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“I wouldn’t put it past you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Obviously, we won’t do anything without her permission first.”
I stood again, the idea gaining momentum. “In fact, let’s go ask her now.”
Cirilla dropped her feet to the ground and bounced out of her chair, following me out of the study toward the hallway of the main floor.
“So I guess things went well in Ironhelm?” she cooed from behind me.
I shot her a scathing look over my shoulder but didn’t respond as I flagged down the nearest servant.
“Have you seen Miss Elix this afternoon?” I demanded.
“She’s in the gardens with her brother, Alpha.”
I froze in my spot as Cirilla headed out, the enchantress not noticing my pause until she was halfway down the hall.
“Are you coming or what?” she grumbled. “You were the one in a big hurry.”
I stared after her. “I didn’t realize Saint was here.”
Why didn’t he stop by to see me?
“That’s actually a good thing,” Cirilla said, shaking me out of my growing mood. “I can take his blood, too, for comparison. It might make things easier.”
But I wasn’t thinking about bloodwork or Elix’s powers at that moment. I wondered if Elix had told her brother about us—and why Saint hadn’t told me he was coming.
Is it because he knows, and he’s furious with me?
I cringed inwardly as we headed outside, unsure of what I was about to encounter in Elix’s protective older brother.
Don’t be ridiculous. He’s also your oldest friend. He knows you don’t mean any harm to his sister.
But another voice inside me reminded me that she was still his sister.
I met Cirilla’s stride, and we exited the building, immediately resting our eyes on the siblings near the pool, between the deck and the rose garden. I drew in a breath as we got closer, waiting for Saint to look at me accusingly, but when his gaze shifted toward me, he offered me a wide smile.
“There he is,” Saint announced, rising from his spot on a garden chair to clap me on the back. “I wasn’t sure if you were in the middle of work or what, so I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
Well, that explained why he hadn’t stopped to see me—and his jovial attitude proved that he likely didn’t know anything about what had transpired between me and Elix.
“You should have had someone send for me,” I told him. “I would have come out earlier if I’d known you were here.”
Elix cast me a covert glance from her chaise lounge, and I knew then that she hadn’t mentioned a word of our blossoming relationship to her brother. A mild pang of relief shot through me at the revelation, but then another stab of guilt followed. We couldn’t keep it from Saint forever—and I didn’t want to. The way I felt about Elix shouldn’t be kept a secret.
Sun peeked through fluffy clouds of ivory, and Saint retook his seat across from his sister as I eyed Cirilla.
“Will you stay?” I offered. “I’ll have a suite done up for you.”
“Just for dinner,” Saint replied. “I have an early morning tomorrow.”
“You know, you could come work for me—” I started to say, but the indignation in Saint’s eyes made me rethink my words. “Or just visit more often.”
“I was just telling him that,” Elix quipped, crossing her ankles. My eyes trailed over the curve of her bronzing calves, toward the white hem of her shorts.
“I’m here now, aren’t I?” he teased, reaching for his drink. He sucked a long sip through the straw and set it back on the table.
“It’s a good thing you are,” Cirilla piped in before I could allow for any segue into the conversation. “I need your blood.”
