Page 23 of Broken Hearted (Cursed Fae #3)

“I solde?”

Dawn’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, and I spun to see her coming down the stairs in Zane’s foyer, as quickly as she could in her pregnant state.

Dawn practically waddled as she descended the last couple of steps. Was she even bigger than the last time I saw her? It had been almost two weeks since we met at the station in Noreum, but her stomach protruded even more. There surely couldn’t be just one baby in there.

When she reached me, Dawn threw her arms around my shoulders and pulled me toward her in an awkward hug because her belly was in the way. I squeezed her back the best I could. Just seeing her gave me a boost of strength that I happily soaked up.

Stepping back, she looked at me with a concerned expression and asked, “Was that Sera I saw being brought into the castle?”

I nodded. When we arrived at the station in Windreum, not more than an hour ago, we immediately headed for Zane’s castle. I traveled with Seraphina in a hired carriage, but one of Adrien’s men secured a horse and went ahead of us to alert Zane.

The moment we arrived, Zane had been there waiting for us with a healer. Although Sera was doing much better, I was still so thankful for Zane’s thoughtfulness. He had some of his staff whisk my sister to a private room where she would be cleaned up and cared for before resting.

I’d given him a very brief version of what had happened with Elisana and how she was holding Adrien. Then he’d left to gather Dawn and Zander, who he hadn’t had time to notify before we had arrived.

I’d been relieved when he told me Dawn and Zander were here. I was glad they weren’t in the Southern Kingdom with the other northern refugees. After boarding the train when I saw them last, they’d only traveled as far as Windreum. They wanted to stay as close as possible to their kingdom to make sure their people were evacuated, which ended up being a good decision since the Western Kingdom was the only remaining place in Ethereum that the curse had yet to cross. And it was good for me because I was going to need everyone’s help to break the soul-tie between Elisana and Seraphina, and save Adrien.

“What is she doing here?” Dawn asked, clearly shocked.

“When I didn’t return with a heart, your mother pushed Seraphina through the portal,” I told her, and immediately Dawn’s features darkened.

“She did what ?” Anger began to radiate from her.

I didn’t answer because the question was clearly rhetorical.

“I can’t believe it,” she said, shaking her head. “I know my mother is driven and single-minded at times, but how could she have forced an untrained child into this mess?”

There was no love lost between me and Queen Liliana. What she did had almost cost Seraphina her life, but I believed the situation in Faerie was indeed dire and it drove Queen Liliana to do desperate things. Dawn left Faerie when the curse started in her kingdom. She didn’t fully understand how bad things had gotten throughout the realm.

In the carriage ride over, Seraphina had given me even more details about what was happening back at home. The land was uninhabitable. Fae were dying. And those that survived had lost everything. It was as if the world was truly coming to an end. So it wasn’t as if I agreed with what the Summer queen did, but perhaps I understood what drove her to that point.

“We need to talk,” I told her. “Zane said he was going to get you and Zander.”

Dawn nodded. “Yes, we’re to meet in the drawing room. He found me first and told me you were down here. He’ll get Zander and bring him there. Come on.”

Taking my hand, Dawn led me back up the stairs and then down a long hallway, stopping in front of large wooden double doors. She didn’t pause before pushing it open to reveal a sizable room. There was a giant stone fireplace along the back wall and three green velvet couches positioned in front of it. On the opposite side of the room there was a card table with bucket chairs where Zane must entertain guests in the evenings to play cards.

Zane and Zander were already there. Zander came over to give me a quick hug in greeting, telling me that he was glad I was safe, and then we all settled into seats around the circular card table off to the side.

I quickly updated them on all that had happened recently. I started with how Adrien and I had located the belly of the sea and unlocked the crystal. Both Zane and Zander looked surprised and a little confused, as Adrien had when I explained how the Shadow Heart had cracked in two, but they didn’t interrupt. I told them how we discovered that Seraphina was in Ethereum but that she’d been captured by Elisana before I even had a chance to find her. Zander and Dawn seemed to already know that Elisana was a blood witch who was drugging Adrien to love her, so I assumed that Zane had told them.

I explained that we’d tracked Elisana down in a small village in the Northern Kingdom only to find out that she had soul-tied herself to my sister and we couldn’t hurt her. And finally that Adrien had drunk her potion that had kept him captive to her before, but that I didn’t believe it had worked this time.

“In order to defeat Elisana and save Adrien, we have to find a way to break the soul-tie,” I finished, looking each one of them in the eye. “Do any of you know how we can do that?”

The looks on their faces gave me their answers before anyone uttered a word.

“I don’t think any of us know enough about blood magic to be able to break a soul-tie,” Zane finally confessed. “But we do know a blood witch, Rowena, who might be able to help us,” he went on, and Zander’s gaze immediately darkened.

“No,” Zander said forcefully and Dawn laid a hand on his arm, seemingly to soothe him.

Zane looked at his brother. “She helped us before, for a price. Maybe she would again?”

