AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh.” Sounding disappointed, Allera’s shoulders fell. “Well, what color was she wearing?”
My legs started to wobble, my knees no longer wanted to hold me. I sat on the edge of the bed and hung my hands between my knees as I lowered my head, defeated.
“Blue,” I admitted quietly. “She wore blue. She was the one who’s…pregnant.”
Allera breathed out a long sad sigh and sat beside me.
When she said nothing, I finally demanded in a hoarse voice, “Well? Is my one true love the queen or not?”
“No,” Allera answered.
My shoulders fell with relief. “Oh, thank God,” I breathed. “It probably wouldn’t do for Father to send us all the way here to make peace with the Donnelleans only for me to cause a war by bonding with the king’s wife.”
“No,” Allera agreed quietly only to growl, “Instead you’ve bound yourself to her sister, who’s married to the king’s first cousin, best friend, and top advisor.”
I whirled to her, my mouth gaping. “You mean, that quiet, moody fucker? Soren?” My eyes narrowed with disgust. “She’s married to him?”
That bastard had put a baby in my one true love?
I’d slaughter him.
Allera rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t act jealous.”
“I’m not acting!” Then I groaned and buried my face into my hands. “Fuck me. How is this happening? I’m jealous of a complete stranger. I don’t know him. Hell, I don’t know her! How can I feel—”
“I know,” Allera said quietly and patted my back. “It doesn’t seem possible, especially when it first happens. But this is exactly how it progresses for all of us.”
I stared at her, not sure how Allera made it through each day without her one true love.
She touched the side of her eye where her mark had faded. “I’m sure the pull from the mark is why the tattoo fades after one dies. The pain with it there would probably be more than we could bear. The misery’s quite intense without it, anyway. I’m almost glad it’s gone.” Except, I could tell she wasn’t glad at all. She wanted her mark back. She wanted her one true love back.
I gently touched the side of her eye, mourning with her. “I’m sorry,” I said. “For all you’ve suffered.”
Guilt and agony consumed me.
This was my fault. If only I’d just—
She smiled sadly and wrapped her fingers around my wrist, accepting my sympathy.
“Will it always itch so much?” I asked. “When she’s near?”
I could still feel my mate’s presence in the castle, but it wasn’t as strong as it had been while we’d been in the Throne Room together.
Allera grinned and rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t itch. It tingles. And no. The first glimpse will be the strongest, but you’ll always be aware when she’s near. And now that you’ve had your first sighting, you’ll always know which way to go to find her.”
I nodded, glad to hear that, though I don’t know why I should be glad. I shouldn’t care, and yet I wanted to be able to sense her presence and know she was out there, that she was alive and well. I liked realizing I could always locate her if I needed to. It provided a security that eased something restless in my soul… Something that hadn’t even existed until I’d entered the Iron Castle.
But damn, the tingling had been intense. I had felt like a dog who’d heard a whistle no one else could receive. I’d nearly started spinning in circles, snapping at my tail and howling out my distress, right there in the Throne Room.
“Any more questions?” Allera asked.
I turned to her. “Yeah.” I gave a self-derisive grin. “What am I going to do about this? I can’t exactly claim her since she’s already married.”
“No, you can’t.” Her sympathetic smile and watery eyes turned hard before she answered, “There’s only one thing you can do then. Nothing.”
I sat up straighter, wincing in confusion. “What do you mean nothing?”
I couldn’t do nothing. My one true love… She was in this very palace.
