Page 88 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

“Your face. I saw the same expression every Bride has worn. The same certainty that he was somehow meant for you.”

“Oh.” I draw a breath and shake my head. “No—I, I think maybe you were seeing what you expected. I haven’t—I’m not—falling for him.”

I say the words with as much force as I can manage, hoping that way, they’ll turn out to be true.

“Maybe,” he says grudgingly, after we’ve stood there for several awkward seconds. “Oh, hell,” he says, and starts walking again. I wrap my arms around myself, feeling cold despite the warm night, and try to keep up with his long strides. “Tell me about him. Not the prophecy, not the Nightmare King stuff. Who is he really?”

Chase is quiet for a long moment. Finally, he comes to a stop and looks at me, but I think what he’s seeing is the past. “He’s charming, intelligent, genuinely caring when he wants to be. Everything about him is designed to draw you in.”

“Designed?”

“Not consciously. It’s just who he is—who we were before the split. The Guardian was meant to be loved, trusted, followed. When Adric ripped us apart, I got more of the duty and protection instincts. He got a larger helping of charisma and the hunger for connection.”

“I think you have charisma,” I say softly.

A hint of a smile touches his lips. “Maybe,” he says. “But not as much as Adric. You’ve met him, Cora. You know.”

He’s right. I do know. I’ve seen it. Hell, I’ve felt it.

“All of which makes him incredibly persuasive when he wants something,” Chase continues.

“And he wants me.”

“He does. But I can hardly blame him.” His eyes dip down before rising again to meet mine. “I want you too.”

“Oh.” My entire body seems to light from the inside, and I expect a kiss. Or at least his hand to take mine.

Instead, he keeps talking. “Mostly, Adric wants what you represent. The power to reunite the realms under his rule.” Chase steps closer, and have to fight the urge to slide my arm around him. My hand actually moves — halfway there before I catch myself and let it fall. Chase sees it. His eyes follow the retreat of my fingers, and my cheeks burn as the air between us tightens.

He clears his throat. “But the way he made you feel tonight? That wasn’t fake. That’s who he really is underneath all the Nightmare King bullshit.” He laughs, the sound short and hard. “And there’s the proof of how damn charming he can be. I don’t want to lose you, but I’m talking him up to you like a goddamn idiot.”

I take his hand. “Not an idiot,” I say softly. “Just honest. And I appreciate that more than you know.” I shrug. “Besides. He’s you’re brother. Hell, he’s you. Deep down, you love him.”

“I did once. Not anymore,” he adds, his tone making the words a lie.

For a moment, we’re both quiet. Then I say, very softly, “I’m not falling for him. I promise. But I am attracted to him. And if you’re saying what I feel isn’t because of the prophecy, then, well, thank you. Because the idea of my emotions being ruled by some billion-year-old mystical edict really bugs me.”

He moves closer, his free hand coming up to touch my cheek. “What I’m saying is that your feelings are complicated.” His voice drops. “It’s always been personal for me. This time it’s more so. This time, the damn prophecy may steal even more from me. It may steal you.”

I don’t know what to say because I truly don’t know what I felt when I looked into Adric’s silver eyes. Was it just recognition, attraction, the pull of power calling to power?

Finally, I decide on the truth. “When I was in there tonight—when I felt that pull toward Adric—it scared me. Not because it wasn’t real, but because it was. At least it felt like it.” I step closer to him, then sigh when his arms slide around my waist. “But it also made me realize something.”

“What’s that?”

“That what I feel for you is just as real. Maybe even more so. It’s different too. It’s not prophecy or destiny or cosmic forces pushing us together.” I take a shaky breath, feeling heat rise in my cheeks. “And I think…I think maybe you feel something real for me too? That it’s not just about my being the Bride?”

Relief floods his features. “You already know that’s true.”

I nod. “I don’t want what happened tonight to mess this up. Whatever this mystical connection to Adric is, it doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

He lifts his hands to cup my face. “Don’t you know that I’m completely gone on you? And not because of the prophecy or your lineage or any of that.”

“Then why?” I tremble a bit, my voice barely a whisper.

He brushes his thumb across my cheek, and I melt into his touch. “Because of who you are,” he whispers. “Not what you are. Brave and stubborn and a little goofy.”

He slips a finger under my chin to tilt my face up to meet his, then brushes a fingertip over my lips. “You’re resourceful and kind and refuse to let anyone make your choices for you. I’ve fallen for that woman—for you.”