Page 20

I was restless and wondered if I would sleep at all, having slept for hours during the day. But with a full stomach for the first time in living memory, sleep quickly took over and held me all night.

It was strange. I’d had no nightmares for the first time I could remember. No attack, no dream-laden and fitful sleep. Just deep, sound rest, and in the morning, I felt different.

Alive.

I went to the bathing chamber and found that moving was easy, not like it could sometimes be after a bad attack had kept me in bed for a day. My head was clear, and I had energy.

A healer came to check on me and brought a breakfast tray with her. They told me Kiera had been called away first thing to tend to an injury and would return soon to check on me herself.

Once again, the food was plentiful and delicious. Probably a special concession to the patients of the healers to boost their strength and aid their healing. I doubted everyone in the capital ate this well.

“Are you feeling any better?”

I startled at Nyx’s voice, but then his face came into view between the curtains, and I frowned. The voice was the same, but the face was ever so slightly different. Less harsh. Perhaps sleep had softened him from the brute he’d been yesterday.

“Nyx?” I said, keeping the quiver out of my tone. I didn’t think I was mentally up to dealing with him yet.

“Close. I’m Kol.” The identical image of Nyx slipped through the curtain, and I would have called him a liar, but he held himself entirely differently than Nyx did. He carried an ease to his body language while Nyx held tension. “I’m his brother. And you must be the infamous Zaria.”

“Are all males here identical copies of you two?” I asked, surprising myself with the hint of attitude.

He cocked his head and lifted a brow before laughing. “Yes, every single one of us. A bunch of copies.”

I laughed despite myself. Clearly, this male didn’t set me on edge quite the way his brother did. They may have looked similar, but their auras were worlds apart. “Twins?”

“How did you guess?” He smirked, venturing farther into the room and picking up a candle off the end table. He brought it to his nose to sniff.

I watched him, fascinated. I had never seen identical twins before, only heard of them. It was incredible. I was watching the fae I’d had an extremely intense and frustrating interaction with yesterday, yet it wasn’t him. “You are not like him at all.”

He was all around softer, or maybe gentler. His voice wasn’t so harsh, and his movements were less brash. The tiny details added up to make a completely different fae.

“We have the same face.” He returned the candle to its place and turned to me.

“Similar, but not the same,” I countered.

“You’re the first fae in my whole life to say as much.”

“At first glance, yes, you do, but they aren’t really seeing you if they think you two are the same.”

His smile spread across his face. He had a simple underlying joy to him Nyx didn’t possess. “I like you already,” he said warmly. “My brother better not fuck this up.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, Nyx… Tall, dark, and douchey? I think you two have met.” He gave me a type of grin I couldn’t help but laugh at, although I did not know what the term meant.

“I’m familiar.”

“He’s a lot to deal with. Believe me, I know. I had the pleasure of growing up with him.” Kol winked.

“Has he always been like that?”

Kol nodded vigorously. “Even as a baby. Always serious. My mother used to joke about it. My father said it would make for a good general one day. But he does soften once you get to know him.”

“I’m not sure I believe you.”

“I’m not sure I believe me, either.” He laughed, warm and rueful. “So, what has you confused?”

“What do you mean by: he better not, um, mess this up?” I cleared my throat and felt my cheeks heat when he smiled at my change of wording.