I almost cower. But I recall Dayton’s words and hold my chin high. “I’m surprised you remember what that feels like. What has it been? Twenty-five years?”
A shocked expression rolls over his features. Autumn may be preparing for war on the Winter Realm, but their prince started one with me the moment he told me he’d rather watch the world burn than accept our bond.
I will not let the Enchanted Vale fall or the other princes suffer for this man’s ego.
A husky growl comes out of his throat, “You are the most infuriating creature I have ever encountered.”
I swish past him, my ivory skirts billowing. “It can hardly bother you that much, Kel. Farron informed me that a mate bond can drive a person into an uncontrollable jealous rage.”
“Is that why you nearly impaled Caspian on his own thorns?”
“I don’t like people touching what’s mi—” I bite my tongue. Kel’s not mine. He’s made that clear. “That was a little crazy.”
“On the contrary, that was the best thing I’ve seen in ages.”
My body trills at the scrap of approval from him. Ugh. Is this the mate bond or my own traitorous heart?
“You weren’t bothered by Dayton and me…” I say, a hint of awkwardness seeping out. “We messed around, but we didn’t sleep together or anything.”
I know Keldarion doesn’t deserve an explanation, but despite him rejecting our mate bond, he’s a part of my life. I need to be honest with him.
Keldarion places a large hand on the end table, gripping tightly. “Perhaps my bond is as broken as my heart. Many emotions plagued me as your feelings collided with mine, but in the end… There is only contentment in me that you were satisfied.”
A wave of disbelief washes over me as I struggle to make sense of the situation. “That is not the answer I expected. I didn’t see you as the type to allow your mate to be with anyone else. Even if you want nothing to do with me.”
He gazes at me for a second, then shakes his head. “I could kick Dayton’s ass if it would make you feel better?”
“No.”
There’s silence and then Keldarion grumbles, “Dayton’s not anyone else.”
I grab his arm. “Farron has a theory. He thinks the reason he and Day don’t experience jealousy is because there’s a connection between the princes. Maybe from the curse, or maybe from living in Castletree altogether.”
“Farron and his theories.” Kel quirks his head, studying me in a new light. “I know about you and Dayton, and Farron couldn’t be subtle about his affection for you if he tried. Did something happen between you and Ezryn?”
Shit, I’m officially the worst secret keeper in all of Castletree. A flush blooms over my cheeks. It wasn’t like Ezryn told me to keep it secret before he rushed out of there. “He might have kissed me.”
“His helmet?”
“Did a whole light smashing, complete darkness thing,” I explain. “I didn’t see his face.”
Keldarion seems to consider this for a moment, running a hand through his long hair. I know I’ve sensed tension between the two of them lately, and I don’t want to worsen it. But he says, “It makes sense.”
Maybe Farron’s scientific methods are rubbing off on me, or maybe it’s my need to figure out this new magical thing inside me, but I want to test Farron’s theory.
“So, if the whole jealousy thing doesn’t affect you,” I say, “I should go down to the Summer Realm and visit one of those naked orgy rooms Dayton told me about—”
Keldarion is on me in an instant. He grabs me around the waist and lifts me to the small end table. His arms create a cage around my body, his breath a warm growl by my ear. “You will do no such thing.”
I reach for him, desperate for this show of affection. My dress snags on the thorns, a chill rushing over my shoulders. But his chest is comforting as it presses against mine. “I guess your bond isn’t entirely broken.”
He looks down as I spread my legs to wrap around his waist. “So it would seem.”
“Dayton told me that if I was with someone other than the princes of Castletree, he’d kill them and take me in their blood.”
At those words, Keldarion pulls me tighter against him, and I can feel all of his hard body. “Not every word out of his mouth is complete idiocy.”
I nearly melt into his touch, my mind muddled with his closeness. “Would you do the same?”
He cups my face. “What wouldn’t I do for you?”
“Would you let me love you?”
He stills, and I come roaring back to reality. The reality where Keldarion hates me, and these small glimpses of affection fade like a dream.
He shakes his head and begins to step away.
But I scramble forward, more of my flowing dress catching and ripping on the thorns. I snatch Keldarion’s shirt, hauling him closer, still seated on the tiny table. “Why do you do this, Kel? It’s cruel. I’m so sick of trying to make sense of you.”
“Fulfill your desires with the other princes, Rose. This fate is not in the stars for us.”
“But you’re my mate.” I tug his face down to mine until we’re nose to nose. “Our bond could break the curse.”
His gaze trails down my body. I realize the gauzy dress has torn, loosening the fabric around my chest, the upper curve of my breasts on full display. His calloused hand runs over the delicate skin. A wave of molten desire courses through me. I drive my hips forward, feeling his steel pleasure waiting.
His thumb presses in the soft flesh, exploring, and a male groan emits from his throat. The mere sound of it causes wetness to pool between my legs. “Kiss me, Kel,” I whisper, arching my neck, “or I will die of it.”
Roughly, he grips the back of my neck with one hand and my arm with the other. My eyes flutter closed.
But the kiss doesn’t come. I blink my eyes open to see Keldarion completely still.
“Kel?”
His grip on my arm tightens, his whole body vibrating. Something feral flashes in his gaze as he growls, “Who did this to you?”
27
Rosalina
My blood turns to ice. I try to yank my arm away, but it’s too late. My ripped dress has revealed the scar on my wrist. One I’ve been trying to hide for my entire adult life.
“Lucas,” Keldarion reads, the word laced with pure venom. “That boy who pulled you from the frozen lake? The one you loved?”
Desperately, I slap my palm over my wrist to conceal the scar. A desperate sob bubbles in my chest, and my true fear bursts out. “You must be so ashamed to have a mate who allowed someone to do this to her.”
I’m not sure how many of my words are coherent and how much is a garbled mess, but Keldarion instantly pulls me against him. “No, Rose. Do not say such things. My anger arises because I was not there to protect you.”
I wipe my eyes. “It was a long time ago.”
“Tell me, when I sent you back, was that man there? Did he harm you?”
Lucas’s hands on my skin. The flash of the knife. If the others hadn’t shown up… “No.” I shake my head vehemently. “I told him to leave me alone.”
Gently, Kel caresses my face. In the strangest show of intimacy, he places a soft kiss on the side of my cheek before striding toward the giant mirror beside the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To your home,” he says simply.
“Why?”
“To find this Lucas.” Keldarion’s eyes blaze, reminding me that my mate is no mere man. He’s a fae prince, one of immense power. “And when I do, he will beg me for the mercy of death.”
My breath catches in my throat. He doesn’t know Lucas is here in the castle. The others must not have told him.
I rush up to Kel and wrap my arms around his waist. “There’s nothing for me in that world anymore. My life is here in Castletree.”
He grips my chin gently. “I see that now, Rosalina. I do not intend to send you away again. The other princes have proven they can protect and care for you, even if I cannot. This is the safest place for you, but I will not rest until that man—”
A cold gust of wind blows into the entrance hall as the door opens.