She shook her head and looked up at the night sky. “Better late than never, huh? Father, could you give us a moment?”
He nodded and stepped away before she touched my forearm and moved us further away from the commotion of the group around us. All eyes were on us like we were two actors in a play, and although I could be called an attention seeker, this was not one of those moments that I desired it.
I moved my hand to lace with hers. She relaxed her fingers to unlink from me, but I only tightened my grip, not even thinking about it. The urge to join with her felt beyond me. It also felt incredibly good. Safe. Like home. This made no sense, and yet, I didn’t care. Holding hands wasn’t enough. I let go, and without thinking, pulled her to me in a hug. Her body froze at first, herhands staying by her side, before I felt her body relax. Although her hands still remained by her side, she didn’t move away from me. I buried my face into her cloud of hair, no longer caring if I was being inappropriate. She smelled like the heavens. Every sense in my body coming to life, drawn to her like the plants to the rays of the sun. “I like the way you smell. You’re an omega?”
She finally placed her arms around me, and I released a contended shudder, most likely sounding very inappropriate to a stranger. “Yes,” she said in a quiet voice, tightening her grip.
We stood embraced, in silence. Me inhaling her and holding her so tightly that I could have crushed her. Her sniffling but not moving. I wasn’t hurting her, but she was sad. I could feel it within the deepest part of me. A heavy blanket of despair. “Did I do something wrong?” I asked.
I felt her shake her head in my chest. “No. You’re the best, Ivan. You really are.”
I chuckled. “So are you, faerie-who-won’t-tell-me-her-name. But will you let me take you out to dinner?”
“That wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“Why not? Are you not attracted to me? That would be highly disappointing, but we all can’t have good taste.”
She laughed again, and it pleased me to hear the melody of that sound from her. I wasn’t sure I could ever forget her or this moment even if I tried. “You are very cute. But…I can’t. I have an alpha already. He actually reminds me of you.” She dropped her hands away from me. “I really am glad you’re safe.”
She gently pushed away, and I let her, although it felt immediately wrong to do so. How could she have an alpha and yet I desire her so much? Had he marked her yet? He was a fool if he hadn’t. “Your alpha is lucky. I hope he or she knows how lucky they are to have you.”
She smiled at me, but it felt more melancholy than I expected. “He does.” She touched my chest over where my heart resided.“He protects my heart. The best way he knows how. Be kind to yourself, Ivan.”
I watched her walk away, her dad by her side until they disappeared from my sight. Something tore inside of me, like a pulled muscle. I rubbed at the center of my chest as if that would soothe the pain, but of course it did nothing. How had this faerie who I’d barely spoken to, left such an impression on me? I had never even learned her name. This was wrong. Her leaving me, alpha or not, was wrong. I wanted to run after her. Find her.
Aaron appeared by my side, placing a hand on my shoulder. “You okay, mate?”
“Not in the least bit. Do you know who she was?”
He looked at the vacant space that the mysterious faerie once stood. “No, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t think I can forget her.”
And I really hoped that was true.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jalisa
Eight Months Later
Iplopped down in the wooden chair and immediately slid out of my tanned sandals, wiggling my tired toes. Leaning back in the chair, I looked up at the bright turquoise sky, welcoming the midday sun’s heat on my exposed shoulders.
“You couldn’t have come at a better time,” I stated, still staring at the sky and watching a flock of birds fly by.
Pilar leaned an elbow on the circular table at the sidewalk cafe. “Yeah, and you know, it really is nicer here than I thought it would be for a Nodoorian city.”
I gave a dry laugh, looking back at her. “What do you mean by that?”
She shrugged, looking around as she tucked a stray of her short purple hair behind her ear. “I heard the whole kingdom was cold and dreary.”
“Some parts are.”
“And I’m very impressed with the fae here. Very attractive.”
She had some very limited ideas about my country. After the whole battle with Jullian and the dissenters, I decided it was best for me to return to Nodoor. Ivan didn’t remember me and that was such a gut punch, I couldn’t bear to even look at him. I was no longer mad that he left. He was trying to spare me of the very thing that ended up happening. When I saw him at the mansion, there was no love in his eyes. There was no shared history that he remembered. Sure, he seemed attracted to me, but it was in the same way that he had been when we first met all those years ago. And even that wouldn’t have been so bad if not for the fact that I knew it would be only a matter of moments before he would forget even meeting me again. As soon as I left his side, I’d be out of his mind. There was no hope of even rebuilding our love again. That was the ruthlessness of the spell.
I had high hopes that after the battle, he would magically be cured. That we would have killed or caught the witch behind the spell. Only we didn’t. And despite my deal with Nepa, she admitted that she was not behind the spell on Ivan nor did she know anything about it. Neither was the rest of his family, who actually seemed sorrowful about it. Once Nepa explained to them our deal, they expressed less animosity toward me and even were helping to find a cure for Ivan’s memory loss.
