Page 46 of A Storm in Every Heart
I should have known better.
No,I did know better.So what’s wrong with me? Was this just curiosity?
The last time I saw Kastian, we were practically kids. We’ve never gotten this far before, and I didn’t know how good it would be. Now, a large part of me wishes I could go back to not knowing.
And then there are the wings…
Fuck, the wings.
I feel so incredibly stupid that I sink to the ground beside my trunk, practically collapsing amidst the mess of discarded clothing on the rug. I have to resist the urge to bang my head against the top of my trunk.
The Fae—both male and female—only show their wings when their life is in danger or around their bonded partners. Seeing any Fae’s wings during intimacy always means the beginning of a bond is forming, but the sex alone shouldn’t have triggered it—that’s never happened with any other Fae male I’ve slept with, and it shouldn’t have happened last night.
Kastian and I are not bonded.
We didn’t form a soul-bond all those years ago, and there’s no reason it should happen now. Not when this version of Kastian could never feel anything but lust for me. This version hardly knows anything about me—I’ve made absolutely sure of that. I’ve been nothing but unpleasant and aloof toward him, so how could this happen?
Maybe it’s a residual reaction—some phantom feeling from years ago that he can’t actually explain?
That must be it, but that only means I’ve made an even bigger mistake than I could have imagined.
If this goes any further, everything I did will be for nothing.
I’ll be back exactly where I was a century ago, and this time there won’t be anyone there to fix it.
I won’t get a third chance.
Suddenly resolute in what I have to do, I jump to my feet. It’s still close to dawn, and hardly anyone will be awake yet. I’ll need to leave for Hydratta now, before anyone notices I’m gone. Maybe by the time I come back, this lapse in sanity between Kastian and me will have fizzled itself out.
It’s a pathetic lie, even in my head, and I don’t believe it…but I have to pretend, anyway. Otherwise, there’s no hope for either of us.
Deciding not to wait for the servants to carry my trunk, I leave my room and grip one handle to drag it down the hall myself. I barely make it a few feet before I’m groaning with the effort. I packed far too much, and outside the water I’m not much stronger than the average human.
I hold my skirt with one hand and grit my teeth as I tug the trunk to the end of the hall. I practically whimper when I look down the long flight of stairs. If I drag this all the way down to the first floor, the bumping of the heavy trunk against the steps will wake the entire house before I’ve even reached the second landing.
“Do you need some help?”
I whirl around, my hand flying to my chest.
Aurelia is leaning against the wall behind me, sucking on what looks like a blue flower stem. She has tied her dark hair in two loose braids and is again wearing a combination of Fae and human clothing—wide-legged linen trousers, riding boots, and a white T-shirt that I assume Alix gave her. It says “A LOT GOING ON AT THE MOMENT” in big black and red lettering.
“You scared me,” I grumble, sinking onto the top of my trunk to catch my breath.
“You startle easily lately,” she observes, pulling the flower stem out of her mouth with a pop.
I frown. She’s not wrong. I guess being constantly on high alert for the last year has made me jumpy. “I hope I didn’t wake you,” I mutter. “It’s early.”
“You didn’t. I never went to sleep. I’ve been working on a new idea all night.”
I nod in understanding. The door that connects her tower room to the main house is also on the third floor, but seeing as she hardly leaves the tower anymore, I didn’t expect to see her here.
Aurelia twirls the blue flower stem between her fingers, and my gaze catches on it. “What is that?”
“It’s a ghostleaf orchid,” she replies, frowning down at it. “I need it for a potion, but I can’t stop sucking on them instead. They taste like marshmallows. Want one?”
“Um, no thanks.”
“Suit yourself. So anyway, did you want help with that?”
