Page 27 of Broken Hearted (Cursed Fae #3)

Isolde

T he train stopped, and we disembarked and rode to Elisana’s village in the morning sunlight. It was a little slower going than I wanted because Dawn had to ride in a carriage instead of on horseback, but we still made it to the woods surrounding the village by midday. As we neared, it became apparent that something was going on there. There were carts of flowers and food being brought in from all the surrounding places.

When we got to the very edges of the village and tied up our horses to a tree, my stomach sank as I realized what all the fuss was about.

A wedding was happening. From our hiding place within the trees, we could see that the road was covered in rose petals and a garland of flowers adorned every head.

We backed a safe distance away from the village, my mind screaming at me to charge forward and find my mate before it was too late, but I forced myself to hold back. I’m sure my restlessness was evident to everyone because I couldn’t stop pacing.

“You ready to break up another wedding?” Zane asked me, and I was grateful for the confidence in his voice.

I nodded. “Find the vial of Seraphina’s blood, destroy it, kill Elisana. Until then she’s off limits,” I told everyone. They knew what she looked like, so we were good there.

“But everyone else is fair game.” Dawn cracked her knuckles, and Zander raised one eyebrow.

“Okay, little bird, get behind me and remember your promise. Take it easy.” He coaxed her behind him, and she groaned.

Going under the cover of night would be ideal, but this would have to do. We agreed to split into two teams. Zane and I would go on foot to Elisana’s house and try to find the vial while Dawn and Zander scoped out where the wedding was going to take place and prepare to attack.

After agreeing on a safe location to meet again, Zane and I took off, sticking to the tree line as long as possible until Elisana’s house could be seen through the brush and foliage. This time we didn’t walk down the cobblestone streets and enter her home through the front door. Instead, we crept toward the back entrance. We weren’t sure if Elisana or her powerful mother were there, but if so, it didn’t benefit us to announce our presence.

There were no shadows to hide in so we sprinted from the trees to the home, only breathing a small sigh of relief when we were pressed up against the side of the house. Zane put his finger to his mouth, indicating I should stay silent, and then carefully peeked into a couple of the windows.

“I don’t think anyone is home,” he said when he returned to me.

“Good. Let’s find that vial.”

With a nod, we moved to the back door that led into the kitchen, finding it unlocked. I hoped it wasn’t that way because of a trap, but I suppose if you lived in a village with only other members of your coven, you weren’t worried about someone breaking into your home.

Even though we didn’t think there was anyone home, we were still careful as we entered the house. We kept a sharp ear out for any noise, but it was quickly clear we were the only ones there. That was good for searching the house, but bad for Adrien. It meant he was probably already at the wedding site, which caused my anxiety to spike. We needed to find that vial now.

I glanced at Zane and he saw the fear in my eyes. “Let’s make this quick. You take upstairs, and I’ll search down here,” he said.

I nodded and then took off. The upstairs consisted of three bedrooms and a small bathroom. I flew through each room like a tornado, looking in every drawer, under each of the beds and mattresses, behind the curtains, and even checked for loose floorboards, but I didn’t find what we were looking for.

My only hope was that Zane hadn’t come up empty-handed as well, but my heart sank when I returned to the kitchen to find him standing in the middle with his hands on his hips, looking grim.

“Anything?” I asked, but he shook his head.

“I found her potions room.” He pointed to the end of the kitchen where an open door led to a narrow room filled with what looked like ingredients for her potions and spells, books, and even a wall of vials. Before I could get excited about the vials, Zane said, “All the bottles and vessels in there are labeled. None of them are what we are looking for. And I checked every drawer and hiding spot in the kitchen and the rest of the floor. I don’t think the vial is here,” he said, his voice filled with regret.

A ball of frustration and anger swirled in my chest, growing bigger and bigger until it detonated. Throwing my hands out toward Elisana’s potion room, I released my magic, freezing everything in the room. With a scream of frustration the ice then exploded, destroying everything in there. Her potions room wasn’t the target I wanted, but it did make me feel a measure better knowing I’d destroyed all her things.

“Wow,” Zane said, blinking at me after my show of power. “That was impressive.”

“Thanks, but that was nothing compared to what I’m going to do when I get my hands on Elisana,” I told him.

“I believe you,” he said.

“Come on.” I waved Zane over to the back door. “She must have the vial on her. Let’s go check in with Dawn and Zander.”

Zane nodded and followed me out of the house. This wasn’t how I wanted it to happen, but I wouldn’t let myself lose hope. We could still attack and stop the wedding. I just couldn’t hurt Elisana until I’d burned that vial.

As quickly as possible, we hurried to where we’d agreed to meet up with Dawn and Zander. They’d beaten us back to the designated meeting spot, and Dawn was pacing when we arrived.

“Did you get it?” she asked immediately.

I shook my head. “It’s not in her house. She must have it on her.”

Dawn and Zander exchanged a look.

“What?” I asked.

“We think it’s around her neck,” Zander answered. “We caught a glimpse of her going to the ceremony location, which is an outdoor amphitheater on the other side of the village. She’s wearing a gold chain with a small vial hanging on it.”

“That has to be it,” I said. “It’s not ideal, but at least we know where it is now.”

Dawn stepped forward. “That’s not all.” The look on her face and the tone of her voice said that I wasn’t going to like what she said next.

