Page 43 of Feathers and Thorns

Duke Erick looked at her, humor also painting a smile on his narrow lips. “Should we put them out of their misery?”

“Yes”—she nodded—“I think we should.”

Everett and Jai looked as confused as ever, so the duke clarified for them by crossing the menial distance between where they stood and planting a passionate kiss on Everett’s unsuspecting lips. Then he ran a hand through his perfectly coiffed golden-blond hair and flashed a smile of perfect teeth. “I missed you, farm boy.”

“And I you,” Adaryn said, following suit and giving Jai a smooch before tucking herself against his chest.

His heart was beating rapidly against his rib cage, and when she feared the shock might be too much for him, she explained further. “The marriage was strictly to help strengthen each of our countries. The duke and I are good friends.”

“And Erick and I are more than good friends,” Everett said, his blush almost matching the soft pink of his lips.

“You didn’t think to mention this earlier?” Jai grated out, obviously feeling left in the dark.

“I, like you, didn’t want to risk causing issues with the wedding,” Everett replied.

“Right,” Jai said, running a hand through his long hair and stepping back from Adaryn.

“And you did not want to mention this to me last night?” he said with a raised brow.

She shrugged off the quip. “If I recall correctly, we were otherwise occupied.”

Jai nearly choked on the breath he had been trying to suck in and looked to the duke, gauging his response.

He clapped Jai on the shoulder, chuckling. “C’mon, Jai, we’ve known each other since childhood. I would never come in and steal your girl. Though, I do have to say: what the hell were you thinking leaving her like that? I had to do damage control for months!”

Jai didn’t even bother arguing because he knew Erick was right. Instead, he tried to change the subject.

“And what about you two?” he asked, looking to Everett. “How long has this been going on?”

“Well, there was that one time when we were about sixteen, and then we rekindled things when he began to court Adaryn.”

“And you were okay with this?” Jai asked her.

“Of course,” she replied, as if it was the most ridiculous question in the world. “Who am I to stop our friend from finding his own happiness. Besides, I was heartbroken. The last thing I needed was Father parading me around in corsets and petticoats in front of all the eligible bachelors.”

“I see,” Jai replied, scratching at his beard. He was due for a trim soon. “And what about when it came to producing an heir?”

Adaryn was surprisingly unruffled by the question and waved her hand as she responded, “We were going to deal with the semantics later, but I do believe it would have involved an item used for basting pheasant.”

At this, they all burst out in laughter, finally breaking the spell of awkwardness that had settled over them.

“So, now that we have all that out of the way, care to explain why you’re back?” Adaryn said then added a fiery, “Because I know you didn’t come back for me.”

Taking that as their cue to leave, Erick and Everett sauntered back down the hallway, toward the stables.

Jai shifted from foot to foot, not knowing where to start. “Maybe we should head to the gardens. You’ll probably want to sit when I tell you why I’m really here.”

She nodded, letting him lead the way.

The gardens were located in a central courtyard, in the middle of the castle grounds, and housed an array of beautiful plants and shrubs. Her seat of choice was an intricately carved wooden bench, and Jai joined her, taking care to sit an appropriate distance away.

“So, I guess I’ll just start from the beginning …”

* * *

The amount of expletives that shot from Adaryn’s mouth had to be some kind of record. She paced back and forth in front of the bench, going through a new wave of emotion with every piece of the puzzle Jai laid out before her—shock being the main reaction. If the servants were surprised by her behavior, they didn’t show it. Adaryn was known to be feisty, so they all just skittered by, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping.

“So,” she said, trying to gather herself, “you are to be king, then?”

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