Page 12 of Broken Hearted (Cursed Fae #3)

Isolde

N ow that Adrien was awake and no longer under Elisana’s love spell, I could sense a change between us. He kept sneaking glances at me, and I was trying not to stare at his chiseled abs. Put a shirt on already!

I’d spent the last ten minutes briefing him on what the Wise Ones said, but no matter how many times I tried I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about the mates part. I was still on the fence about it all. Zane and I had kissed and nothing happened. Perhaps the same would happen if Adrien and I kissed as well. But even if Adrien was my mate, it didn’t mean anything. I was not going to end up like my parents.

My goals were simple now. Travel to the belly of the sea, unlock the Shadow Heart, and get back to Faerie. With any luck, Zane would find a way back to Faerie quickly, and before the end of the fortnight, I’d be back in my beloved land, telling my sisters all about my adventures.

As I told Adrien what needed to be done, he listened intently. “There is a lot of lore about the ‘belly of the sea’. Some say it’s an island, others say it’s a sunken ship, but me and my fellow sailors think differently.”

Great. We had a couple of leads. “Do you know where it might be?” I asked.

He nodded. “I have an idea. There’s a place we all avoid because it messes with our navigation. It’s garnered many names over the years and the belly of the sea is one of them because it eats any ship that tries to pass through it, never to be seen again.”

Interesting. Not exactly ideal. “Sounds like a good place to start,” I told him. I wasn’t letting some local lore scare me off my task. My family, my people, my whole realm was depending on me.

Adrien, still shirtless, eyed the cabin door. “Zane went with you to the Wise Ones?” he asked.

I nodded. “He was a great help.”

Adrien frowned. “Where is my brother now?”

“Oh, right. He had a meeting with the Wise Ones too and they sent him on his own mission of sorts.”

Adrien’s frown deepened. “My brother let his mate go off on a mission alone to save me from a witch? Doesn’t sound like him.”

“Oh.” He thought Zane and I were mates. “About that.” I fidgeted with the cuff of my shirt, uncomfortable with this conversation, but knowing it had to be said. “Zane and I aren’t mates.”

Adrien’s eyes flared. Was that relief in his gaze?

“How can you be sure?” he pressed.

I shrugged nonchalantly. “We kissed. Nothing happened.”

“You kissed my brother?” Adrien shouted, jealousy laced through his voice.

He jolted a little after his outburst, seemingly as surprised by the intensity of his reaction as I was. Clearing his throat, he glanced away, but I still caught the faint hint of color that appeared high on his cheeks.

I couldn’t help but grin a little. That was an interesting reaction. “I did. No sparkles or whatever he was expecting. Shall we get back to Soleum? I’m sure your staff is worried about you.”

And please put on a shirt before I reach out and stroke those pecks, just to see if they are as hard as they look.

* * *

Adrien finally dressed—thank the stars—and we rode together back toward Soleum in the wagon I’d stolen from his wedding. Once we reached the nearest village, Adrien sent a raven ahead of us to tell his castle staff and army to detain Elisana and await his arrival.

As we journeyed back down south, he asked me things about my life in Faerie, my family, my hopes, and dreams. He was as easy to get along with as Zane. Telling him things I wouldn’t normally tell someone I didn’t know well, just came naturally.

“So women rule in Faerie, I hear?” he asked as we passed a small village on our left. By my calculations, we were almost back to his castle. Adrien sat next to me on the open bench seat behind the horses with the riding crop in his hand.

I nodded. “My mother is the Queen, and when my father was married to her he was king consort.”

Adrien frowned at my wording. “Was married?”

“They divorced when I was fifteen.”

His frown turned to understanding. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

I gave him a polite smile and tried to think of something to change the subject, before he asked another question about it, but my mind came up blank.

“That must have been really hard on you,” he said.

I swallowed hard. “It’s fine. I had six younger sisters to be strong for.” I tilted my chin up high.

He was staring at me with his teal eyes like he could see right through me, like he saw the little battered and bloodied fifteen-year-old inside of me that was still healing from the pain my parents caused.

“Oh, look, your castle,” I blurted out and pointed at the white stone structure in the distance.

He nodded calmly, unsurprised, which he probably wasn’t since he knew exactly where we were. It was his realm after all. “Do you want marriage for yourself one day?” he asked suddenly.

Why was he going so deep? We didn’t know each other well and it was a huge question to ask. Maybe not for other women, but it was for me.

“No,” I answered honestly, and his head reeled back a little in shock.

“Why not?” He sounded hurt for some reason, like my answer had personally offended him.

I peered over at him, catching his gaze and holding it. “Because if I don’t get married, I never have to worry about divorce.”

Turning away from him, I gave him my back, sending a clear message that this questioning was over. He was quiet for the rest of the ride.