“Is Adrien all right?” I asked, because that’s all I really wanted to know at this point.

She bit her lip, but nodded. “He seems unharmed, but they have him tied up. It’s obvious he’s not a willing participant, but it appears they are going to go on with the ceremony anyway.”

“Can they do that?” I asked. “To get married, both parties have to say, ‘I do’, right?”

“Perhaps not,” Zane said, speaking up. “This is a blood witch ceremonial wedding. They might be able to bind Adrien to Elisana without his consent. We just don’t know.”

Fear wanted to pull me under, but instead I strengthened my resolve. No. I wouldn’t let that happen. Adrien was my mate, and I wasn’t going to let Elisana keep us apart for even one more day.

“It’s time,” I said. “Take me to the ceremony site. We have a wedding to stop and a groom to save.”

* * *

We made it to a hill overlooking the open-air amphitheater just before the ceremony appeared to be starting. Seats were filled with women dressed in their finery on both sides of an aisle that led to the lowest part of the structure, which served as a stage. It was eerie to see no men, and it made me wonder how the women had children. And where were their husbands or lovers?

I assumed this was a site they used for rituals as well as wedding ceremonies, but I couldn’t know for sure. I tried not to think too hard about what a group of blood witches would need a place like this for, or the flat stone structure that looked an awful lot like an altar on the stage below.

I spotted Adrien right away, standing at the end of an aisle, a little ways from the stone altar. He was tangled in vines that came up from the ground and wrapped around him from below his knees all the way up around his arms to his shoulders, completely incapacitating him. There was a gag in his mouth, keeping him from crying out as he thrashed against his bindings.

Everything about this sham of a ceremony was sick. From the unhinged bride to the unwilling groom.

Suddenly, all the women stood, and I glanced down the aisle to see Elisana dressed in a gossamer ballgown as she started to walk toward my mate.

Fury like I’d never felt before rose inside me, and I was about to start down the embankment toward the amphitheater when Zane caught my shoulder, only just stopping me.

I swung my gaze to him, annoyed that he was trying to hold me back when he said, “Look,” and pointed toward the end of the aisle where Adrien was still fighting to free himself.

“I know, Adrien is there,” I all but snapped at him.

“No, behind him,” Zane said, and I followed where he was pointing to see a woman with purple hair standing not far behind him.

“No, it can’t be,” Zander said, coming up next to me.

But it was. Rowena stood proud, watching Elisana move down the aisle toward her and Adrien. I could only assume she was the one presiding over the ceremony.

A traitor and a liar.

I shook my head. It didn’t matter. Elisana was already halfway to Adrien, so pulling from Zane’s grasp I took off, stoking my magic as I rushed forward. I heard Zane and the others following behind me, but I didn’t stop to wait for them.

I was almost to the amphitheater when I finally released my magic with a roar, freezing the aisle from back to front in a sheet of ice and making Elisana tumble to the ground. I winced a little, knowing those bruises would show up on Seraphina, but I’d had to do something to stop her.

Shouts of alarm and rage sounded from the blood witches in attendance, but we’d already agreed that the others would focus on containing the witches so I could go after Elisana. Out of the corner of my eye I caught Zane, Zander, and Dawn beginning to battle with them so I paid them no mind as I rushed forward with one goal in mind. Reach Elisana.

Elisana was trying to rise to her feet when I got to her. I so badly wanted to punch her in the face, but I held back and instead I thrust my hand out and grabbed the vial strung around her neck. Elisana gasped in surprised as I ripped it free, and before she had a chance to retaliate I did the only thing I could think of. I pulled the moisture from the air and encased Elisana in an ice bubble.

My sister was a Winter princess and therefore not as susceptible to the cold, so it wouldn’t hurt her if Elisana was there for a little while. I needed to keep the witch someplace safe and out of the way until I could burn this vial.

From within the ice bubble, I heard Elisana’s rage-filled scream as she beat against the ice, but I knew it was too thick for her to get through. At least quickly.

With the vial grasped in my hand, I lifted my head and glanced down the aisle to where Adrien was still held captive. Rowena was gone from sight, which made me nervous, but I focused on my mate.

I was close enough to read the fear in his teal eyes and knew in my heart he wasn’t worried about himself, but rather that fear was for me. But he needn’t worry. I was too close to having what I wanted to let it go now.

Zane suddenly appeared next to me. He had a cut on his forehead that was dripping blood down the side of his face, but other than that, he appeared unharmed.

“Do you have the vial?” he asked, and I nodded, holding it up between us so that he could see.

“Good. Let’s free my brother and then destroy that.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Pulling some of my magic back, I unfroze the ice covering the aisle to make it easier for Zane and me to run across it, and then we took off. A mix of Zander’s shadows and Dawn’s light magic zipped around the amphitheater as they fought the coven of witches while Zane and I ran toward Adrien.

The witches pulled out wands and threw spells, but I noticed some ran away screaming, “ Ethereum lords! ” in fear. I could only imagine what a formidable pair Dawn and Zander were right now, but I couldn’t waste any time to check on them. I told myself that Zander would protect Dawn, and Dawn was strong enough to keep these witches occupied a little while longer.

Zane and I had almost reached Adrien when a figure stepped in front of him, blocking us.

Rowena .