Page 98 of The Fate of Eternity

“This isn’t a game. This is real life. We should be alert. I’m not about to throw some campaign out to the kingdom, luring citizens to believe in me when there are dangers and threats attempting to cause harm to them. That’s my priority. Now, ifyou’ll excuse me.” I walk off before he can yell anything else at me, and I somehow manage to keep the tight smile intact as I find Kryll among the crowd.

“Have I mentioned how hot you are when you’re all authoritative?” he asks, slinking an arm around my shoulder as I roll my eyes at him.

“Actually, I don’t think you have,” I retort, leaning into him as he points to where Brody is waving us over.

“Well, add it to the list,” he breathes as we reach my mage.

“He’s asking for you,” he states, pointing over his shoulder, and my spine stiffens.

“Is Raiden okay?”

Brody bites back a smile as he points down the hallway. “We have everyone who needs treatment set up in Beau’s office. Raiden, however, is in his mother’s office. Go find out for yourself, or do you need me to show you?” he asks as a sensation tingles in my gut, and it makes a real smile touch the corner of my mouth.

“No need. I can sense him tugging at our connection.”

49

ADRIANNA

The door to Holloway’s office is open, revealing my vampire on the other side of the threshold. I pause where I am, leaning against the door frame as I take him in.

His fingers trail over the wooden desk planted in the center of the room with a wide window centered behind it. He rolls his lips in, exhaling heavily as a blank stare consumes his eyes.

I’ve never seen a contemplative look on his face before, and it’s not one I’m all too happy he’s wearing. A part of me wants to charge inside, demand to know what’s wrong, and make it all better with a snap of my fingers, but the other part of me knows that’s not what he needs.

He might need me, but it’s clear from the expression on his face that he’s processing more than I can imagine, and the least I can do is offer him the space to do so. With his focus set on the desk, I peer around the rest of the room, noting how bare it actually is. Besides the gray desk chair in front of the window, there’s a brown leather sofa to the right and a gray cabinet set up in the far corner of the room. That’s it.

Not a single photo, or ornament, or feminine touch graces the rest of the space, almost as if a woman has never stepped inside these walls before. It’s strange. Every time I saw Holloway, she was dressed chic and elegant, and for some reason, I would expect that to translate into her surroundings too, but that’s clearly not the case here.

”Do you ever wish you weren’t a fae?” My gaze darts to him as his words pull me from my thoughts. My eyebrows gather as I step into the room, a soft smile trying to form on my lips as I tilt my head at him.

“No, never,” I admit, approaching the desk with caution. He nods, dropping his stare back to the table as another sigh passes his lips. Intrigued with where that question came from, I slip around the desk, gently pushing for more. “Why?”

He taps his fingertips on the desk.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Before lifting his eyes to mine. “Because sometimes I wish I wasn’t a vampire.” His Adam’s apple bobs as he attempts to swallow down the emotion I know those words summoned. The sad smile curling the corner of his mouth looks far too pained, and before I can think better of it, I eliminate the remaining distance between us.

My arms tighten around his waist as I plant my face against his chest, breathing him in as he envelops me in his arms, rocking us from side to side.

Brody rocks his emotions and understands his feelings in a way only a mage can. Kryll grumbles that they exist sometimes, but he always seems unfazed for the most part. Cassian knows how to snarl and growl, but accepting the elements of his life that have caused him the most pain has been a real journey for him so far. It’s a lesson he’s learning with every step he takes.

Raiden, however, may be able to express his feelings and emotions when they come to me, even better than I do, but when it’s about himself… this is the most I’ve ever heard, and it doesn’t fully make sense.

I rub my lips together nervously, wanting to ask what’s going on in his head without doing it at the worst possible time, but after an eternity passes, I realize there’s never going to be one, and if I want to help, I’m going to need to guide him.

“What makes you say that, Raiden?” I ask, tilting my face so my chin rests against his chest as I strain to look up at him. His eyes find mine instantly, a ghost of a grin touching his full lips as he takes in our height difference before my question seems to register in his mind and he sighs. “You don’t have to,” I ramble, backtracking quicker than I thought possible, but he quickly tightens his hold on me.

“I’m okay, I’m just processing,” he offers, a reassuring glint in his eyes as he takes a deep breath, and this time, the weight of the world doesn’t echo in his exhale. “Cassian killed my mother.” My eyes widen and my jaw falls slack as surprise floods my veins. I try to formulate words, but my brain fails me. “It’s okay, I’m not looking for sympathy or anything. Not that I think it’s necessary either, I’m just sorry because I know you’ve felt the same things I’m feeling today.”

“Yeah,” I breathe lamely, his words swirling in my mind. A part of me feels guilty for not hiding away to mourn my mother’s death, but it lingers with me, and I’m sure it will be the same for him. “I’m sorry, Raiden.”

“Don’t apologize. She deserved it. I’m more annoyed that Cassian basically saved my life so now I’m screwed having to live with him holding that over my head forever,” he says with a sigh and a dramatic eye roll, but my narrowed gaze must make it clear that further details are needed. “She was a breath away from snapping my neck. He saved me at the last minute.” Hiswords grow quieter, that truth behind them thickening the air as anger coils in my gut.

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