Page 4 of Broken Hearted (Cursed Fae #3)

T he next morning I woke to a soft knocking. My eyes popped open, and it took a couple of seconds to remember where I was. When I did, I jumped out of bed and took two short steps to the door, unlocked it, and peered out. A kind-looking fae with dark blue skin and two leathery wings folded behind her smiled back at me.

I took a half step back before stopping myself. We had always been taught that the unseelie were as evil as the Ethereum lords who ruled this land. If we were wrong about the Ethereum lords, I assumed we were about the unseelie as well, but it was going to take a little more time for me to get used to seeing unseelie and not reacting.

“Oh, hello,” I said, trying not to focus on her wings.

“I’m Greta. Lord Zane wanted you to have something fresh to wear this morning,” she said, and then handed me a small bundle of clothes in her hands that I’d been too distracted to notice before.

“Thank you,” I said, returning her smile and accepting the clothes.

“Will you need help putting them on?” she asked, and seeing that it was a fairly simple dress with the typical underclothes, I shook my head. “Very well then,” she said. “We’re still a couple hours out from Windreum, so just come out when you’re ready and I’ll show you to the dining car where you can have breakfast with Lord Zane.”

I thanked her again and shut the door, quickly changing out of the frumpy dress Elisana had given me and into one of the cotton gowns that Zane had purchased the night before. It was burgundy and fit like a glove.

I wasn’t particularly vain, but it felt incredible to be wearing something that finally fit and was appropriate for the climate. Zane had told me that his kingdom wasn’t as warm as the Southern one, and thank goodness for that. He said that the days were comfortably warm, and the evenings had a slight chill. The dress Greta picked out was lightweight, but had sleeves that went down to my wrists, appropriate for the weather Zane had described.

When I was dressed and ready, Greta was waiting outside my door with another smile. “This way,” she said.

I followed behind her, my eyes catching details I was too tired to pick up on last night. The gilded sconce lanterns lining the walls, the polished wood floors, the fabric-covered ceilings. The train truly spoke of luxury and refinement, yet Zane had told me last night that he intended it for all his people, not just the wealthy. It was a testament to his character that he didn’t think luxury like this should be hoarded for only the rich to enjoy but that he wanted to share it with everyone. He was a thoughtful and kind fae, and I was finding it impossible not to like him.

When we walked through the observation car on the way to meet Zane, my mouth dropped open. We must have crossed into the Western Kingdom because the scenery had changed drastically. The train was passing through a forested area, and the trees were a kaleidoscope of colors. Burned oranges, bright sienna tones, rich reds, deep purples, and cheerful, buttery yellows.

It reminded me of the time I visited the Fall Court on official business with my mother, but admittedly, the vibrancy and depth of the colors even put the Fall Court to shame. I didn’t know what exactly I expected of Ethereum, but it wasn’t that it would be this beautiful.

Zane rose from his seat when I entered the dining car, a smile on his face. He looked handsome, with his hair braided back into a tight plait and dressed formally in a royal blue jacket and matching dark pants, but my stomach didn’t flip when I laid eyes on him or even when his gaze rolled over me from head to toe and back up again.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked as he pulled out a seat opposite him.

“I did, thank you,” I said, and joined him. There was a delicious spread of fruit, scrambled eggs, and charred meat which I helped myself to and then Zane pulled out a black leather pouch and handed it to me.

“From Dawn. It’s the Shadow Heart,” he said, keeping his gaze on me.

“Oh.” I set my fork down and pulled open the flap. I don’t know what I expected, but a heart made of black stone kind of made sense considering its name. “Do we know what I’m supposed to do with this? Maybe we should go see Dawn?”

“We can if you want to, but Dawn left me a note stating that they are dealing with a crisis at the moment, and if I could help you with this and accompany you to the Wise Ones it would be preferred. But if you’re not comfortable—”

“That’s fine,” I told him. Poor Dawnie. “In her letter to me, she said that the Northern Kingdom where she lives is cursed too.”

He nodded. “It’s like a plague. Started by making the unseelie sick and now it’s bled into the land. We need to see the Wise Ones so they can tell you what your part in all of this is.”

“Okay, let’s go see the Wise Ones then,” I agreed. The sooner I could do my part and figure out a way to get back home to my family, the better. Already, I’d been two nights without my little sisters. I bet they were worried sick.

