ALEXANDRA
I knew Lucien was peeved,and I had a feeling I knew why. But as I stared at him, ignoring the questions Zurie directed my way, I ached for him to let me ease this pain he was feeling. The painful emotions he was feeling were written across his face and throughout his body language, a pinched look staining his face and the muscles along his face and arms straining tensely. I’d have to be a fool to not see it.
While he usually seemed like the most lighthearted and the jokester of our group, I knew he felt everything very deeply. I’d made a mistake in apologizing for his behavior, and I felt the shift between us the second I glanced back after doing so, seeing the way his face fell in a flash of hurt and confusion.
I needed to get him alone and confirm that this actually was the problem, so I could apologize and make things right between us. It didn’t sit right with me to let this simmer any longer. I may have ended up looking rude to our host for this, but Lucien was more important.
“Zurie, I’m so sorry, but it’s been a very, very long day, and I think it would be best if we maybe turn in for the night,” I blurted out while keeping my gaze on Lucien.
I saw their gazes shift out of my peripheral line of sight toward him, and I felt the urge to jump over the table and cover him. I didn’t want someone who wasn’t our trusted family just yet to see him like this. While Zurie had proven to be kind so far, it would take more time together with her to form trust.
My chair screeched against the floor as I rushed to my feet and around the table to grab his arm. The second I touched him, I saw his brow smooth slightly as a breath of relief puffed from his lips.
Leaning down to his side, I whispered, “I know you’re upset with me, and I’m so sorry, but let’s get out of here for a moment so we can talk in private. Please.”
My last word was a whispered plea.
“We’ll stay here and help with dinner,” Elwin murmured before turning his attention back toward our hostess, “if that’s okay, Zurie?”
I sent him a quick look of thanks for his compassion and understanding of the situation.
“Yes, of course,” she was quick to respond, forcing an upbeat attitude to her words as she stood. “Let me just show you how to get to the guest house, Alexandra. It stays stocked for Ama and her family in case they pop in for a visit.”
I let out a sigh as relief coursed through me, unable to hide my joy that we would be in a separate house entirely. I didn’t want anyone to hear us in case I got emotionally or physically heated with any of my mates. While beggars couldn’t be choosers, and we would have graciously accepted a spare room in their house, the privacy this allowed us was invaluable.
“Great, thank you so much, Zurie,” I answered while melding myself to Lucien’s side as he stood and lifted his arm for me.
It felt like a peace offering I wasn’t worthy of right now, but I was so thankful he was letting me soothe his discomfort with my touch and presence regardless.
His warmth seeped into me, and our eyes clashed as I glanced up at him. My lips parted at the adoration I saw pooling in his glowing red eyes. It took my breath away to see the way he continued to love me through any of my missteps that wounded him.
Sometimes I really wondered if I was deserving of each of their love. They were…perfect, and I would always just be me. Constantly making mistakes and trying to figure all of this out day by day.
“Let’s go, angel,” he murmured, lifting his hand to cup my face for a stolen moment between us. My heart leapt, and I could have sworn I fell for him all over again.
The sound of a door being opened shattered the moment, and I nodded to him. Crossing to where Zurie stood at the corner of the kitchen with the door open, my mouth dropped as we came to a halt at the threshold.
My eyes went from her face, to where we were apparently expected to drop down to, over and over in confusion. I must have blinked a hundred times before I finally got my brain to compute enough to ask, “Uhm, Zurie, where are we supposed to step? I’d rather not fall to my death.”
Alora would never forgive me if I died within the first hour of being here, especially if it was for something stupid like not being able to locate the steps. I was also pretty positive my monsters would follow me down to splat on the ground however far down it was from here, and that just wasn’t acceptable.
A whoop of laughter came from her, and my brow pinched in confusion. “I’m so sorry, I forget this isn’t normal for visitors.”
I looked back at the puffy white cloud waiting just outside the door and grimaced. No, not normal at all. Where I came from, we learned clouds were just a mass of water drops or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere. Most definitely not solid masses for me to risk my life stepping on.
Zurie saw my trepidation, but all she did was chuckle before jumping.
My stomach lurched as I watched the scene unfold in what felt like slow-motion. I expected her to pass through the cloud and leave me explaining to the person who just adopted me into her family how I stood here and watched her best friend die. What a conversationthatwould be.
When her feet landed and in fact did not fall through the cloud, she grinned at me from ear to ear. I simply stared at her in a mixture of disbelief and fascination.
“Well, okay then…” I breathed out before glancing up at Lucien, who still was not acting entirely like himself. “Ready to walk on some clouds for the first time, babe?”
His head snapped down to me, looking at me like I had three heads. After searching my face for who knows what, he nodded and stepped out, pulling me with him.
Weird, but okay.
Despite knowing that Zurie had just survived, my stomach still flip flopped until I felt the solid footing beneath me. Even then, it felt like I was taking a leap of faith with every step forward. What if it wasn’t as solid in some areas as it was in others?
