This fucking weird question again. He asked this when he appeared at dinner.
“What would you do for her?” Hunter repeated.
“Anything,” I bit back without hesitation.
My answer was the same as Quen’s. I glanced over at her again, still carefree with Erik. With my golden girl, I had seen it all. I’d seen her so fucking angry, crying and broken, and overjoyed. Over the past few months, I’d come to terms with the fact that this woman was my everything and I would do anything she asked me to if it meant keeping her safe and happy. It was why I asked—begged—her to become my wife.
“Why?” Hunter asked.
When I looked at him, he watched her, and I suppressed the urge to rip his eyes out.
“She’s my soulbound, Hunter.” I could have sworn that the share of the brains was split between me and Erik.
“So, if you weren’t bound, would she mean nothing to you?”
“She would still mean everything to me.”
Long before I knew of what she was or what existed between us, I was drawn to Quentin. Her fire and chaos reflected my own. She did not fear me. She longed to bury herself in my darkness in order to relinquish her own.
“That is a very big claim, little brother,” Hunter commented, refusing to take his eyes off her.
“What do you want?”
“She draws people in. She’s become quite popular.”
He jerked his chin in her direction and I saw what he meant. It wasn’t just Erik with her, but Bexley had joined. Dionne. Andreas. Flynn. Quentin tipped her head back, long dark locks cascading down her back as she laughed, and for a moment, I was lost in how beautiful she was, surrounded by the golden hue of her aura.
My golden girl.
“You sound surprised,” I said, voice thick with emotion.
“I am.”
I wasn’t. She could be charming when she wasn’t trying to rip your head off about something or other.
“Her existence may not pose as much of a threat as I originally thought,” Hunter said, continuing to watch her.
There was no spark of hope. I couldn’t guarantee that Hunter wasn’t trying to lull me into a false sense of security. “I told you she belongs with us up here.”
“So you did.”
“The council is growing restless, as is lower Elysia. How much longer do you intend to keep us waiting?”
“I will call the council when the time is right, Grayson. From my understanding, you have little to be concerned about. She’s exceeded my expectations with the project and with integrating.”
I narrowed my eyes as he walked away, joining the thick of the crowd and pasting on the fake smile that so many fell for. I downed the rest of my drink, ready to join my fiancée and her friends, when Malachi stepped in front of me.
“Mal.” It was almost a growl. “Can I help you?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“Then get talking because, and it may come as no surprise, I would rather spend my night with Quentin and not you.”
“I saw Hunter.”
“And?”
“Before the wedding. He was talking to Archer. They were in an argument over something.”
