Thankfully, two raps sound on the door and we follow Ilayna into the waiting carriage full of pretty females.
Kai leads the way. “Ladies, how are we today?”
“Prince Kai.” They regard him with whispers and sweet looks.
“You know what would make me so, so happy?” Kai flashes them a roguish smile, his eyes twinkling with siren magic. “If we could all just squeeze and make a little room for my friends and I?”
Giggling, the females readjust so that we have room to cram inside. I take a seat on the floor. It’s a tight squeeze, and I almost groan when Serena is all but shoved onto my lap. Dover pulls the door shut behind us. I’m worried it’s going to pop back open with the amount of bodies stuffed inside.
“Jesus, it’s like a clown car in here,” Serena mutters. Zadyn laughs from the other side of the carriage, nestled on the floor between two pastel-colored skirts.
Sometimes it’s like she’s speaking another language. A language that only Zadyn understands. It gets under my skin to no end.
Each bump in the cobbled road has Serena bouncing on top of me. I have to grit my teeth and clutch the handhold with a white-knuckle grip to keep my erection down. Finally and mercifully, the carriage rolls to a stop.
“Now, my angels—” Kai turns to the courtesans with a honey-soaked voice. “I was hoping we could keep this ride our little secret. We were never here. What do you say?”
He earns a collective lilt and a carriage-full of eager nods.
Dover tugs on the handle and falls out onto the pavement. We empty out one by one, stepping out into the warm sunlight. Across from us is a field bordering the start of the tropical forest where Furi waits.
We’re one step closer to home—and with that, the dread of facing Sorscha and our impending nuptials.
30
ZADYN
We step out of the overcrowded carriage parked on the outskirts of town and breathe in the salt air rolling off the sea. I’m relieved to find the color gold absent from my vision. Serena stands a few feet away in the field, talking to Mar, sunlight dancing off her dark waves.
“She’s beautiful.”
Ilayna sidles up to me, her eyes on Serena, who stands there oblivious to her own beauty. To the effect she has on everyone who meets her.
“I can see why you’re so taken with her. Both of you,” Ilayna adds, nodding toward Jace. I turn to face her.
“Ilayna…I’m so sorry for the way I behaved.”
She laughs. “Zadyn, you’ve been a perfect gentleman. You were kind to me. And you showed me something that no one has in a very long time.”
“What’s that?”
She leans in, taking my hand. “Respect.”
My heart warms at her bright smile. It’s the first time I’ve seen it reach her eyes.
“Go,” she says. “You don’t want to be spotted here.”
“Come with us,” I blurt.
Her expression shifts into something I can’t read. She drops her gaze to her feet. “I can’t.”
“Ilayna, you deserve more than this. You don’t belong here, with a bunch of?—”
“Whores?” she supplies, glancing up at me. “It’s okay to say it. It’s the truth.”
“That’s not what I was going to say.” I shake my head earnestly. “We can help you start over in Aegar.”
A subdued look settles on her heart-shaped face. “That is kind of you, but my home is here. It’s the only one I’ve ever known. The madame and the girls are my only family. It may not be glamorous, but at least I belong. Be well, Zadyn. You’re a good male. You deserve someone just as good.”