“Perfect. Just a quick stop in my capital, if you don’t mind. I have some urgent matters to deal with, and then we can leave tomorrow morning for the Northern Mountains. That’s where the Wise Ones live.”

I nodded. “Sounds good.”

He heaved a book out from under the table. It was all tabbed up and underlined. “In the meantime, Aribella sent this.”

I laughed. Book-loving Aribella would send me something like this.

I stroked my fingers along the title. “ Magic of Old .”

My curiosity was piqued, and I started thumbing through the tabbed pages. There was interesting information about Ethereum’s magic, particularly how it was passed down from one lord to the next, but I didn’t find anything that would help me defeat the curse.

When the train pulled into the station of Windreum we stepped off the platform to a gathered crowd of cheering fae. They clearly loved their lord, and threw flower petals at us while Zane waved to them as we stepped into his awaiting carriage.

“Somebody is well-liked by their people,” I said playfully as I clutched the black leather bag containing the Shadow Heart and Aribella’s book to my chest. I planned to read as much of it as I could today while Zane had matters to attend to.

Zane ducked his head. “Well, it’s not just that . . .” He eyed me shyly. “They think . . . well, they heard that the princesses of Faerie come and then the lord gets married, and they assume . . .” He trailed off, and dread sank into my gut.

“Oh,” I said. “They think we will be married?”

He nodded, looking hopeful but also unsure.

“Listen, Zane—”

He waved me off. “Of course it’s too soon to know any of that,” he said, almost as if he already knew what I was about to tell him and didn’t want to hear it.

“Of course,” I told him, not ready to have that awkward conversation right now.

Just because Dawn and Aribella claimed to have met and married their mates didn’t mean Zane or Adrien was mine. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that Dawn and Aribella fell in love with the two brothers, and they were reading too much into the situation? Maybe I was destined to be a lonely spinster with twenty cats. I wasn’t even mad about the idea.

After taking a carriage ride through his beautiful capital, we stopped at a hillside mine on the outskirts of Windreum. The mountain had been half carved out with rich black coal hidden inside, but I could see from my place inside the carriage that something had gone wrong. The entrance was half caved in. They’d had a mine collapse. I knew how dangerous those were. I overheard my mother talking about one just last month in the Winter Court. It had killed a dozen miners.

“I have to deal with this. You’re welcome to stay in the carriage and read your book or walk around. This part of the city is safe, and the people are very friendly,” he assured me.

The area was very quaint. The thatched roofs and bright red-and orange-colored buildings had a vibrant air to them, but I needed to focus on my task. End this curse and go home.

“I’ll read my book in here. Thank you,” I said, with a smile.

Over the next few hours, I tried to read but kept losing concentration by the grunting and yelling of the men at the mine entrance. I bent the corner of the page I was on and closed it. Maybe it was time to see if there was any way I could help.

After exiting the carriage, I took the small pathway to the mine entrance at the base of the mountain. When I got there, I saw that Zane was shirtless, which was a sight to behold. The man was all muscle.

I felt my eyes widen when black bolts of lightning shot from the tips of his fingers, blasting the rock blocking the entrance. The boulders exploded, creating an opening for half a second, only for it to collapse again. Men stood to the left and right with thick beams of wood and rushed forward when he’d created an opening, only to run back as it collapsed. It seemed they were trying to clear the debris and create a new opening.

Zane and his men repeated this process again and again with the same results before I finally stepped forward.

“Need help?” I asked as Zane groaned for the fiftieth time.

“Is there any way you can keep the mine entrance open while my men repair the opening?” he asked me, with slight sarcasm in his tone.

I grinned. “Yes, I can. Do you have water? I can pull it from the air or a person’s body in an emergency, but filled buckets would be better. Six should do it.”

Zane’s mouth popped open as if he didn’t expect that response and then he looked at two of the men who were standing by. “Go fetch the water,” he called to them.

They ran off and returned quickly. When we had the six buckets sitting at the base of the collapsed entrance, I looked at Zane. “Have them pour three of the buckets onto the fallen dirt mound.”

Zane ordered the men to do just that, something I didn’t feel comfortable doing since they weren’t my men. They did as they were asked, and I felt my palms tingle with the anticipation of using my power.

“Stand back,” I told the group of men, Zane included. They took several steps back, and I inhaled deeply, calling on my power.

