His brows drew together in confusion. “What?”
“That’s what Lena gets you at every wedding. Chocolates. You never had them in the Ether Realm until she brought you some.”
His face fell for a second and it was like a punch to the gut. I thought my memory of Lena and Brayden’s wedding would excite him, but somehow I’d said something wrong. Then it dawned on me. “Leah told you this too.”
He cleared his throat. “She did. But I’ve chosen you, so I think it’s best if we forget about Lena for now.”
Forget about Lena? Didn’t he think I was Lena? Unless…
I pulled away from him. “You aren’t sure that I’m her?”
He sighed. “I don’t care anymore. I’ve let Lena go and I’ve chosen you.”
But what if we did fix our memories and Leah was Lena? And we had proof of that? What then?
“You know what, I’m tired. It’s been a hell of a night and I need some rest,” I told him, standing.
“Averly, please don’t be upset, I just got you back.” He reached for me but I moved out of the way before his hand could grasp mine.
“I’m good. Just exhausted. I’m going to head to bed early.” I had no idea what time it was, but I was perpetually exhausted from nightly trainings, and with finding out who my dad was and now the fact that Leah had been having the same memories as me… I felt overwhelmed.
“Averly…” Brayden stood, his voice pleading.
Tears filled my eyes and I knew that if I didn’t find a room to be alone in soon, I was going to lose it. Walking into the first closed door I could find, I slipped inside and scanned the space. It was a nice room with hardwood floors that matched the main house, and a dark, wooden four-poster bed. There was a cowboy theme going on with the artwork and I really didn’t care at this point. I just kicked off my shoes and sank face first into the bed.
After a year of living in captivity with Silas, under his rules, and only having Maddy as my sense of normalcy, I just wasn’t prepared yet for all of this outside stimuli.
Artemis, Brayden, Leah, it was too much. I was still processing the fact that Silas was dead and I’d killed one of the Fae Lords.
Being alone in the room was like a painful deafening silence, one I welcomed but still felt uncomfortable with. There was something uneasy about it and it took me a minute to realize it was the lack of Maddy’s presence. I hadn’t slept alone in a year, and lying in bed without hearing her breathing next to me was tripping me out. It must not have bothered me for too long because heaviness began to pull at my limbs and I finally fell asleep.
Hours later, the bed dipped and my eyelids sprang open. Brayden’s face hovered over me. “You can be mad at me, or need space, or whatever, but I’m sleeping next to you,” he commanded, and then lay down beside me. I rolled into him and he tucked me against his body with one of his giant arms.
A contented sigh escaped both of us and I realizedthiswas what I needed. I tried to open my eyes, to stay awake and apologize for earlier, but I was too tired and sleep won.
SEVEN
The next morning I awoke to find a twenty pound weight across my stomach, pinning me in place. I peered down to see that the weight was Brayden’s arm. Turning to the right, I looked up to find him staring at me with sleepy blue eyes.
“I’m sorry about last night. It was too overwhelming,” I told him. The guilt of running off had eaten at me.
Leaning forward, he placed a kiss on my forehead and then pulled me closer, resting his chin across the top of my head.
This feeling, complete safety and acceptance, it was everything. I finally allowed myself to believe that this was real. Brayden and I were back together and I was in his arms. A small sob lodged in my throat. “I assumed you were married to Leah the entire year,” I croaked.
He stiffened, pulling me tighter into him. “Never.”
My insecurities were mounting inside of me and I had to ask him a question. “Brayden…” I looked at his tan chest and spoke to his collarbone, unable to meet his gaze. “What if Leah turns out to be Lena?”
Silence permeated the room and I felt sick to my stomach with each passing second. After an agonizingly long moment, he peered down and grasped the bottom of my chin, tilting it upward to look at him. “I choose you, Averly. And I have the tattoo to prove it.” He gave me a cocky grin.
I loved him. I had totally fallen head over heels in love with him. Not the him of my past lives but who we were now, and I believed that made it all the more better.
Leaning forward, he planted a kiss on my lips just as a loud knock came at the door and Brayden groaned.
“Averly needs to train,” Artemis boomed from outside the thin wooden door. “And shouldn’t you be in separate rooms until marriage?” he questioned, causing both Brayden and I to burst into laughter. “I’m serious,” Artemis growled, which made Brayden stiffen and peel away from me.
Whoa.
