AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t hear you. Don’t care. They can suck it in hell.”
Henry heard and glared. Pearl offered him a sugary-sweet smile. When they were gone, Pearl and Ruby began to fill Emerald in about the things she had missed.
“You see, everything’s been taken care of and you had nothing to worry about, to begin with. So, please maintain this non-nagging, non-uptight state you’re in and if you need another vacation to keep you in this state, then we would be more than happy to take over the household for you.” Pearl winked, throaty voice brimming with humor. The short woman reached up and rested her arms on the two’s shoulders, drawing them together. “Now, it’s a lovely afternoon. How about you freshen up, Em, and we can head out for drinks later? My treat.”
“I’m in, as long as it’s not the last bar,” Ruby said. “You were flirting like crazy with Ken and Maddox said the poor man was starting to fall head over heels for you.”
“No, he wasn’t,” Pearl denied. “If he was, that’s not my problem. Besides, head over heels is what Maddox is for you. You guys just can’t keep your hands off each other. And don’t think I didn’t see you sneak to the back last time and come out all disheveled and smug. It’s disgusting.”
Ruby turned pink. “We were just admiring the moon and getting away from all the noise.”
“Sure. While he railed you well, I bet.”
“Pearl!”
The banter went on, and listening to it felt familiar and comforting. But something was missing, and it wasn’t until Pearl started teasing Ruby that Emerald realized what it was. There had been teasing like this, too, in the Winter Court, but with Rick in Pearl’s role and guffawing his ass off when he managed to get a rise out of the receiving party—and in most cases, that was either her, Yu, or Erin. Her body tightened, remembering his infectious grin and Yu’s unfailing brightness. She remembered her and Rick’s last moment together, filled with so much passion that she could do nothing but drown in it.
“Anyway,” Ruby continued. “Let’s have Em get some rest and see if she wants to join us later. She just got home.”
Home was Rick, not Broom's Isle. She had nothing to prove here and nothing to stay for except her sisters, who were as fiercely independent as she was and would do just fine without her. She had nothing to prove to Rick, either, but being with him made her happier and more whole because…
I love him.
She was in love with him. She was so blindly, irrevocably in love with him that it was ridiculous. Crazy. Wonderful.
Oh, heavens, why did she agree when he told her she could leave? Why did she act cool and unaffected when she should have thrown a temper tantrum and fought for what she felt? Like a dam breaking, everything gushed out of her before the truth of her feelings blared loud and clear.
“I can’t breathe,” she blurted out, stopping the conversation immediately.
“What?” Ruby moved in and patted her here and there. Energy flowed as Emerald’s youngest sister checked her lungs with magic as if that was the problem. Emerald barked out a laugh while the two of them gaped at her. When she was calmer, she inhaled deeply.
“I have to go back,” Emerald clarified—not that it clarified as Pearl’s brows shot up.
“Back where?” Pearl made a sound. “Backthere?”
“I was afraid.”
“You want to go back to a court you were afraid of?”
“Not the court. I could take that court and what they dealt me. I wasn’t afraid of the court.”
Pearl frowned. “I’m not sure I’m following.”
“Him.”
“Em, I swear if you keep talking in riddles and not speak plainly, we will be going at it in circles…”
Ruby had remained silent the whole time, brown eyes steadily gazing. When she finally spoke, her voice was still soft.
“You were afraid of what you felt for him.”
Pearl’s eyes nearly bugged out, volleying back and forth between them.
“You were always afraid of emotions, Em, but now you aren’t anymore,” Ruby continued. Emerald’s mouth went dry, her throat feeling funny. Her heart felt funny too.
“Not anymore?” Pearl squawked. “That’s crazy. Emerald wouldn’t just change for a guy and wouldn’t just change overnight when her head ruled her for years and…”
Silence.
