Page 261 of Blood & Betrayals

The living room is rustic and comfortable, completely different from the vibes of the castle. I imagine Alice coming here to escape royal life and sit by the crackling fire.

Zach and Ashley are on the couch, whispering and giggling together. Zane, Luke, and Alice are flicking through the channels, trying to agree on what to watch. I join Rafe at the bar, watching as he pours a heavy-handed measure of a clear spirit into a tumbler.

Rafe throws back the drink and pours another. “How is he?” he asks, finally acknowledging my presence.

I take a tumbler and place it in front of him, silently asking for a drink. Rafe immediately pours a double measure into my glass. “He’s sleeping.” I watch his profile. “And you? Are you okay?”

Rafe takes a deep drink. “Me? Just peachy.” The words are dripping with sarcasm.

I look down at my glass, anticipating the comforting burn of the liquor. “Thank you,” I say before tossing back the drink, embracing the feeling of it sliding down my throat.

“For?” Rafe asks, still not looking at me.

“I don’t know your demons, Rafe, but I know what you did was not easy for you. You saved him.”

Rafe tenses beside me. “He’s my brother. It wasn’t even a question.”

I place my hand on his arm, allowing a sliver of the grief I had barely avoided to surface, knowing I’m safe to feel it here with Rafe. I need a quiet moment with someone who understands my inner strife and knows what it would have meant if things had gone wrong.

Rafe doesn’t move for a long moment, and I’m about to pull my hand away when he places his hand over mine. He closes his eyes, also embracing the moment. I squeeze his arm and just stand there with him. We’re in a room full of people who wouldn’t understand. I pray to all the gods they never understand. At this moment, there are just the two of us and the sadness.

“He’s always doing stupid shit like that,” Rafe says, dropping his hand and draining his glass.

My lips twitch and I squeeze his arm before pulling my hand back. “He’s lucky to have us.” Though I don’t believe it, my voice fulfills the lie.

Rafe chuckles darkly. “One time he almost died after hitting a goose while flying.”

I gape at Rafe and burst out laughing. “What?”

Rafe’s lips twitch as he finally meets my gaze. That constant ember of anger still smolders in his eyes, but it is soothed by a gentler emotion. “We were teenagers, and we were taking Luke flying for the first time.”

I fill our glasses again and turn toward him, leaning against the bar.

“So, Con looks back to check on Luke, and in the two seconds he’s not paying attention to his own flight path, he collides face-first with the biggest goose I’ve ever seen.”

I laugh, cradling my tumbler.

“It knocks him out flat, and he starts falling. I’m panicking. Zach and Zane are panicking. Luke is screaming, struggling to control his wings, and Connor is plunging fast. Luckily, Uncle Michael comes out of nowhere and catches him before he hits the ground,” Rafe reminisces. “When he finally comes to, all he cares about is if we’re all okay.”

“That’s our Conbear.”

“An idiot.” Rafe shakes his head, looking down again.

I look around, ensuring no one is listening before I lean in and drop my voice. “You’re his favorite, you know?”

Rafe gives me a sideways grin. “So are you.”

“He truly has impeccable taste,” I say proudly, pushing at his shoulder.

Rafe snorts and we both take deep drinks, falling into companionable silence. The only sounds that fill the cabin are the voices from the television, the crackling of the fire, and the hushed whispers from Zach and Ashley.

“I love you!” Zach exclaims loudly, breaking the silence.

Every head in the room whips toward them. Ashley is straddling him on the couch, but her body has gone rigid. Zach’s face is locked in an expression of horrified surprise, looking as shocked by the declaration as everyone else.

Rafe takes another drink, seemingly unphased.

Ashley blinks at Zach once, twice, three times before climbing off him and disappearing into one of the free bedrooms. Zach drags a hand over his face, then follows her.

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