“Perhaps.” She sighed, her grip tightening on the handrail, and the thing shattered—
“Eeep!” she shrieked, tipping forward. Only her quick reflexes stopped her from falling headfirst into the icy water. She landed on her feet next to Hedori, who’d already shot up, reaching for her.
“That was a close one,” he said, smiling.
“Aye.” She grimaced. Though come to think of it, maybe she should have let it happen since nothing else seemed to be working to ease her.
Hedori lifted his head to the upper deck, his brow creasing at the broken railing. “I hadn’t realized the wood had weakened. My apologies, Ely. I’ll get it fixed, probably encase steel into the timber this time.”
Ely studied the destroyed fence, too, then she frowned…no, it couldn’t be. Heck, her abilities were like a puff of air.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” Hedori said, drawing her attention. “The apartment—” He nodded to the flat above. “I’ll have it redecorated, so it’s more suitable for your use.”
What? “Oh, no. You don’t have to do that.”
“Ely, I’ve known you since you were a lass of ten summers,” he said with a quiet smile. “I might have left Empyrea long ago, but I remember. Despite your many friends calling on you, you preferred your solitude. It’s why you paint and don’t play theclavileanymore.”
Even back then he understood her. Still, she snorted. “It wasn’t me they came for…”
She’s so boring, a dullard. How could Reynner have a sister like her?
She shut out the hurtful words. It was why she preferred her own company. Then she met the girls here. They were different. Better. They likedher. Even Echo, who had thought at first that Ely had come after Aethan, her so-called betrothed. If only they all knew the sad, sad truth.
“I was the bridge they used to get in faster and see if my brother was around.”
“Then they didn’t deserve your friendship.”
His quiet words lifted her spirits a little.
He took the broken wood from her. “This place is yours now. Consider it a gift for always making time to talk to a mere bodyguard when I came with Aethan to Ademéras. Besides, I have the space I want here on the lower level.” He waved a hand to the mooring section and the storage place under the apartment.
“There’s nothingmereabout you,” Ely said, wishing he’d find his own happiness. “I spoke to you because I liked you. Did you know the females at the castle used to wait for your arrival on Ademéras?” she teased as he examined the broken wood.
A ghost of a smile appeared, and he shook his head. “I’ll fix this tomorrow.” He tossed the wood aside and headed for his sailboat. “Lore is here, going through a few things in the library.”
No, her friend would never leave the castle unprotected.
“Hedori?” she called out, and he glanced back. “I know it’s not my place, but I care about you and want you to be happy. Why don’t you show Jenna what she means to you? In our world, destined mates are so rare.”
He stilled. “And have her run from me, think I’m like that rogue angel who abducted and abused her?” Pain flickered over his features. “When she’s ready, she’ll find me. In the interim, I’ll be the silent support she needs right now.” He cast her another little smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “As long as she’s here, with me, it’s all that matters.”
But sometimes you need a little space, too.Hence, the sailing.
Oh, she understood the feeling all too well. Except it wasn’t the same with her and Nate. He wasn’t even prepared to fight for the possibility of them…and in that intrinsic part of her, deep in her heart, she knew they could be so much more.
Ely clamped down on the hurt and sense of worthlessness attempting to steal through her, and stuck her hands in her jeans pockets. “I think I’ll change and go back to work,” she said as Hedori climbed into the vessel. “I feel useless hanging around here, doing nothing. And thank you for this place. I love it.”
“My pleasure. See you in the morning.” Hedori waved and, moments later, set sail into the night.
Ely watched him until he became a spot in the distance beneath the silvery moonlight.
Right, work. Time to get back to her normalcy, such as it was.
A short while later, back in the Bowery, Ely made her way deeper into the alley, far from the garage. The latter wasn’t a place she wanted to be near in her current state of mind.
She slipped a hand into her coat pocket, stroking the toy she carried, seeking her calm center.
Dreary buildings loomed on either side as she bypassed overflowing trash bags and trudged further into the seedier backstreets, her boots squelching through the sludgy snow—