I could feel the moisture in the air, the moisture in the men’s bodies and on their breath and the wetness of the dirt. I exhaled and a chill formed in the air, causing the men to look around in surprise. Using my power I froze the wet dirt and then levitated it up into the caved-in ceiling.

Once it was held above where it should be, I pulled the water from the buckets, forcing it upwards and freezing it so that it would hold the dirt in place even when I pulled my power back. By the time I was done, the opening of the mine had been restored, and the men were able to rush forward to install the new beams and create a sturdy entrance.

I looked over at Zane to see him grinning ear to ear. “You watched me struggle for over an hour when you could have done that the entire time?”

I laughed. “I thought you had it handled.”

He stepped closer to me, hope in his eyes. “We make a good team. Don’t you think?”

We did. But did that really mean anything significant? I made a good team with my sisters as well as my tutors, trainers, and even Dawn, yet none of them were my mate.

His face fell when I waited too long to respond, and he turned to the men and gave them some instructions for finishing the job before he spun back to me.

“Shall we head back to the carriage?” he asked, his voice betraying the hurt he was feeling.

I hated this. I hated how much love, or even the prospect of love, could hurt you and let you down. It was very clear to me now that he was hoping I might be his mate.

After tugging his shirt back on, Zane walked over to the carriage and stepped inside, and I followed after him, feeling like a total jerk. The trip from the mine to his castle was mostly silent, with the occasional interruption when Zane pointed out something of interest in the city. I didn’t get the impression that Zane was angry with me, but rather that he was disappointed and sad. And that, in turn, made me feel melancholy as well. I wished we could just put this whole mate issue aside because I really just wanted to focus on saving my people.

When we finally pulled up in front of Zane’s castle, his smile as he helped me from the carriage didn’t reach his eyes, but I could tell he was trying.

“Welcome to my home,” he said proudly as I looked up, up, and up at the soaring castle in front of us.

The red stone structure was as beautiful as it was impressive. It was taller than our palace in the Winter Court, with multiple terraces, flying buttresses, and giant spires reaching high into the sky.

When I looked back at Zane, I was sure he could see the awe on my face, and his smile finally rang true. “It’s lovely,” I said honestly.

“Thank you,” Zane said and then motioned me forward, up the steps to the front door.

When we entered the castle, the interior was no less remarkable than the facade. The foyer was three stories high. In front of us was a set of curved staircases leading to the upper floors. Rich tapestries of fall hues hung from the walls, a chandelier dripped with crystals that sent a kaleidoscope of colors across the space, and thick rugs lined the stone floors.

A far cry from the stark shades and clean lines in the Winter palace, but Zane’s home was somehow warm, yet still grand. It was so different from what I was used to, but not unappealing, and just for a moment, I wondered if this was somewhere I could live.

“Greta will see you to your room so that you can freshen up,” Zane said, interrupting my thoughts as he nodded toward the familiar unseelie who was walking toward us. She must have come from the train with the rest of his staff.

Just as I was turning to leave, Zane blurted out, “I was hoping you’d have dinner with me this evening.”

Stopping, I turned back to him. He was standing tall, and there was a confidence about him. Confidence was attractive in my book.

“Yes, of course I’ll have dinner with you,” I said with a smile, and he visibly relaxed. Just because I didn’t want a mate didn’t mean I couldn’t have dinner with the guy. I just feared breaking his heart if he thought I was about to marry him.

“Then I’ll let you get some rest and freshen up beforehand. I’m going to get a little more work done in preparation to depart again in the morning, so I’ll see you later.”

When I nodded, he tipped his head to me in acknowledgment and then headed in the other direction. I followed Greta up one of the sets of stairs, and she led me to the second floor. We then traversed down a long corridor lined with oil paintings of what I assumed were the previous Western lords and ladies. Stopping in front of one of the last doors, she opened it for me and then stood back for me to enter.

The room was lovely. Decorated in soft lavenders and grays, it had a definite feminine touch. There was a huge four-poster bed against one wall, and beside it, a matching nightstand. A small settee was placed in front of a fireplace on the opposite wall. And directly in front of me was an open set of French doors that led to a terrace.

“Will this do, my lady?” Greta asked, silently closing the door behind us.

“It will more than do,” I told her with a smile. It was lovely.

Seeing the sincerity on my face, she released a relieved sigh. “Oh, I’m so glad. The lord asked for our finest room to be made up for you, and to let him know if anything wasn’t to your liking. He wants to make sure you feel at home here.”

