Page 150 of Enchanted Heir
Keir’s eyes were on mine. “He’s my brother. I want to.”
He asked me questions about the things I read from his mother’s journals, including the locking of the staff member in the pantry, and eventually my eyes drooped. I wasn’t even sure if we finished the conversation or not. I’d just faded away, too numb for anything else.
I didn’t know what the next day would bring, more wrath from the king, or Krew being conscious again, but I was too exhausted to think about anything for another minute.
CHAPTER37
“Here.” Keir handed me a muffin. If you could even call them that. They were huge. I was used to the size of the muffins we made at the bakery, but these were at least four times as large.
Krew was still sleeping. Sometime in the night he had rolled over, but he was still out in what had to be one of the deepest sleeps I’d ever seen from him.
I took a bite of the muffin, realizing I hadn’t eaten much at all the day before. And what I had ate, I had later lost.
I needed to get some food into my system. Food and tea.
“How are you feeling?” Keir asked.
I tried moving my tender shoulder. “Sore.”
He chewed his bite of muffin and swallowed. “I am sorry to report that you will be sore for at least a week.”
I sighed and looked at his bright blue eyes. “I am sorry that you know this.”
He gave his shoulders a slight shrug and removed the silver lid over some food. “Do you feel up to a piece of bacon? I ordered some knowing how you used to feel about it.”
I nodded and smiled. “Thanks. I’ll try a piece?”
“Circumstances are never too dire for bacon, right?”
I snorted my breath out. “I don’t want to ever find out, Keir.”
We ate in our chairs in the quiet for a few minutes before I realized he was looking at me and not eating his muffin.
“What?”
He grabbed a piece of bacon. “I wanted to ask you a question, I just don’t mean to upset you in any sort of way after the last week you’ve had. I truly don’t mean it in a mean or cruel way.”
My head went back. “Well now you have to ask whatever it is.”
He smirked and looked to Krew. He took a bite of his bacon and then chewed it, in no hurry to ask. “When did it become real?”
My breath caught. “When did I begin having real feelings for your brother?”
Keir gave me a nod.
I cocked my head. “I honestly do not know. And I cannot attest to his feelings, only my own. Because in the beginning we definitely had to fake it. On multiple occasions I wanted to gouge his eyes out.”
Keir chuckled.
“But somewhere along the way, I realized I could trust him. Withanything. And then out of that bloomed a friendship. I wanted to help him and his way too noble cause.” I paused. “And then that transformed into this.”
Keir gave me a nod.
“I love him, Keir,” I admitted. I didn’t know what Krew had or had not told Keir about our relationship, but I didn’t want to have to lie.
Keir gave me a half of a smile. “I know. I see it.”
I gave him a shrug. “So I’m not entirely sure when it happened. Somewhere between trust and a friendship while having to fake being in love, it all became very real for me. Our charade wasn’t being in love, I found out I alone was the charade, convincing only myself it wasn’t real.”
