had built around her heart to protect herself were high.
I gently grasped her chin and forced her to look down at me.
“I won’t forget you. I will be back. It’s a promise,” I told her.
She nodded, chewing on her lip.
She sucked in a shaky breath and then, bursting forward, wrapped her arms around me. “Don’t get killed.”
“I told you once before,” I whispered into her hair as she clung to me, “I’m very difficult to kill.”
Letting me go, she stepped back and rubbed her hand over her eyes before saying, “You better be.”
Some of her usual spunk returned, making me smile.
I noticed she was wearing a necklace I hadn’t seen before. Hanging on a delicate gold chain was an orange jewel set in a teardrop pendant.