My smile wobbled a little, but I didn’t think Greta noticed because she was already moving to the clothing cabinet.

Home. This wasn’t my home. My home was in the Winter Court. Back with my sisters and parents and my people. I still couldn’t fully comprehend how Dawn and Aribella had just left everyone to die . . . okay, that wasn’t completely fair. They believed there was a way to end the curse for us and future generations and chose not to murder someone to temporarily stop it, which I respected. But to marry and settle down here when our people were drowning in black waters or freezing solid. I could never.

Greta flitted around the room, picking out an evening dress for me to wear, completely oblivious to my inner turmoil. Now that I’d been reminded of home, I couldn’t stop the concern for my family and people from intruding on my thoughts.

Was the curse still freezing my lands and people? Had it reached the palace? Had everyone already given up hope on me, and were they fleeing to the Spring Court, the last untouched part of Faerie?

Even after Greta laid out a dress and left to let me wash up and rest, my mind wouldn’t quiet, so I used the time before dinner to continue reading the book Aribella had sent me. But I grew frustrated when there weren’t any obvious answers in the tome. A growing urgency to see these Wise Ones started to take over, and I wished we didn’t have to waste a night here in Windreum.

Greta came back after some time to help me get ready for dinner. She helped me into the dark purple gown that she’d picked out for me earlier, claiming it flattered my complexion and dark hair. She also insisted on doing my hair and light make-up.

As Greta led me through Zane’s massive castle to the dining room, I tried to get my head in a better place. Zane was helping me and he was a kind and good man. I was determined to have a good evening with him, and at the very least, find out a little more about him and his family. My best friend Dawn had married one of his brothers. I, at least, wanted to know more about that.

Zane was waiting for me when I arrived. He’d swept his hair up in a knot at the back of his head, and it appeared that he had even shaved. As my gaze ran over him, I had to appreciate how handsome he was in his dark green coat and matching waistcoat. The cut emphasized his tall and muscular physique while still looking fashionable. As we stared at each other for a moment, I waited to have a deeper reaction to the Ethereum lord, but there was nothing there. Again.

“You look breathtaking,” Zane said, taking long strides until he was standing in front of me.

“Thank you. You look very handsome yourself,” I said truthfully, which made Zane’s smile widen.

“Come, sit,” he said, tucking my hand in the crook of his arm as he led me toward the table.

Pulling out a chair for me, I took the seat he offered before he sat next to me at the head of the table. Almost immediately, servers started bringing out platters of food. The table we sat at could easily fit a dozen fae, and Zane’s staff delivered tray after tray of food until the entire table was covered. There was roast beef and quail and pork. Shrimp and crab and lobster. Mashed potatoes, honeyed yams, roasted vegetables, beet salad, fresh fruit, nuts, cheeses, and the dishes went on and on.

When the last platter was placed on the table and the servers disappeared, I looked up at Zane in shock. “Are we expecting other dinner guests?” I asked.

Zane laughed, and a touch of color appeared on his cheeks. “No. This is all for us. I just didn’t know what you preferred, so I asked the kitchen staff for a variety.”

“They certainly took you seriously,” I told him with a light laugh myself. “But this is so much. We won’t even make a dent.”

“Don’t worry, whatever we don’t eat won’t be wasted. It will go to the castle staff and the orphanage downtown immediately after we finish.” He leaned toward me with a glint in his eye. “I have to admit, I asked for the four-tier chocolate cake because I know several of the children at the orphanage love it.”

He takes care of his staff and orphans, too? Could he be any more perfect? The only thing was, I wasn’t sure he was perfect for me .

“Well, in that case, I’ll have some of the berry pie instead,” I told him with a wink.

After that, Zane grabbed my plate and insisted on serving me. He went around the table asking what I’d like and then brought my plate back to me when it was brimming with more food than I had a hope of eating. After he returned with his own overfull plate, we both dug in.

The conversation flowed easily enough, but I wanted to take the opportunity to learn more about my mission here.

“What can you tell me about these Wise Ones?” I asked after taking a drink of some type of sweet fruit puree. “Dawn’s letter wasn’t very descriptive. What are they like?”

“Well,” Zane began, “I haven’t actually ever met them myself.”

“You haven’t?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

He shook his head. “No. You already know they live in the Northern Mountains,” he said, and I nodded, taking a bite of the most succulent piece of smoked pork I’d ever had. “They never leave.”

