“Willow sounds cool,” he said. “Skye, invite her to my birthday party.”
Skye snorted as she straightened up. “No.”
Zephyr sighed dramatically. “Aiden? Invite Willow. She sounds fun.”
I clenched my jaw, deciding it was best if I didn’t speak. Zephyr was clearly talking about Willow to piss me off, and something told me that if I showed that it bothered me, he’d only get worse. Besides, the last thing I needed was Willow getting involved with a man like Zephyr.
Rafeand I got our chance right after dinner. He kissed Skye a little too long and deep in front of Aiden and I, and I suddenly wished I could teleport the fuck out of here.
Aiden was totally relaxed, hands in his pockets while he watched the beach. He wasn’t jealous in the slightest, and that puzzled me. Rafe was my oldest friend, and he was good to Skye. But watching him grip all her soft curves right in front of me had me feeling a little twitchy.
Zephyr was locking up behind us, and Skye pushed Rafe off with her affinity when Zephyr turned and gagged violently.
“Fucking hell, you’re doing that on purpose!” Zephyr snapped.
Skye glared at him while Rafe only smiled smugly.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Skye asked hopefully.
“Absolutely,” Rafe replied. “I’ll see you back in the dorm.”
Skye gave him a sweet smile that turned tight when she looked to me. My heart hurt as they began their walk. Rafe grabbed my arm with a sigh, and then he shadow-walked us away.
We appeared in the basement a moment later. Rafe had briefed me beforehand, so I knew what to expect, but I was still shocked with what I saw.
The basement was larger than expected, with a long staircase leading upstairs and reinforced cement walls and floors. One side was furnished with bookcases filled with books, some cabinets and a sink, while the other side was mostly storage. On the furnished side sat a single hospital bed with it’s occupant: a man who looked so much like Zephyr, it jarred me.
Levi Aria had his arms braced down on the mattress as if he were about to push himself up to stand.
“What are…” His dark gaze jumped from me, to Rafe, then back to me, then he narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck are you two doing here?”
“Good evening,” Rafe said with bright smile. “We were never properly introduced. My name is Rafael, son of Her Grace, the Crown Princess Ramira. I am the Heir Apparent for North America.”
Levi gave Rafe a bored stare, and I could definitely see where Zephyr got his sense of humor.
“But you don’t care about that, of course, this is the Gulf, after all.” Rafe continued. “So, let me say this: your daughter is my Key.”
Levi’s jaw clenched.
“Ah, he doesn’t like that,” Rafe commented. “Why is that, I wonder?”
“She’s my daughter. I don’t like any man sniffing around her.” Levi said a bit robotically.
“Mm, except she’s, what, in her mid-twenties?” Rafe asked. “And you like Aiden just fine, according to him.”
“I hardly know him,” Levi said, leaning back on his pillows. “Seems like a good kid, even if he’s wasting time on my daughter.”
I blinked. “Wasting time?”
Levi glared at me. “Yeah. She doesn’t want a Chain. You’re all wasting your time.”
“Levi, without going into details that would upset you, I’d like to inform you that your daughter is getting over her fear of Chains. Getting to know her, though, I’ve been wondering…where exactly did that dislike come from?” Rafe hummed as he turned back to Levi. Levi’s expression went eerily blank.
“I suspected turmoil among the parents,” Rafe said to me. “And after witnessing Levi interact with Skye…” He shook his head.
“What? What happened?” He hadn’t told me any of this. He’d only told me Levi was alive and that it wasn’t good, but I hadn’t asked for a mind play-by-play.
“Remember that life-threatening situation we experienced a few weeks ago? During thatrandomstorm?” Rafe asked.
