Page 61 of Omen of ice
“And if tragedy strikes, you’re alone. You’re never able to find someone new? How is that better?”
“It’s not like we live celibate lives.”
“So I’ve heard,” I retort. “But sex isn’t love.”
“We can still enjoy the company of another; we don’t lose the ability to feel. It will just never be the same.”
“Still sounds like a flaw to me.” I shrug. “Besides, I think you’re oversimplifying things.”
“How so?”
“You’re spinning it like the Fae are so much more controlled than humans—”
“We are.”
“Yet you’re far more prone to heightened responses than we are. A bit of a contradiction, don’t you think?”
The bridge is a few yards away. I don’t see anyone near it, but an uneasy feeling stirs in my gut. With each step, it gets worse.
“Have you ever loved?” His brow quirks, and a strong pulse of curiosity blasts through the link. There’s something just beneath it—an emotion he’s trying hard to hide.
I think back to the warm nights, the stolen moments with a dark-haired boy in the shadows of the forest that bordered the Order. “There was someone I was particularly fond of. His name was Arjen. He was the son of the Order’s blacksmith.”
“Do you miss him?”
“I think of him sometimes, but I suppose not. It’s not like I could have loved him.”
“Because of your position?”
I hold a hand over my heart. “I wear a Heartbreaker, remember?”
“That’s right!” He throws back his head and lets out an exaggerated sigh. “That’s actually a relief.”
“It is?” I ask. We approach the edge of the chasm, just shy of the bridge. Still, there’s no one around. Maybe the rabbit was wrong. Confused or disoriented. Or maybe the trolls have moved on in search of greener pastures. It would be a small break of luck.
He stops and takes my hand with a dramatic bow. “I won’t have to worry about you falling in love with me.”
I choke back a laugh, but I can’t help smiling. Valen brings me from anger to hysteria in a few short words, and a part of me enjoys it. “You’re not my type.”
“Well, then spill, please. What is the mighty druidKeltania’stype?”
He’s still holding my hands, and a whisper in my head says to pull away, yet something just a bit stronger tells me not to. “Someone humble, for starters.”
“Bah. Humble is boring.”
“Also, my ideal match would have to be selfless.”
He drops my hand and lifts a low-hanging branch as I pass under it. “Hero complex. Gotcha. Overrated, if you ask me.”
“And definitely someone who understands the value of common sense.”
He snorts. “How isthata desirable trait?”
I shrug and pull my hand from his and step onto the bridge. “It’s desirable because it would mean less time spent having to save his sorry ass from his own bad decisions.”
“Sounds to me like you have your priorities mixed up.”
“It doesn’t surprise me thatyou’dthink that.”
