Vikram took a sip of his drink, preparing to speak for a long time.
“About two centuries ago, the rulers of the kingdoms decided to install severe punishments for all those who interact with humans. There are lists and hundreds of trials throughout this time to stand as an example. If one is seen by a human, unwillingly, they get a lashing. If they reveal themselves to a human, they are jailed for any number of years the Queen considers fit. If one touches a human, they lose a limb.”
“And if one mates with a human?” my voice trembled as I uttered the words.
He shook his head. “It’s up to the Queen. If he weren’t her son, Ansgar would already be dead.”
“But you are here, revealing yourself to me!” I protested.
“I am Realm Defence, it’s my duty. I chose to live amongst humans and protect them. I have already paid for the privilege.”
“What are you saying?” I wiped away the tears just enough to look at him through the watery mess pouring through my face.
“I am asking you to do the right thing, if you truly love him.”
His piercing gaze told me everything I needed to know. He wanted me to break up with his brother and set him free. He was a fae prince after all, one who deserved better than a human. One that would put his life in danger. That I was not his mate, it was only Ansgar’s strong feelings for me that confused him into thinking that. At the realisation, I wailed in pain, Vikram’s hand stroking my back with calming movements.
“But I am his mate…” my voice sounded like a coal ready to be extinguished.
“Anwen, if there were any way to prove it… You’ve seen it for yourself, how he acted, the way he attacked me to protect you. He never crossed Father with anything, ever, but he would gladly lose his family, position and kingdom for you. Because he loves you. And he will be punished for it. My question, Anwen is,” he paused to scan my face, “Do you love my brother enough to stop him?”
Chapter Thirty-Four
I’d been up at dawn but decided to perform duties first and let Anwen sleep a while longer. After the excitement of yesterday, she deserved rest. I walked through the district and cared for several roots and healed some barks ripped by the strong winds, I sprouted hundreds of gardenias, enough to make a bouquet suitable for my beautiful mate, then went back to the cave to shower and change my clothes. At about mid-morning, I knocked at the door, my heart beating with excitement.
If we hadn't been interrupted yesterday, she would be resting in my arms, just as she did every night in the past few weeks. Only we would be mated, and I would belong to her completely, just like I knew every shred of my heart already did.
“Good morning,” Anwen’s voice greeted me as she opened the door. I immediately sensed something wrong. Darkness in her eyes, which were red and swollen.
“Good morning, fahrenor,” I replied and placed a kiss on her lips. Which she did not return. My mate shifted to the side to allow me enough space to enter and her extended hand pointed me to the sofa, treating me like a guest. I had shared this space with her so many times I practically knew it as well as I did my own chambers.
Without protest, I followed her instructions and sat onto the sofa, feeling her stare at my movements, my every gesture watched.
“Are you going to join me?” I asked innocently after I planted myself in my favourite spot, the one that had a leg extension. Whenever we watched stories on her device, I would sit there, with my legs up. She wrapped herself in a blanket and found a cosy position in my embrace, resting her head on my shoulder. Sometimes she fed me popped corn or sweets and I would bite her fingers gently and she would giggle. Now, the person sitting next to me seemed to be a shell of that woman.
“Ansgar, we need to talk,” Anwen announced as her bloodshot eyes made a point to avoid mine.
Something was very, very wrong, and it happened after I brought her back to the mansion. In my chamber, on the porch, she sounded hopeful and in love. I knew I shouldn’t have left her alone, whatever thought inundated her mind last night, I would make a point to collapse each and every one of her worries.
“Before you say anything, Anwen,” I started, needing to take some control of the situation, “I want you to know that I am in love with you.”
Time to confess, Ansgar. I needed to put her worry to rest so I opened my heart and started splurging my feelings for her.
“My heart recognised you since the very first time I held you, I felt the surge of our energies connecting and, even though I could not grasp it then, a part of me knew we were made for each other. That you are to be mine and I, yours.”
I went back to that first time she was injured in my bedchamber, how my heart fluttered at the touch of her skin. “I can’t stop thinking about you, I feel an unyielding need to be close to you and I find every excuse to do so, because I cannot understand a world where you are not by my side.”
She shattered, deep shivers passing through her figure, her skin, as tears overrun her cheeks. I rose and rushed to her side in an instant, wiping them away with my thumbs. We sat there, more tears spurting from her red and swollen eyes. I continued, “The first time I kissed you, I felt complete, as if I had found the missing piece of myself. I never knew such happiness existed until I held you in my arms. Every minute I spend by your side is a blessing and I swear to you that I will always be by your side, loving you every hour of every day, if you will have me.” She made desperate efforts to control her grief, but it flooded through her, changing her like the lightning does sand.
She forcefully removed my hands from her face and stood, her posture struggling to put as much distance between us as possible. Her entire body trembled and she turned to me.
“Ansgar, I am sorry,” she murmured, her voice rasp as she forced her gaze on me. “I am so sorry,” she continued. Sobs were expelled from her rib cage.
“Anwen, my love,” I was by her side again, grabbing her tightly to my chest and pressing my lips onto her hair, whispering softly. Whenever she walked away from me, I would come back to her side.
“My starlight.” I planted deep kisses over her; her hair, her forehead, her face, her puffy eyes, her lips, all the while she remained unmoving, empty. “Whatever it is, we will face it together. Please, just tell me what is wrong,” I begged.
Anwen adopted a statuesque figure, so still that I had to halt and listen to her breathing to make sure it had not stopped. She cleared her throat and pointed her gaze to mine.
