P.S. Don’t be nervous about tonight. I’m sure whoever your mate is will look very nice in human-grass-green too.
Roman’s laugh bounced around his bedroom, and he held up the green stone bracelet to inspect it closer.Violet Maekin.
“What are you smiling at, honey?” his mother asked as she and his father walked into the room.
Roman stashed the letter and bracelet in his side table and stood. “Nothing.” Upon his parents’ arrival, Roman’s nerves returned full force.
One look at his face, and his mother wrapped him in a tight hug. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. When I heard your father’s name, it was the best night of my life.”
She smiled at Roman’s father, Felix, and patted his arm. “From the time I met your mother at eight years old, I knew she would be mine, and I told her so.”
“It’s true.” His mother sighed dreamily. “The day before our thirteenth birthday, he said the gods would say his name.” She pecked her husband on the cheek. “He was right.”
Roman’s mind flashed to Ares’ comment about Vivian. “What if I don’t like my mate?”
His father patted him on the back. “You’ll make it work. You have to.”
“I know.” Roman sighed and raked a hand through his already disheveled hair. “I have to keep the bloodline strong.” He was sick of having the sentiment shoved down his throat.
If a kingdom suffered an attack, a royal could glamour their citizens to be invisible to the attacking forces. Other than that, why did they need to be stronger? There hadn’t been an attack of that magnitude since before the gods placed the barrier.
Supposedly, having children with a fated mate was the only way to keep the bloodline strong, but no royal had ever married anyone other than their fated mate to test the theory.
“What if my mate lives in another kingdom?”
His mother patted his arm. “Don’t worry, honey. Your father or I would travel to each kingdom to check the birth records.”
Without me, Roman thought bitterly. Royal fae only had one child and the heir’s magic didn’t manifest fully until they turned twenty-five. Fae drew their magic from the fae lands, and if a royal heir left before their magic fully developed, it could weaken them. To prevent this, the gods used magic to bind royal fae to their kingdoms until their twenty-fifth birthdays.
A stupid rule, in Roman’s opinion. Why couldn’t the royal heirs go to other fae kingdoms? He understood why they couldn’t go into the Human Kingdom. No magic filled their lands, but other fae kingdoms had just as much magic as the next.
Stupid.
His mother clapped excitedly, breaking him from his disgruntled thoughts, and ushered everyone into Roman’s sitting room to have a seat. “It’s almost time.”
Roman sat in one of the large wing-backed chairs and feigned nonchalance, though his knuckles turned white from their harrowing grip on the chair’s arms. The golden clock’s second hand ticked at a snail’s pace. His palms slicked with nerves.
When the clock struck midnight, he closed his eyes, and a voice not of this world resounded through his mind.
Vivian.
Acid churned in his stomach and crawled up his throat. Vivian? Disappointment tunneled through him, followed by dread.
Maybe the voice didn’t mean Vivian Maekin.He once asked his mother why the gods didn’t give the mate’s surname. She said it was because in the early days, surnames didn’t exist.
But they’re gods, he’d thought at the time.Can’t they update their ways?At this point, he thought the gods were dead or liked to screw with the people of Eden with one ridiculous rule after the other.
However, the knowledge that it might not be Vivian Maekin didn’t make him feel any better.
Roman opened his eyes and looked at his parents. “Her name is Vivian.”
His mother’s smile faltered, but she recovered with ease. “The Maekin twins share the same birthday as you.” She reached forward and clasped his hand. “We’ll go to her tomorrow to confirm.” She turned her brilliant smile to his father. “Isn’t this wonderful? She comes from a family we’ve known for years.” His mother gave him a watery smile. “I’m happy for you, honey. You two have a lot in common, and I know you’ll be happy together.”
Why does everyone keep saying that?
He looked away, hoping she wouldn’t see the disappointment on his face. “We do.”
But would that be enough?