When we arrived at his castle there was a flurry of activity. We learned that Elisana had fled after she realized Adrien had been taken and wasn’t going to marry her. She had probably put two and two together and realized she was caught and that her time was up.

“I want every inch of this realm scoured until you bring her to me for justice,” Adrien told one of his spies.

According to Zane, Adrien had a network of spies who were some of the best in the realm, who worked to not only ferret out information but also were among his most elite warriors. In some ways, Adrien’s spies were like a small army themselves.

“Yes, sir,” the man said and then left with a bow, disappearing into the hallway.

Adrien then turned to his head housemaid. “Please collect every article of clothing and personal belonging of hers and burn it. Let’s not forget she was a witch and we don’t know what other traps might lie in wait in my very own home.”

Underneath the anger, he sounded vulnerable and hurt, and he had every right to be.

“Yes, my lord.” She rested a comforting hand on his shoulder before leaving the room.

Night was falling, and it was well past dinner and as much as I wanted to just go out there and unlock this crystal, a yawn escaped me.

“I’m tired, too.” Adrien rubbed his face. “Shall we have dinner and then get some sleep? Leave first thing in the morning?”

I agreed, and Adrien led me down to the kitchen. I expected him to instruct the chef to feed us, but instead he told his kitchen staff they could take the rest of the night off.

“Would you like a melted cheese and tomato sandwich?” he asked me.

“Sure, that sounds great,” I told him.

He looked relieved. “Good. Because that’s the only thing I know how to make.”

I laughed and pulled a milk crate over to the counter and sat down. As he sliced the tomato, bread, and cheese, he told me all about his childhood and what it was like to grow up with so many brothers.

“You’ve heard about my ton of sisters, so I totally know what you mean,” I said.

“Chaos, all the time,” he agreed.

I found myself enjoying the conversation and couldn’t help comparing it to my talks with Zane. I liked both brothers, they were good fae and easy to get along with. But why did my eyes linger on Adrien’s biceps as he cut the bread, watching his muscles flex? And why did my stomach turn over when he handed me my sandwich and winked when I said thank you?

I wanted to feel nothing for Adrien, just like when I’d thought about kissing Zane. But the mere thought of getting close to Adrien, of pressing my lips against his, caused a full-body flush to come over me.

“Is the food okay?” Adrien asked, his gaze studying me in a way that only made my blood heat further.

I gave a nervous laugh. “It’s wonderful, thank you,” I answered and took another bite of the warm cheesy goodness.

He watched me, his eyes going to my lips, and I wondered what he was thinking. Then he hung his head a little and shook it.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

He sucked in a deep breath and then exhaled, staring at his sandwich as if it held a secret.

“I can’t believe I almost married her.”

My heart ached for him. He was still processing Elisana’s betrayal. Reaching out, I placed my hand over his, and he looked up at me.

“Take it as a compliment. You’re so powerful and handsome that a witch wanted to enchant you to love her forever.”

A lopsided grin graced his face, and my stomach bottomed out.

“You think I’m handsome?”

I burst into nervous laughter and pulled my hand back.

“No, please, Isolde, tell me more about that,” Adrien pressed, and I just laughed harder, blushing red as a sunset.

“Stop. You know you’re good-looking. All of you Ethereum lords are.”

His face darkened a little, and I suspected he was thinking of me kissing Zane.

I swallowed hard and put the last piece of sandwich into my mouth, chewing.

“Well, I’m exhausted,” I told him. “Thank you for the dinner.”

I stood, and he followed suit.

“Let me show you to the guest quarters,” he said.

I waved him off. “I know where they are. I’ve stayed here before.”

His cheeks pinked. “Those were not the guest quarters. Those are for servants. I’m sorry I didn’t stand up to Elisana. I … couldn’t at the time.”

“It’s okay,” I told him.

“It is not,” he said, his face darkening for a moment.

It wasn’t just that his face changed, but that the shadows in the room seemed to shift and press in closer.

I drew in a quick breath of air in surprise, and it snapped Adrien out of it. He drew in a slow lungful of air and the shadows retreated, returning to their proper place.

“My apologies,” he said, running a hand through his hair, drawing my attention to his long, sun-kissed hair. “I lost myself for a moment. I’m just so angry with Elisana.”

I told him it was okay again, because it truly was. What Elisana had done to him was beyond deplorable. She’d taken away his free will. I didn’t expect him to recover overnight.

He gave me a pinched smile and then led me to a lavish two-room suite with a claw-foot tub bathroom and sitting area. It was plush with light-blue and sand-colored linens that reminded me of the sea, and a thousand miles from the chamber I’d stayed in before.

He lingered at the door. “Goodnight, Isolde.”

“Goodnight, Adrien,” I said, and for a wild second I considered kissing him, just to see if it was like kissing Zane, but I lost my nerve and shut the door.

Besides. Who said he’d want to kiss me back?