Jace lifts his head. “Where are you going?”
“To find her. Are you guys coming or what?”
Kai rolls his eyes and drags himself off the bed.
“You’re the boss.”
The search is a bust.After hours of combing through the nearby valleys and villages on horseback, we return to the castle empty-handed to wait in Sorscha’s room. Jace stands across from me, peering out the bay window at the stars now dusting the faded blue sky.
“If something happens to her because she was running from me,” he trails off, a bitter expression crossing his face.
I reach out to clasp his arm. “We will find her. Trust me.”
He nods.
“I don’t understand. Where could she have gone?” Cece inverts her red lips into a pout, hovering near Zadyn on the chaise. “I’m worried sick.”
Leave it to Cece to make Sorscha’s disappearance about her. I fix my gaze on her.
“She never said anything to you about leaving? About wanting to run away?”
“No. Not really.” She lifts a slender shoulder.
“What do you mean,not really?”
“It’s no secret that she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of marrying. I don’t blame her. Especially after everything that’s happened.” Cece’s green eyes flash between me and Jace, barreling right through discretion. “But she made no mention of running away.”
The door swings open, and in steps Sorscha, hair windblown and button nose tinged pink from the slight bite in the air.
Everyone leaps to their feet. I’m surprised to see Eaton step through the door behind her.
“Thank gods,” Mar breathes, clutching her chest.
“Sorscha, what the hell!” I throw my arms around her neck, nearly knocking her over. “Are you alright? Where have you been?”
“I’m fine.” She pats me, pulling back. Her eyes look brighter, her cheeks a little rosier. She’s been a ghost around the castle since Derek, but she looks alive again. Like herself.
I glance from her to Eaton, sensing something different about the two of them.
Jace steps closer, his voice tight. “What’s going on here?”
Sorscha’s honeyed eyes slide toward him. “I can’t marry you, Jace.”
Her fingers slip into Eaton’s.
My mouthdrops.
“Because we’re already married.”
Before I can register a thing, Jace’s fist slams into Eaton’s face, ramming him back into the door.
“Jace!” I shout.
Sorscha cries out, whirling toward Eaton, but he’s already on his feet, lunging toward Jace. Dover and Zadyn rush to break them up.
“Aerill’s tits!” Kai doubles over behind us, roaring.
“Let’s just take a breather, shall we? We’re all friends here,” Dover says to the room, now so clouded with testosterone it’s hard to breathe.
