“Cassy!”
Cassy tapped her chin and winked. “Those brothers are more alike than you’d think.”
“Good Lord.” Rori waved Cassy away, dropping back onto the sofa. She gathered up the breakfast plate she’d relinquished upon Cassy’s arrival and pinched one of the sausage links between her fingers. Cassy settled beside her, one manicured brow lifting as Rori brought the sausage to her mouth. She hesitated, lips parted slightly, noticing the widening smile stretch over Cassy’s mouth. With a groan, she chopped half the link off and chewed voraciously while her friend cringed. “Not everything is sexual.”
“I suspect with these brothers,everythingis sexual. They drip sex, ooze sex, are the embodiment of sex.” She giggled, helping herself to a small plate of fruit. “I’m finding it overwhelming to the libido being around so many gorgeous men. I want my Cael and that’s all, but I feel like a damn bitch in heat every second of every day since we’ve arrived. Maybe it’s the magic here. I dunno.”
Rori sniggered. “I think that’s just The Cael Effect on you.”
“Hmph.” She speared a piece of melon on her fork and shook it at Rori as she finished chewing. “Just wait, bestie. Wait until I’m teasing you aboutyourinsatiable needs.”
That spurred the warmth in her cheeks that had finallytempered. Insatiable pretty much summed it up. She couldn’t remember ever having more than a single round with a guy at any given time, not that her list of men was anything to brag about. Even the times Rich took her by force, he’d often up and leave to hammer back a few drinks before passing out in the living room.
Faintness teased her chest as she replayed yesterday. Last night. This morning. However tired they were, all it took was a kiss—from either of them—to ignite the insatiable desire she’d come to embrace. As innocent as a kiss may have been, it blossomed into a passion-fed craving that they could not stop. She’d lost count of how many times he drove her to the stars, shattering her more ways than she thought possible. Her body resounded with pleasurable soreness, despite him setting up a warm bath, caring for her aches, and tending her like he existed to cater to her every need.
“I like the temperature of this world. It’s very comfortable, with this breeze and all, but you’re about to jack the thermostat to hell if you burn more. I love you too much to watch you combust three feet away from me.”
Giving up on eating, Rori pushed her plate on the table and leaned back in the sofa. Her balcony overlooked sprawling gardens with white-washed trellises, a gazebo, tall flowering trees, smaller topiaries, and endless stretches of blooms in every color imaginable. A single path from the garden led down to a diamond-glittering river that curved around a good portion of the castle before it branched off into an endless forest. Hills and mountains rose as far as she could see. In the distance, she could hear the echo of music and fanfare that reminded her of the jubilant tunes from a Ren Fest.
Everything was breathtaking, immaculate, fantastical. Everything she could have ever imagined coming alive froma story presented in this world a hundred times grander. Her days were spent in the clouds when she wasn’t worried about Thaddeus, yearning for his company. This family took her in with open arms and warm welcomes, not a spark of judgment in their eyes or caustic undertones in their words. They gave endlessly, treated her as one of them. For that alone, she could never repay them.
For the selfless choice to save Thaddeus despite the consequences, she would owe Shaye and Moira, Rihanna and Bryce lifetimes of gratitude.
As enthralling as Faery was, Rori pined to return to the simplicity of her life in Florida. With Thaddeus by her side. She wanted to finish school, get her degree, reach her personal goals that she’d set for herself years ago.
She simply didn’t fit in here. The gowns, as gorgeous as they were, were not her thing. The constant catering caused her unease, especially since she was perfectly capable of doing things for herself and helping out along the way. No one would let her lift a finger. She enjoyed her independence, having found it again.
Only with Thaddeus would she gladly relinquish that independence.
“I need to figure out how to save Thaddeus.”
Cassy stopped chewing, her playful expression melting away. She lowered her fork with half a piece of melon still on the prongs and placed her plate beside Rori’s. Rori curled one of the emerald ribbons that decorated the dipping neckline of her latest gown—courtesy of Thaddeus. She’d wasted almost an entire day lost in his arms. Now, without his presence skewing her thoughts and wreaking havoc on her body, she couldthink.
“Rori.”
Cassy scooted closer, dropping a hand over Rori’s knee.Rori refused to look at her friend. Her voice carried the sympathy she would see in her dark eyes. She did not want sympathy. She did not want pity. To accept such things meant she had given up, and she’d never give up. It wasn’t in her nature, otherwise, she’d have died a long time ago.
“Cael told me some things. Some of the things Thaddeus had done. He hasn’t accepted that his brother may be executed, either, but you both have to see this realistically. We don’t know the rules here. We don’t know the laws. But in our world, if you maliciously attack a person, let alone some high-ranking official, with a dagger through their heart, you probably just bought yourself an exclusive suite on death row. In our world, you know what he did was premeditated. He did it intentionally, comprehending the consequences. He was a fucking idiot to follow orders from that whorish bitch, but Rori.” Cassy leaned forward, cupping the side of her face to look at her. Sure enough, needling sympathy overflowed from her friend. “The last thing I want to see is my best friend, my sister, cling to the impossible and suffer more heartache than what she’ll inevitably suffer. It’s not just you who’ll endure the pain, but Cael, who’ll lose a brother, and myself and Brandon, too. We’re all in this together. We’ll follow this through to the bitter end.”
“I’m not willing to give up so easily.”
“Of course not. You’re nothing if not a strong, smart, stubborn woman with fire in her blood. But you can’t fool yourself, either. Ignorance has never done a person any good.”
“If it were Cael in Thaddeus’s position, I know you’d be saying the same thing I am. You’re not about to lose your man, but I’m going to lose my soul mate, and I’m not willing to accept that as the only option. Do you think the Goddess they worship hates humans so much that She’d curse one tolive in desolation and pain for the rest of her life? For any life that may come after this one?”
Rori scoffed, easing Cassy’s hand from her face to her lap, where she folded her fingers around her friend’s. Cassy’s brows wrinkled, the sorrow she felt for Rori thickening in her gaze.
“I’ve been told stories of miracles over these last few days. I’ve seen the blessings their Goddess bestowed upon this family who’ve taken us in when they could have—in all honesty,shouldhave—turned their backs on us. The love and joy between these couples who have found their soul mates at the worst possible times. The horrors they’ve endured to find their happily-ever-afters. I can’t imagine for a moment that my story with Thaddeus is destined to end with tragedy.” She shook her head defiantly. “I can’t, and I won’t.”
Cassy pursed her lips, her gaze lowering to their folded hands. Her silence hung heavy between them, an unseen cloud of tension.
“I remember when you studied the stages of grief for a test?—”
“This is not me going through a grief process, Cassy.” She pulled her hand back and stood up, crossing the balcony to the stone balustrade. Turning back to her friend, fully aware her frustration was misplaced but lacking the strength to rein it in, she jabbed a finger back at her chest. “This is me holding onto any and every bit of fucking hope I can for the sake of his life. I’m being selfish because I’ve lived through too many levels of hell in my life to accept that the man who makes me whole, who makes me feel safest, who loves me unconditionally despite every fucking flaw I possess, is going to be put to death. I don’t want to be without him, Cassy. Irefuseto be without him.”
God, if the sadness in Cassy’s gaze thickened any more, itwould suffocate them both. Rori flattened her hand above her cleavage, trying to calm the furious beat of her heart while she pulled herself back and regained her composure.
“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean?—”
