Page 34 of Fractured Souls
“Then we have to go.” I had assumed our lack of knowledge on our family was because Jeanie and Nelson had been hiding that Cormac and I were adopted, but now I had to wonder if it was something much more than that. “We can’t pass up an opportunity to get information on the dark—them, that would be huge.”
I really had to get better at not saying ‘dark ones.’
“They do look similar to you,” Desmond murmured from over my shoulder, his hand running through my hair.
“We should find out,” I said, reeling in surprise from the possibility of finding out about my past.
“Where’s the crypt again?” Dean asked.
I winced because call me crazy, but I didn’t think he was going to love the answer.
“The Kingdom of Day.”
The one place we had wanted to avoid.
* * *
I honestly had no idea how I had convinced Dean—or any of the others, for that matter—that going to the Kingdom of Day tomorrow would be a good idea, but a few hours later everyone seemed set and decided on the plan.
I knew it was technically night all the time here, but my body recognized it as the evening hours after such a long day, and the soothing breeze running over my skin felt great as I sat on the balcony overlooking Adriel’s kingdom.
Although…I suppose it wasourkingdom now, wasn’t it? I totally wasn’t used to that.
Unsurprisingly, people were taking advantage of the turn in the weather, bonfires lighting up the normally cold and stark landscape. My men were lounging in the room behind me, still reviewing texts we’d borrowed from the library. Even with everyone relaxing after the feast today, we had garnered a fair amount of attention and the privacy in our suite was far more relaxing.
When Adriel’s arms came onto the railing on either side of me, I sighed happily, loving his closeness. Looking up at him, I found his eyes on our star up in the sky.Our freaking star baby.I couldn’t get over that.
“I’m worried about going to the Kingdom of Day,” he said. “More importantly, I’m worried aboutyougoing to the Kingdom of Day. The warnings aren’t theatrics—the place has corrupted even the strongest of individuals.”
“I’m far stronger than I was before,” I pointed out, wondering if he was thinking about all the vices I used to give into.
His brow crinkled as he cupped my jaw, and I turned into him. “Princess, I’m not worried about that, I’m worried about how their desires will affect you. I’m worried they’ll be so sick and twisted that you won’t be able to stay within city limits for more than a few minutes.”
“That messed up?” I asked, feeling dread twist my stomach.
“Understatement,” he admitted. “It’s rumored that Queen Gray sentenced criminals from the Horde by sending them here. It’s considered punishment to the sane.”
“Maybe we should find a different way,” I whispered.
Adriel’s jaw tightened. “I wouldn’t be opposed to that, but I also won’t take this away from you, Lorcan. You deserve to have every piece of information at your fingertips, and more importantly, you deserve to know where you come from.”
“It feels like the right move,” I admitted quietly, “but I think that if we run into any true danger, we shouldn’t hesitate to turn back. No information is worth risking all of your lives.”
“And yours. Your life is extremely important—the most important thing to me.” Adriel ran a hand through my hair and pressed a soft kiss to the middle of my forehead. The action was so incredibly sweet that I melted into him completely. The warm breeze ran over my skin, and the lull of conversation from the other room had my eyes closing. Unfortunately I couldn’t completely relax because Adriel’s words left me with a deep sense of foreboding I couldn’t ignore.
Was I being selfish? Was this trip to the Kingdom of Day risking everyone’s lives for simple knowledge? Or would it be the key to making sure the dark ones couldn’t defeat us?
I guess we were going to find out.
CHAPTER12
Zander
The absenceof sound after a long period of time had me trying to recall just how much time had passed as I pored over the book in front of me. Before meeting Lorcan, I would have feared days, if not weeks, had passed. My ability to hyper-focus and obsess over details was a benefit in every way—except to my health and ability to be present in reality. So really it only served one purpose.
Those other aspects weren’t ones I normally concerned myself with, though.
My eyes landed right on Lorcan’s outstretched frame, her easy breathing causing my brow to crinkle. Apparently I’d been zoned in for quite some time if she was sleeping—more than a few hours for sure. Her hair was loose, surrounding her like a halo, and her arm was tucked under a pillow, her head a few inches from where I sat.
