Page 71 of Enchanted Kisses
“You’re here because you allowed me to get to you. But we’re not discussing that. We’re talking about my brother and how he’s bound himself to you. And how I can’t kill him without killing you, which is why I’ve discovered a way to remove a soul without killing the person. As long as the heart beats, lungs work, and body organs continue to function, the being lives. Problem solved.”
“He’d be a vegetable?” I pictured Caiden in a coma, with tubes sticking out of his body. Dagan couldn’t actually do that, could he? “That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think? Besides, it’s not necessary. I would know if I were bound to Caiden.”Wouldn’t I?
“Really?” he mocked. “Did you know he was sent to lure you to our realm, using any means possible?”
“Yep.”Sort of.
“Did you know he was forced to take the task?”
What?
“Of course you didn’t. Just like you didn’t know about Bianca. Or maybe you do know now that she’s living with him.”
I lowered my head.
“They are intended,” he said.
“No, they’re not.” I looked up. “He broke it off.”
“It doesn’t work like that, pet. Both parties have to agree. As for Bianca, she’ll never let Caiden go. She fought to have him released from the quest. She knew him well, and knew if he left, other girls would easily distract him. Caiden has always had an interest in mortals.” He rolled his eyes. “I suppose now I can see why. But you’re only half-human, so it could be your goddess side that attracted him.” He sat beside me with a bounce. “That’s what got me thinking and what led me to his room, where I found this.” From his pocket, he removed a folded piece of cream paper and held it up.
“What is it?”
He tucked it under his thigh. “Wait for it.”
I resisted jumping from the bed and screaming, “Forget it. Take me home.” For all I knew, Dagan was lying.
But wait. He couldn’t lie. I needed to talk to Raysa. But before that, I needed all the information, which meant I needed to see that note.
I took slow breaths as Dagan hopped from the bed, note in hand, and continued, “He was our best hunter. That’s why Father chose him.” His tone hinted at resentment and something else. Hurt? “I used to think I knew my brother better than anyone. When he stopped updating us on his progress in finding you, I should have known something had changed. But he’sgood. Every time I questioned him, he had an excuse. And since he was our best hunter, we—I—trusted him and believed it was taking almost two years to find you.”
This sad, vulnerable side of Dagan was as confusing as it was disturbing. The frustration in his posture and the pain in his voice painted a clear picture. He was the older brother, but Caiden was the better of the two, the favored son. I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. I knew all too well what feeling inadequate did to a person.
Dagan rested his back against a wall and stared blankly across the room. “I saw him a few times when he wassearchingfor you. There were changes in him, but I ignored them. I excused it as him being away from our realm for so long. I didn’t mention them to our father. When Caiden returned, I knew something was gravely different. But by the time I’d figured it out, he’d renounced the realm.” He shook his head. “Didn’t see that one coming. Then I learned of you and thought,He must really love her. Because why else would he do anything so drastic? Unless he had plans of his own. Plans that were bigger than our father’s vision.”
His gaze shifted to me and he lifted the note. “Plans that would prompt him to write this.” He ambled toward me. “There is a fountain within a mystical park in a realm accessible only to our kind. If you write a poem, wish it to come true, and toss it in, the fae guarding the fountain may take pity on you and grant your wish. I suspect she did in his case because you’re obviously lovesick with him.”
He dropped the note onto my lap.
I stared at it, afraid to read it, praying Dagan was wrong. Praying I hadn’t been tricked into loving Caiden and trading my freedom for a love that wasn’t even real.
He sat beside me on the bed. “I can take it away if you don’t want to read it. But I thought it was only fair for you to know the truth. I’d hate for you to be tricked into a vow and end up permanently bound to someone who wants your powers more than I do.”
My heart sank like a stone in the ocean. I blinked back tears. “Do you know about the prophecy?”
“What prophecy?”
I could tell by his tone he didn’t know.
“Have you read my mind since we arrived?”
“I can’t here,” he said without hesitation. “It’s forbidden. Protective spells and all.”
With a shaky hand, I lifted the note. The cream paper felt old, like parchment, the ends jagged. I unfolded it and recognized Caiden’s elegant script.
Lily’s Poem
Tendrils of the earth that flow wild in the breeze
