“Well, if Kai doesn’t pique your interest, there are dozens of nobles at court,” Sorscha offers, leaning forward excitedly. “What’s your type?”
Cece cuts in before I can answer. “You and your little lord friend seem close.” She swirls her iced tea, green eyes appraising me.
“Zadyn?” My eyebrows lift.
“Talk about dreamy,” Ilsa lilts, smirking. Mar and Sorscha nod and giggle in agreement. I study Zadyn’s impressive form as he lines up his club. He looks so laid-back with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the clean white of his shirt offsetting his tan skin. He pushes his caramel hair out of his eyes and strikes the ball. Kai and Dover cheer and clap him on the back. His answering smile is dazzling.
“Zadyn and I are old friends,” I say with a shrug. “My mother was his godmother. He spent a lot of time visiting us at the temple over the years.”
We came up with that fib to cover for the fact that Zadyn and I are basically attached at the hip.
“Is that all?” Cece leans forward, resting her drink on the table.
“You’ve never…” Sorscha trails off, eyeing me conspiratorially.
“Oh my god, no.” My laugh starts strong but fizzles outwhen I recall how I threw myself at him at solstice. That night, I found him completely irresistible.
There’s no denying that Zadyn is gorgeous. He’s the quintessential dream guy—attractive, kind, loyal. Exactly the kind of guy Ishouldbe with. But he’s my familiar, which equals: off-limits.
Right?
“That’s surprising,” Mar says, leaning back in her seat. “I mean, look at the two of you.” She gestures up and down my body.
“He does seem rather protective of you,” Ilsa notes in her sweet little voice.
“It’s because we’ve known each other a long time,” I say in conclusion. Zadyn’s eyes snag on mine, and he gives me a quick, dimpled smile, which I return with a wave. When I look back at the females eyeing me, they giggle.
All but Cece.
“Wake up.”
A voice beckons into my dreamless sleep, barely a whisper down a long tunnel of heavy darkness.
“Wake up,” it sings again. Something soft tickles the tip of my nose. Light, muted giggles sound from far away.
“Serena.”
Warm breath ghosts over my ear, drawing out my name like a lyric in a song.
I jolt awake with a loud scream, eyes darting around the darkened bedroom. They are met with six sets of wide eyes belonging to my friends. My jarring outburst causes them to shout in reaction, and we stare at each other, yelling in anendless feedback loop. Zadyn tears through the adjoining door, his face grave as he scans for danger.
“What happened?” he shouts, cutting us off.
I gape at my cloaked friends huddled together beside my bed. All except for Kai, who is instead sprawled out on my bed twirling a feather in his hand. His wide ocean eyes glitter with the moonlight streaming in through my windows as he appraises my disheveled state.
“What the hell are you guys doing?! You scared the living shit out of me,” I breathe, regaining a somewhat normal heart rate.
“We’re going on a little field trip and wanted to see if you’d be inclined to join.” Kai lounges beside me, crossing one leg over the other. He dusts the feather over my nose, and I snatch it out of his hand, tossing him a glare. His hands lift in mock surrender before folding comfortably behind his head.
“Come on, cousin, get dressed!” Sorscha all but dances over to my wardrobe and selects an outfit and cloak, tossing them onto the bed.
“You cannot wake a person like that.” My statement is directed at the room. “I had just fallen asleep,” I whine, thinking of the hell tomorrow’s training is going to be.
“Oh, darling, did we give you a fright?” Kai whimpers, snatching his feather back from my unsuspecting grasp.
“Up you go.” Marideth grabs me by the hands and hauls me out of bed, passing me over to Sorscha, who waits with a pair of flowing pants for me to step into.
“You might want to throw something on, as well.” Marideth’s steely eyes assess an attractively disheveled Zadyn, who stands there in nothing but low-slung sleep pants. He gives a curt nod and retreats to his room to dress.
