Page 60 of Where We Belong

Maybe he’s right. My head does feel a bit light.

“You came into your mind magic today,” Aiden muses. “It may be settling.”

I hesitate. “How do you—” Oh. Right. Kaed. “Never mind.”

Rhory slides a plate in front of me. “Yes, Captain Serious told the King almost instantly. Duty before booty.” I wonder if Kaed reported everything that happened. When I tear into the wrap, the flavors explode on my tongue and a muffled groan escapes my lips.

“That is the only way Cook can make a female do that,” Aiden quips.

I nearly choke.

“You made a joke, Prince? Someone send word to the territories!” Cook’s voice rings through the kitchen.

I spin around. Someone definitely called me this time. But the kitchen is the same. Aiden and Cook continue throwing jabs at each other, oblivious. This is not in my bloody head. Something is calling me, pulling me toward the door.

“Thanks Rhory, I’m going to eat it outside.”

I slip into the hallway following…something. The deeper into the palace I go, the more intense the pull becomes, like my feet aren’t my own. It’s louder now. My pace quickens, my grip on the plate tightening. Turning the corner past my old room, I cringe slightly remembering all over again why I’m annoyed, but the tunnel calls me and my pace picks up. I almost run down it towards the barracks, before crashing into something hard and warm. A broad chest. Kaed. Calloused hands grip my arms, steadying me before I can stumble back.

“What are you doing! Get off.” I twist out of his hold.

“What do you mean what am I doing? What are you doing? Why were you running?”

We stand in the middle of the tunnel, neither of us wanting to answer the others questions.

“I’m going to my room. You’re the one going the wrong way. Off to reminisce about your affair in Aiden’s mum’s room, are we?” I huff and stalk past him to my bungalow.

Chapter 54

Ashley

my soul prostrated at the sight,

I swore I would abide.

Kaed isn’t in the sparring ring. Not that I was planning to go, of course. I just wanted to walk past him, let him see I wasn’t going to go to training this morning after what happened yesterday. Let him know that I’m not thinking about him. At all. But he isn’t there. I stroll past the ring once, then twice, pausing only to lace my already laced boot or glance up at the seas. After thirty minutes, I give up, planting my hands on my hips with an irritated huff. Where the hell is he? Volker filter out towards the mess hall. Maybe he’s already inside? No. If anything, he’d be somewhere brooding, probably sharpening weapons unnecessarily or punishing some poor trainee. Or maybe he went to see Nyk? After all, if something is wrong with him, he’d go to his best friend before anyone else.

“Have you seen Captain Kaed?”

The jail guard salutes. “Not today, Your Highness.”

Frustration twists low in my stomach until a thought snaps into place. The bond. I wonder if it could find him for me. I close my eyes and breathe in slowly, letting myself feel instead of think. After a beat, something stirs in my chest, a faint tingling that spreads outward, then suddenly surges upward. It’s sharp, bright. There. A pull anchors itself between my ribs and tugs; it feels exactly like last night. So that was the bond. Had I been drawn to him without even realising it? Maybe we’re not allowed to argue. When I open my eyes, tiny white sparks flitter in the air above my head, forming a thin, wavering trail. Something like a path. I lift my hand and swish my fingers through them, they fizz against my skin like static. I follow the lights. Past the jail. Past the armoury. Through the side gates until the orderly grates beneath my feet give way to uneven ground, the path growing rougher, pulling me toward the edge of the land. The sparks burn brighter as the heat thickens in the air, the lava ocean coming into view. They stop just behind Kaed, where he’s perched on a boulder. Shoulders slumped and his wings no more than little black wisps. Puffs of solid, inky smoke curl from his fingertips like small pebbles, he shoots them toward the Seas Above, sending another one to collide with it and burst into ash. I had been so determined to find him, but now that I have, I don’t know what to say.

“I’m only here because of the bond.” I plant my hands on my hips. Silence. “What’s wrong with you?”

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he flicks his wrist and another spiral of smoke solidifies, racing toward the Seas. I march over and block his view. His eyes lift to mine briefly and what I see there knocks the breath from my lungs. Emptiness. A sadness so deep it’s swallowed him whole.

“I never thought I’d have to revisit that time in my life,” he murmurs.

“Your affair, you mean?”

“Yes, Ashley.” He sighs. “My affair.” He runs a hand over his freshly cut hair, then scratches his neck. “Magenta made advances for years. I never entertained them.” Without thinking, I clamber onto the boulder beside him.

“One night, Lili and I took a day off. We went to a tavern and drank too much. She slipped something into my drink and left me there. All I remember is Magenta catching me stumbling down an alleyway. She pushed me against a wall and kissed me.” His voice lacks something, its usual power. “The next morning, I woke up next to her at an inn. I don’t remember how I got there.”

“Oh, Kaed. That’s not your fault.” My heart sinks.

“No, it wasn’t,” he admits. “But every time after that, that was my choice. She said if I didn’t comply, she would tell King Herod.”