“Leave,” he tells me and begins pacing up and down the entrance hall.
I storm, or rather skate a little on the frosted floor, before sliding and catching myself on one of the side tables. “Hey,” I snarl. “You can tell Caspian to leave all you want, but this is my home.”
His gaze darkens. “Do you really have no comprehension of the agony your presence brings me?”
Now, I’m gaping. “What have I ever done but try to help you?”
“Go back to the others.”
I still, realization seeping into my bones. “You can smell him.”
“Ifeltyou.” He whirls, hair a tangle of matted white waves. His voice lowers to a primal growl. “All three times.”
I almost cower. But I recall Dayton’s words and hold my chin high. “I’m surprised you remember what that feels like. What has it been? Twenty-five years?”
A shocked expression rolls over his features. Autumn may be preparing for war on the Winter Realm, but their prince started one with me the moment he told me he’d rather watch the world burn than accept our bond.
I will not let the Enchanted Vale fall or the other princes suffer for this man’s ego.
A husky growl comes out of his throat, “You are the most infuriating creature I have ever encountered.”
I swish past him, my ivory skirts billowing. “It can hardly bother you that much, Kel. Farron informed me that a mate bond can drive a person into an uncontrollable jealous rage.”
“Is that why you nearly impaled Caspian on his own thorns?”
“I don’t like people touching what’s mi—” I bite my tongue. Kel’s not mine. He’s made that clear. “That was a little crazy.”
“On the contrary, that was the best thing I’ve seen in ages.”
My body trills at the scrap of approval from him.Ugh. Is this the mate bond or my own traitorous heart?
“You weren’t bothered by Dayton and me…” I say, a hint of awkwardness seeping out. “We messed around, but we didn’t sleep together or anything.”
I know Keldarion doesn’t deserve an explanation, but despite him rejecting our mate bond, he’s a part of my life. I need to be honest with him.
Keldarion places a large hand on the end table, gripping tightly. “Perhaps my bond is as broken as my heart. Many emotions plagued me as your feelings collided with mine, but in the end… There is only contentment in me that you were satisfied.”
A wave of disbelief washes over me as I struggle to make sense of the situation. “That is not the answer I expected. I didn’t see you as the type to allow your mate to be with anyone else. Even if you want nothing to do with me.”
He gazes at me for a second, then shakes his head. “I could kick Dayton’s ass if it would make you feel better?”
“No.”
There’s silence and then Keldarion grumbles, “Dayton’s notanyone else.”
I grab his arm. “Farron has a theory. He thinks the reason he and Day don’t experience jealousy is because there’s a connection between the princes. Maybe from the curse, or maybe from living in Castletree altogether.”
“Farron and his theories.” Kel quirks his head, studying me in a new light. “I know about you and Dayton, and Farron couldn’t be subtle about his affection for you if he tried. Did something happen between you and Ezryn?”
Shit, I’m officially the worst secret keeper in all of Castletree. A flush blooms over my cheeks. It wasn’t like Ezryn told me to keep it secret before he rushed out of there. “He might have kissed me.”
“His helmet?”
“Did a whole light smashing, complete darkness thing,” I explain. “I didn’t see his face.”
Keldarion seems to consider this for a moment, running a hand through his long hair. I know I’ve sensed tension between the two of them lately, and I don’t want to worsen it. But he says, “It makes sense.”
Maybe Farron’s scientific methods are rubbing off on me, or maybe it’s my need to figure out this new magical thing inside me, but I want to test Farron’s theory.