“Then how do they even know what’s going on in Ethereum, let alone how to end a curse, if they stay isolated?” I asked.

“They’re prophetic,” he explained. “Unseelie, and very powerful. They’re gifted with the power of future sight and will allow anyone who journeys to see them to ask one question, and one question only. So you’ll have to be very intentional about how you choose your words because you won’t get a second chance.”

“Why have you never been to see them?”

Zane shrugged. “There was never anything important enough that I needed to know. But my brother, Zander, did visit them before Dawn arrived. There was a time when Zander’s kingdom was taken over by an evil being. The rondak. Zander was desperate, so he went to the Wise Ones and asked them how he could save his kingdom from the creature.”

“And what did they tell him?” I asked, intrigued.

“Nothing,” Zane said.

“Nothing?” I asked, frowning. “They didn’t say anything? But I thought they would answer one question.”

“No, they literally said, ‘Nothing.’ As you can imagine, that was extremely frustrating to Zander.”

I snorted a half laugh. “I’ll bet it was.”

“But the thing is, they were right. Zander couldn’t do anything because it was Dawn who defeated the rondak. She was the one who ultimately won Zander’s kingdom back for him, so they were right when they said that there was nothing he could do.”

Pride for my friend swelled in my chest. “That’s my Dawnie,” I said with a grin.

Zane smiled as well. “I’m quite fond of her as well. She’s perfect for my brother. Zander was always a notorious flirt. There was a time when I had doubts that he’d ever settle down, but seeing the two of them together, it’s obvious how in love they are.”

I thought back to when Dawn and the others appeared in my room back in the Winter Court. The way that Dawn had looked at her husband, I’d never seen her look at someone like that before. And there was a softness to her she hadn’t had since we were children, before her mother trained it out of her.

Zane didn’t need to convince me. Even that short interaction made me believe that they were in love. That Dawn was happy with Zander. Which was wild because I always imagined Dawn would marry for political reasons, not for love.

If love had changed Dawn’s mind, maybe it could change mine, too? That thought was equal parts exciting and terrifying.

“Tell me of your brothers,” I said, changing the subject before it went too much into the territory of love and mates, which I wasn’t yet ready to broach with Zane. “Who’s the oldest?”

“That would be Stryker,” he said, leaning back in his chair, but then added, “only by a few minutes, so the rest of us don’t really count it.”

“Only a few minutes? Then that makes you twins?”

He shook his head. “Quadruplets, actually.”

“Really?” My eyes widened as I imagined carrying four babies at once. Ouch. “Are you close?” I asked, and Zane’s smile slipped a little.

“We used to be,” he admitted. “And we’re getting back to that place. For a long time there was a rift between Stryker and the rest of us. But we’re working on healing it now. Aribella has helped in that regard.”

“I can see that. Aribella has always been known to be wise as well as kind-hearted. A natural-born peacemaker.”

We spent the rest of the meal trading stories of our families. Zane told me of the times he and his brothers played pranks on their parents. Apparently, the quads had given their mother and father a run for their money and his stories were hilarious.

I told him all about my sisters, and how close I was to them, especially Seraphina. There was a small ache in my chest when I spoke about them because even though I’d only been gone a short time, I still missed them terribly.

At the end of the night, I had to admit to myself that the meal was delicious, and the company was even better. Zane was amazing. He was everything someone would desire in a mate or a husband, yet whenever he told a story about his childhood I found myself hanging on to the information about Adrien. I wanted to know what he was like as a child and adolescent. I wanted to know more about the fae who was engaged to that horrible woman.

I repeatedly forced my mind away from Adrien, only to have my thoughts drift back to him again and again. And that was concerning on a number of levels. If anyone was my mate, it was supposed to be Zane, not Adrien, so I needed to banish him from my mind. Besides, Adrien was already as good as married, and I was no homewrecker.

By the time we said our goodnights, I had to force my smile, and I worried that Zane could tell. It wasn’t anything he’d said or done. He was practically perfect. It was that I couldn’t chase thoughts of his brother from my mind through the latter half of our evening, and that frustrated and confused me.

I wanted to get a good night’s sleep. I didn’t know what the upcoming days would bring and couldn’t help feeling like this was the calm before the storm. But sleep didn’t come easily, and when it did, the eyes in my dreams weren’t dark blue with a speck of brown, they were teal, like the shallow coastal waters of the sea.