I march over to Dayton, who is closest to me, and examine the strangled light inside his breast. It doesn’t make sense. Mine looks the same as his, besides the tether connecting me to Kel. Does it appear that way regardless of whether the bond has awakened?
“Wake up, mate bond.” I slam my hands onto his chest. A burst of his wisp’s fire tingles through me. “I could… I could be your mate, too.”
But as my hands settle on his chest and nothing happens, I flush and laugh, embarrassed. “Worth a try. But I guess fae don’t have two mates, let alone a human.”
Farron gives me a soft, sympathetic smile. “It’s happened before. Remember the legend of Princess Eurydice Erato? She had two mates. At least she did if we untangled that poem correctly.”
“Sorry, Sweetheart.” Dayton takes my chin in his hand. “I don’t think it works that way. But for the record, if I was your mate, I’d be honored. Even if it meant sharing you with that icy bastard.” He winks at Kel, who rolls his eyes.
“Rosalina,” Ezryn says. “Your light. It’s splitting.”
I stare down at the luminosity radiating from my chest. It diverges into two threads: one leading to Kel, and the other into the forest.
“Wait,doyou actually have a second mate?” Dayton’s eyes widen.
Something blooms in my chest, because yes… Yes, I do. I know it with my entire heart.
I take off in a run, following the shimmering thread.
“Rosalina, wait!” Keldarion yells.
I break through the foliage. Leaves crackle beneath my feet. The princes clamber behind me, but a part of me desperately wants to get away from them, away from their bonds that haven’t awakened. Their mates are far, far away, waiting to be found. Maybe a little foolish part of me thought they’d awaken for me, that the belonging I felt for them meant something more.
“Wait, Rosie!” Farron calls. “Be careful! Even if you have another mate, it’s highly—ouch, watch out for that log—it’s highly unlikely he’s in this forest. It could be leading you anywhere in the Enchanted Vale!”
I ignore him, feeling like it’s close.
Because even though I know Kel is my mate, there’s still an emptiness in my heart that needs to be filled. Is it because he refuses to accept our bond… or something else? Someone else waiting for me?
The light twines through the trees, and I break out into an open clearing. The end of the thread. Slowly, I step into the moonlight to see where it’s leading me, but it’s not to a person. It’s just a patch of flowers. They’re bright blue with luminescent petals, appearing like roses without thorns.
I fall to my knees in the mud, staring at the three flowers, the light thread in my chest pointing to each of them. I don’t understand. Tears drip down my face.
Branches crack behind me as the others approach.
“Oh fiddlesticks,” Farron says.
“No second mate, eh?” Dayton says gently. “Don’t cry, Rosalina. If I had Kel as my only mate, I’d be sad, too.”
Kel stays silent.
I wipe my eyes with the back of my hands. What do I say to them? How do I tell them I’m crying because I thought I’d belong to them?
“These flowers are called Friar’s Lanterns,” Farron says, leaning down beside me. “Do you remember reading about them?”
I shake my head.
“They’re also known as the Deceiver’s Bloom or the Lonely Lover’s Flower,” he continues. “There’s something in the nectar that attracts the will-o’-wisps. Many wayward souls have had their search for their mate end with these blossoms.”
“I guess I was wrong about what I felt,” I whisper, an embarrassed sob breaking out of my chest. I had been so certain…
“Come on,” Keldarion says, and there’s a soft expression on his face as he holds a hand out for Farron and I, helping us to our feet.
“You cannot escape the magic either, Kel,” Ezryn says, gesturing at one last will-o’-wisp floating by Keldarion’s head.
He gives an annoyed sigh, but I whisper, “I want to see if it points to me.”
“You know it will,” he says gruffly, but slowly moves the flickering flame to his chest.
