She thumped a fist to her ample chest. “Ye were promised to me. Yer mother, the queen, bade ye marry me.”
“I never signed the contract or accepted that agreement. It is null and void.” He gave Lexi’s hand another squeeze. “I am bound to my own, my fated mate.”
A shiver rippled through Lexi. That spot in her chest where she swore all her emotions lived swelled with a warmth and contentment and a feeling of being wanted and accepted that took her by surprise. She swallowed hard again. No. She had to go back to Kentucky. Back to her life. But for some reason, that plan now made her a little sad.
“Then there will be war.” Princess Faeniana bared her fangs again. “The Seventh Realm has dismissed the Fifth Kingdom and all within it for as long as we shall allow.”
Before Jeros could speak, Lexi stepped forward, keeping Aylryd by her side. “What has the Seventh Realm done to your people? How have they mistreated you? Concessions could be made to ensure the Fifth Kingdom knows it is considered a valuable part of the Realm.”
Eyes narrowing, Faeniana stared at her in disbelief. “Ye are not of this world. Not of our race. I will not demean myself by answering yer questions.”
Jeros startled Lexi with a loud clap of his hands. When she turned back to argue her point with the princess, Faeniana and her advisors were gone. “Where did they go?”
Aylryd paced around where they had stood, huffing the ground and growling as if committing their scent to memory.
“I dismissed them,” Jeros said. “They are no longer within Sevenrest’s boundaries, and neither the wards nor the guards will allow them to pass again, no matter what they say or promise. All now know that war has been officially declared.”
“Well, damn.” Lexi had hoped to make a little headway at least with the advisors, since the princess was so intractable. “I wish I could have helped avoid that. Has the Seventh Realm mistreated the Fifth Kingdom like she said?”
“We treat all the kingdoms equally. The Fifth Kingdom takes issue with the fact that they are not singled out and shown favor.”
“Why do they feel they should be shown favor?”
“Because they are insolent, selfish bastards.”
“Well, that attitude would do it.” With a sad shake of her head, she gave a despondent sigh. “I just wish we could have avoided war. It’s never a good thing.”
“No. It is not. But at times, it is unavoidable.” He held out his hand. “Come. I have something to show ye.”
“What?
“Ye will see.”
ChapterEight
Fearing that the meeting with the Fifth Kingdom princess had left Lexi unsettled, Jeros hoped a visit to the stables and meeting his herd of unicorns would take her mind to a better place. Animals seemed to soothe her, and even she had said she understood them better than she understood people.
“Where are we going?” she asked a second time with the impatience of a child eager to see the surprise.
“That is for ye to discover, my…Lexi. Ye will see.” She had told him not to call hermy own, yet the sentiment begged to roll off his tongue. But he must abide by her wishes. No matter how difficult that might be.
“Princess Faeniana would be an irresistible beauty if she changed her attitude. Has she ever been kind?”
“Never. She is known for her cruelty, not her physical appearance.”
“You would have been miserable if you had married her.”
Jeros snorted. “Ye have no idea how miserable I would have been.”
“I am glad you declined the Fifth Kingdom and your mother’s contract to make her your wife.”
His heart leapt. Could it be that Lexi was at last accepting their destiny? “And why does my rejection of the princess please ye, my lady?” He needed her to say it, needed to know where he stood.
She studied him as they walked along, her eyes narrowing to critical slits as if she struggled to find the right words. “You are not a bad person, Jeros. I know you and I have had ourdifficultmoments, but you are good-hearted. You deserve happiness. Not misery.”
Disappointment sank his heart. While it pleased him that she thought well of him, it wasn’twellenough. “Thank ye.”
They passed into the garden via the double doors of the ballroom. The aroma of lilacs, roses, and woodbine danced across the gentle breeze that made everything sway. Bees buzzed and butterflies flitted from flower to flower. The wisteria arbor did its best to block the sunlight from the corner of the terrace, its lush lavender blooms making the air even sweeter.