Zander grumbled something under his breath and Zane sighed. “Our brother’s life is on the line, along with the fate of not one, but two worlds. I don’t like it any more than you do, but I don’t think we really have an option at this point. Do you have a better idea?”

Zander pressed his lips together in a hard line, but after a few tense seconds he gave a sharp shake of his head.

“Then I’ll send my men to go get her,” Zane said, sounding resigned rather than happy to have won the argument. “She’s actually in my kingdom. They can retrieve her and be back hopefully by tomorrow.”

Zander raised one eyebrow at his brother.

“I’ve been keeping tabs on her since we last met her in Stryker’s kingdom,” Zane said by way of an explanation.

“That was smart,” Zander replied.

Zane gave his brother a glare. “I’m not an idiot. She has my blood.”

I cocked my head at Zane. There was a story there, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know it.

Glancing over at me he asked, “Do you have the Shadow Heart with you? Or at least what’s left of it?”

I nodded, and then reaching into the satchel hanging from my waist, I pulled out what had been hiding in the Shadow Heart plus the two halves.

“Is there something written on that?” Zane asked, pointing to the small vial and even smaller scroll attached to it.

I nodded and then held the vial out, so they could see the sealed rolled note with Lorelei’s name on it for themselves. I glanced at Dawn and she leaned in at the same time as Zane did. They both gasped at the same time.

“Lorelei?” Dawn said in awe.

I nodded. “I think we need to get this to her.” Then I glanced at Zane. “Have you found a way to get to Faerie?”

He nodded, but his expression remained grim. “I think I have. But it’s going to take all four of us brothers to do so. I’ve already sent a raven to Stryker letting him know that I need him. I haven’t heard back from him yet, but I’m hoping he and Aribella will be able to make the journey here soon. Once we defeat this blood witch and get Adrien back, I don’t want to waste a single moment getting to Lorelei.”

Interesting. He said getting to Lorelei rather than getting to Faerie or ending the curse. Despite the direness of this whole situation, I had to smile a little internally. Zane deserved happiness, and I was sure he was going to find it in the sweet Spring princess. Zane was truly an amazing man. Lorelei didn’t know how lucky she was.

After that, Zane left to arrange for his men to locate the blood witch who he thought might aid us, leaving Zander, Dawn and I to start planning for Adrien’s rescue after we broke the soul-tie.

“And you’re sure Elisana’s potion didn’t work this time?” Zander asked, a crease forming between his brows. “We all witnessed the power this blood witch had over my brother before. He would have done anything for her. I think we need to know, going in, what we should be prepared for. If he’s under her thrall again, it’s not just Elisana we’ll be battling, but Adrien as well. If he’s not in his right mind, he’ll defend her, even against us.”

The thought of Adrien fighting against his brother to protect Elisana made me sick to my stomach.

“I’m sure,” I said, holding my tongue against any doubts I might have.

“I wonder why it didn’t work this time,” Zander mused, running two fingers over his lower lip as he tried to work it out.

“Well, I have a theory,” I said, clearing my throat.

I was suddenly shy. I hadn’t told them Adrien and I had confirmed we were mates yet, but there was really no reason to hold the information back. I’d seen the power of our bond work when we couldn’t access our magic in the belly of the sea. If I had to guess, I’d say that’s what was keeping Adrien clear-headed right now. I only hoped that Elisana didn’t realize because I didn’t know what she would do to Adrien if she thought he would never love her again. She was clearly unhinged.

Dawn and Zander patiently waited for me to explain. “We found out we’re mates and solidified our bond, so I think the magic of the bond between us is more powerful than Elisana’s potion.”

“You’re mates?” Dawn’s eyes started to well as a huge grin appeared on her face. “I knew there was something between the two of you. It was all over your face when you called Elisana a wench. I guess ending up in front of Adrien instead of Zane meant something after all.” Reaching across the table she grabbed my hands and squeezed them quickly.

Zander glanced over at his wife with a look of such deep affection that it made my heart ache. I’d seen that look before when Adrien gazed at me. Would I ever see it again?

“I know I speak for Dawn when I say that we couldn’t be happier for you and my brother,” Zander told me. “We’re extremely excited for your future together.”

“We’ll only have a future if we can defeat Elisana and I can get him back,” I said.

“You will,” Dawn replied with such conviction that I couldn’t do anything but believe her.

* * *

Later that night, Zane found me alone on a balcony overlooking the lights shining throughout the city of Windreum below. He cleared his throat to announce his presence and came up next to me, resting his forearms on the railing.

Zane may not have turned out to be my mate, but there was still a connection that had formed between the two of us during the time we spent together. It was similar to the connection I had with my sisters. It was comforting to have him here, even if he wasn’t saying anything.

After a few more moments of comfortable silence, Zane said, “I came out to check on you. How are you holding up?”

Truthfully, I was a wreck, but I knew I needed to stay strong for my sister and Adrien. Now wasn’t the time to fall apart, even though I felt a hair’s breadth away from shattering into a million pieces.

“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 necessarily believe in 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.

“You will see him and you will get 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.