“Ugh, Lorelei. I hate you. You will eat like this every single day.”
I laugh, then I whisper, “You could, too. Date Gabriel and move here. Room next to me. Never leave my side.” I’m joking with her, but only partly. My heart aches at the thought of not being next to my sister every single day. We’ve only ever spent a few days apart at most. We roomed together in college. She is my person.
She brushes me off. “I’ve already explained that one. So,” she leans in to me, “did you decide you will stay?”
I grin, recounting the events that recently unfolded to secure in my head that I do in fact belong here. If Finley thinks I do, then I believe him.
“Wow, so are you two going to make nice with the queen?” Lucy asks.
Finley nudges into our conversation. “My mother will come around. She may have engaged in unfavorable actions, but I know she’s only trying to do what she perceives is best. I’ll hold my ground, and she will learn to accept reality.”
We spend the rest of the meal talking, laughing, and making this place feel like I can actually make it a home. At the very least, this room. Lucy says we will walk every hall of this palace, which is soaked in history by the way, until I feel at home.
Finley meets Lucy and me at the opening of the Royal Garden around dusk. I’m tired from the time change, stupidly delirious from consuming so much history as I walked the halls of Stjarna Palace, and my brain aches from trying to understand Finley’s explanation of his antique car collection. Regardless, I’m feeling freer than I ever have in my entire existence. The fears I had surrounding coming here have vanished. Everyone except the queen has made me feel completely at ease. Furthermore, physical touch doesn’t seem to be a big thing here like it is in the South. Personal spaces are respected amongst everyone, and that is something I can totally get used to.
“Look!” Lucy squeals, pointing in front of us at an archway, white with ivy winding up the sides, chrysanthemums poking through the green. A memory flashes across my vision as I catch sight of Finley standing underneath it wearing a white three-buttoned dress shirt and navy dress pants. His hair is in its typical disheveled form, and he looks every inch the Prince of Hearts with his roguish smile and heated eyes directed at me.
My dream.
Not quite the same, but mighty close…
The haze around the forgotten dream lifts, and I vividly remember kissing the prince. My face heats, but Lucy nudges me, breaking the hold the image has on me.
“Your favorite flower.” She waggles her eyebrows. “With your favorite man underneath them.”
The blush deepens as we approach Finley. Gabriel stands behind him as Anders was the one to escort us to the gardens. Once I’m directly in front of the grinning, happy man, I walk right into his outstretched arms for a life-giving hug. With every moment of contact between us, and everytime I choose to linger instead of pull away, I’m growing more comfortable and accustomed to his fiery touch.
“Are you ready to meet two of your biggest fans?” he whispers in my ear before breaking our hug.
“Huh?” I cock my head to the side and look past him. The plants catch my attention first. There. Are. So. Many. This isheaven.Shrubs are shaped to resemble different animals and objects, and the fountain at the center of the garden is spewing like a geyser around a statue of a mermaid and merman, strong and unwavering. Absolutely beautiful. The aroma of fresh, misty water mixed with florals is intoxicating—natural, sweet, and earthy.
I tap Finley’s shoulder then point to the fountain. “Have you heard of the myths surrounding the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis six?”
He nods, following my gaze to the intertwined merpeople. “Are you about to tell me about how the merpeople are by-products of the supposedly fallen angels that mingled with humans?”
I tuck a strand of flyaway hair that’s invaded my vision before smiling at Finley. The man just gets me sometimes. “Yes. But it seems you are aware. What are your thoughts on that subject? Do you think that the origin of fae creatures stems from Nephilim?”
“Something to consider. Legend has it that the fae are guardians of this world for God. The merpeople guardians of the waters, perhaps,” he states, placing his hands on my hips and turning me towards the swings off to the side of the fountain. “But we won’t know on this side of heaven. You can, however, get to know my siblings.”
Peeling my eyes away from the colorful beauty of this place, I spot two people, a man and a woman, who both resemble Finley. Instantly, I catalog them as Johan and Astrid, his older brother and younger sister. The young woman waves with both hands, an excited smile across her perfect, sharp face. The thought crosses my mind that if Finley was a woman, he would look like his sister. Next to her, sitting down on a rather big swing, is Johan.
I wave timidly and pray she doesn’t want to hug me, but the way she’s bounding up to my side diminishes my hope.
Finley sticks his hand out in front of me right as Astrid goes in for a hug. “Remember what I told you? Ask permission before you embrace her.”
My soul melts.
“Right,” Astrid says. Her accent is thick, but I can still make out her quick words. “May I hug you quickly, Lorelei? I’ve been dying to meet you! I thought I’d have to come down to Mississippi to persuade you to date my big brother. He’s a tool sometimes, but I promise you won’t find a better man.” Astrid’s rambling and buoyant personality reminds me so much of Lucy, and that thought alone brings a wave of comfort and ease to my nerves.
But not enough for physical contact.
“Thank you for asking, Astrid, but I don’t think I am prepared for that at the moment.”
Her face falls only a fraction, but she rebounds quickly. “No problem! I plan to win you over quickly.” She laughs, and I join. She truly radiates light—I glance at Finley, who is smiling at his sister—just as Finley does. Then she glances behind to my sister. “And you must be the twin Finley was supposed to date.”
“That’s me,” she says through a laugh. “And I am a hugger.” Lucy steps around me and embraces Astrid. Astrid immediately begins to compliment Lucy’s fashion while Finley whisks me away to where his brother sits on a huge white swing with a bed of ivy and wildflowers covering the top of it.
Johan stands, slightly shorter than Finley is, and introduces himself, his hand outstretched.
