Mentally kicking myself for thinking I could have been anything other than one of the masses to such an egotistical jerk, I inched my way into the crowd. From in between bodies, I watched my BFF in the arms of Jamie’s younger brother. Smiling and talking animatedly, Kenna seemed unaware that, despite her “two left feet,” she was dancing in perfect step with her partner. I wondered if Kenna would ever acknowledge Duncan was falling in love with her, or admit she had feelings in return. For anyone with eyes, it was more than obvious, but Kenna would most likely ignore the issue until it was forced upon her. Which, by the adoring look on Duncan’s face, might prove to be sooner rather than later.
A slow, soft song began, and Jamie continued to dance with Sofia. An infinite ache filled my chest as I noticed the tender way they looked at one another; the soft smiles, her huge eyes filled with open admiration. Soon the crowd fell back to form a ring around the perfectly matched couple.
As the dance ended, Kenna and Duncan made their way toward me. The sympathetic expression on my friend’s face was more than I could bear, and I spun away. She meant well, but any kindness would send me straight over the edge.
I picked my way through the endless crowd, intent on reaching fresh air. Once outside I found a spot along the battlement wall and gripped the cool stone, trying to calm my ragged breathing. Several feet away, a couple deep in conversation stopped to stare at me. It wasn’t long before the man grabbed the woman’s arm and they scurried away, casting nervous glances over their shoulders. Apparently being considered a sorceress’s minion had its advantages, because now I was blessedly alone.
Tears burned my throat, but I refused to allow them to escape my eyes. I swallowed hard and concentrated instead on the beauty of the moon reflecting on the clear surface of the lake, as well as the geese swimming lazily in and out of the incandescent-streaked water. A breeze began to cool my blazing skin, and I felt my raging emotions ebb away.
Jamie’s hot and cold act was draining. Every time he started to warm, to let me in the tiniest bit, he’d turn around and shut me out even harder. And why? What had I done? Except be nice to him and adore his kingdom. Even if he didn’t return my feelings—which I couldn’t determine one way or another—it didn’t explain why he treated me like I had a communicable disease.
Because he’s in love with someone else.
The thought dropped into my mind like a hand grenade without the pin, the reverberations shaking me straight to my toes.
Jamie’s in love with Sofia and thinks I’m some deranged witch’s minion bent on destroying his kingdom.
I lowered my face into my hands. So why was it when I looked at him, my heart said Mine?
“Vee? Sweetie, are you okay?”
I straightened at the sound of Kenna’s voice and wiped the wetness from my cheeks with my palms. “I’m fine.” I tried to smile, but the effort came out as a sob. She wrapped me in a hug, and I buried my face against her shoulder.
“I can see that you’re fine. Just tell me who I need to kill.” Kenna patted my back with enough force to pull me out of my self-centered musings. “I could put some serious hurt on Prince Not-So-Charming if I need to.”
In danger of being crushed, I extricated myself from her not-so-comforting embrace. Smiling for real this time, I shook my head at her, my voice not steady enough yet to explain.
“It’s not a big deal. Jamie can’t help it if I got the wrong idea simply because he showed up in my life.” I shrugged, turning back to look at the lake.
“The wrong idea? Wasn’t he asking you to come to the bridge?”
“Sort of …”
“Well, he obviously wanted you to come here. Why else would he have done the whole, ‘Come ta me, Verranica’ bit?” Kenna’s imitation of Jamie’s accent was so dead-on that I chuckled.
“Maybe he didn’t know he was doing it. Haven’t you ever had a dream that when you woke up, you had no idea where it came from?”
“Like the time I dreamt I was in Greg-the-stage-tech’s bed, naked?”
“Exactly!” I chuckled and wiped the residual tears from under my eyes.
“But as much as I don’t believe in the preordained destiny thing, you have to admit a Calling works a little differently than your normal relationship.”
“Yeah, if it’s mutual, but we have no proof Jamie shared my visions.” Kenna opened her mouth to object, but I cut her off. “And even if he did, does that mean he has to pick me just because I somehow pulled him into my head?”