AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Bedroom is fine," he grunted, his voice turning as husky as mine had been a few moments ago, only I felt like his voice had been that way because it was probably with dread, whereas mine was from how much his offer touched me. I knew he didn't really want to marry me, that this was all being forced, and he could have and should have, been able to marry someone he actually loved. Guilt tore into my heart at the idea.
"Why can't you just talk out here? We're all family," Finn said. He looked a little pouty, like he didn't want to be left out, but this was Kai's request, and I would honor that.
I stood and looked at my Atlantean, sending a burst of love through our bond as I spoke. "Everyone is allowed to have their secrets. You and I might be mates, but Kai isn't, so out of all of us, he's allowed his secrets, but for the record, so are you. I hope you don't feel you have to keep them and that you can share anything with me. In fact, I hope all of you feel that way, but I understand if you don't. Not everything is easy to talk about, or something you want to talk about, for that matter. I get that, believe me."
"Is your secret that you're not mad at us anymore?" Griff asked as he came forward from the corner he'd sequestered himself into.
"You know I couldn't stay mad at you, any of you, but I was hurt deeply. That takes more than a sweet reunion to get over. We'll be back to normal before you know it, but I want to listen to whatever Kai has to say for now. When we're done, if he wants to talk to you about it, he will, but that's completely up to him, and no picking it out of my head either," I said as I glanced over at Dresden and Niall.
"We would never. If someone wants to share a secret, that's not our place to discover it or go searching for it." Niall was so damn noble sometimes that it hurt to think about how badly Ailsa had used that to her advantage. It was also amazing to think that he'd turned on her nonetheless and saved me.
Hadn't he?
Why couldn't I remember who actually rescued me?
I only remembered being out of the dungeon and in the secret passageway with the queen, Griff, and Niall, but how did I get there? Something to think about later.
"I know more about Kai than I ever wished to in the first place, so he's welcome to whatever secret he has left," Dresden said with a snort.
"Fuck you too, man," Kai grunted, but it was soft, and I knew neither of them meant anything by their comments.
I turned to Kai, still sitting in the awkward chair, and extended my hand. "Come on, let's go talk."
When his hand slid into mine, it was like the earth itself shifted under my feet, and the scent of the loamy forest from outside seemed to sweep into my nose, tantalizing my senses as Kai stood, not really using me to help him get out of the chair at all.
I looked down at the newly vacant seat. "Is that thing even comfortable? It looks like it would be hell on your back."
"Actually, it makes you feel weightless. You should try it sometime," Kai said with a soft smile as we walked toward the bedroom.
A glance over my shoulder at the contraption that claimed to be a chair had me shaking my head. "I don't know about that."
When his fingers wrapped around the door handle, I had to tell myself to calm down. My heart was galloping in my chest, and my breath was coming faster.
9
Tessa
The door closed behind us with a soft snick. It was a sound I'd become all too familiar with when Kai had been coming to check on me and trying to get me to eat. The man had been dedicated in his pursuit. I'd give him that.
He took my hand and sat me on the edge of the bed while he paced in front of me. It didn’t really make me feel warm and fuzzy about whatever he had to share with me.
“What’s wrong, Kai?” I asked eventually when I couldn’t take the sight of him walking in front of me one more time.
“I know what I said out there,” he began, and my breath froze in my chest. Was he going to change his mind? “But there are things you need to know first before you just agree to it. Things about me that we’ve never talked about.”
That implied we had talked about anything to do with him, which in all honesty, we hadn’t. I didn’t want to be snarky, though, not when he was trying to connect with me for the first time. “Is this about the guard calling you a lord?”
He nodded. “Marriage in Agartha is serious. My people don’t believe in divorce unless there are special circumstances, like abuse or something. It’s why most Agarthans aren’t actually married. It’s easier to just be in a relationship than to get married and end up unhappy with the person.”
“But if that’s the case, then isn’t marriage just an empty ceremony?” I asked, even though what I really wanted to know was what all this had to do with him being a lord or whatever. I had to trust that Kai would get there eventually.
He shook his head. “No, there’s more to it than that. It’s a public declaration that you belong to one another and that no one else can ever compete with that person for your heart. You claim each other in front of everyone who shows up to the wedding, and weddings are always open to the entire Agarthan population.”
Turns out I was more impatient than I thought. “So what does this have to do with you being a lord?"
“I’m not a lord—”
“But he called you—”
