Page 93 of Glass Hearts
“It is infused with magic.. among other materials that are of little importance for you to know.” Elliah shrugs, taking another casual sip of his coffee.
“This guy is quite smart, a good friend to know indeed!” Bert squeaks.
“I wonder if he can make a cat deterrent device for use meeces?” Kip adds.
I try to hold in a snort. “Let’s just stick with taking back the castle first, boys.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if we all had one?” Archer asks.
“It would. But the materials are hard to come by, and this was the spare I had available. So choose one person who will be the most important.”
“Arabella,” all four of my princes say at the same time.
I hold the roll of my eyes. I am so used to putting myself last it is unnatural to feel so protected.
“We will need one of you to release the imprisoned council members and our friends in the castle. Could one of you break them out?”
“That will be me. I can sneak in with one of my forms,” Smith says. We expect him to elaborate, but he doesn’t add anything else.
“The most important thing is for you all to protect Arabella,” Sylas adds.
“No, I am not the most important, the most important thing is to ensure all our friends, the staff, and the non-villainous council are safe. Not. Me.”
“Sure, Sunshine,” Koi placates me.
“We are going to leave this afternoon for Eldor and the castle, to prepare. Plus, it will be good for them not to see us with you from the jump. The sneaky sorts like this Victor fellow probably know about us.”
“We will leave early tomorrow.” Sylas nods, offering his hand for a handshake to the mercenaries.
“Well then, until the ‘morrow, your Highnesses.” The three get up, and Jax does an exaggerated bow with a twirl before they all leave.
“As much as I hate that guy, I also kind of like him,” Grayer says. “I just don’t know if we can trust them. I fear they may not show. Or if they do, they might jump in after we overexert ourselves on the fight, take those materials they need and leave.”
“They weren’t wrong about people like Victor knowing them. I asked the waitress last night about the mercenaries, and they are known to take on shady jobs,” Archer adds.
“You do realize they can hear us?” I point to the little pin.
“Shit, you are right, Duchess. See, this is why we need you. Also, if you are all listening, you better not fuck us over and steal our girl again. I will find you and cut off your dicks.” Grayer kisses me on the cheek.
Sylas rolls his eyes and offers me his hand so we can depart the crowding restaurant for more training.
* * *
Lo is at the forefront of my mind. Guilt sits in my stomach. Here I am basking in the attention and love of the princes, yet my friend could be in trouble. Petra had never come back to report anything on Lo.
Then there is my worry about the princes.
Before any of my own missions, I would never worry. It didn’t matter if I got hurt, because it was just me in those scenarios. Worry pains me as I look at my princes, who are currently drinking wine and continuing to plan in our room. I have my glass, with my book open. Yet, I find myself trying to read the same paragraph over and over again.
Yes, they need to do this confrontation for themselves and their position in the court of politics. But I wonder if I am complicating matters too much. That it would have been easy if I weren’t the problem they also had to protect. My worry also morphs into the plausibility that something could happen to us. If one of them gets hurt, I don’t think my heart could handle it.
And yet you still deny that it isn’t love. Fool.
“What’s that, Arabelly?”
“Sorry, Bert, I didn’t realize I’d sent that thought out. I am just… worried.” Both come up from their little blanket nest and scurry up my legs to rest on my chest. They send comfort through our bond. They are both in their cute little pyjamas Lo made for them.
“It’s okay to be sad and worried, Arabelly. You found people worth fighting for. And isn’t that special!”
