Blakeshire (Insight #9)(35)

I jolted back before he could see me, and when I did I ran into a mountain of a man who cupped my mouth and leaned me against the wall. Scratch man; this was a teen boy, maybe a year or so younger than me, but his grey eyes held far more years in them. My hands braced against his chest, feeling the thin metal armor that all of Drake’s guards wore under their suits.

If he weren’t suffocating the hell out of me, I might have mused at how this boy was surely a heartbreaker; nearly every feature on his face was angelic.

“See me,” he whispered as he ducked his head down to look into my eyes as his grip on me lessened.

It came instantly. His name was Zander. He was an orphaned boy that my Drake had saved long ago. A soothsayer, among other things. He was the only one Drake had unshielded trust with outside of his family, but even that statement wasn’t true—Drake considered him family.

I almost bit his hand in frustration and jealousy when I saw what he really wanted to show me: Donalt telling Drake he needed to take a woman. That he needed to practice for when his queen arrived. Then I saw a clever plan hatched. Zander had the gift of dream persuasion. Together, he and Drake had found a weak-minded girl and used her—her dreams anyway. This girl, who was breathtaking, thought that she had a private relationship with Drake. She worshipped him and was on his arm at every formal occasion. Zander was quick to point out Drake’s bored gaze, his half-hearted attempts to play his role with her.

In a deep, near silent whisper he spoke, “You will not see the real her before the next moon, so when you do see this image know that it is a ploy to bring you down.” He leaned in next to my ear and said, “Give them hell, Sovereign.”

Once that was said, Zander released his hold on me.

“Look who finally woke up,” he said in an elevated voice.

He leaned in the doorway. “I’m heading back now. I’ll be sure to express how hard I tried, yet again, to get you to return.” And with that, he winked at me, then strolled past me out the front door.

My face was flushed with both embarrassment and anger. Zander only wanted to give Drake an excuse before he needed one, but he managed to prove that I was weaker than I thought. I had no idea he was anywhere near me.

As casually as I could, I stepped over the threshold and into the kitchen.

Drake’s entrancing eyes connected with mine instantly; there went my heart again. After countless dreams and a week of being in his presence, I should be over this. My heart should not react this way at the sight of him.

A daring smile lingered on the edges of Drake’s lips as he let his eyes fall to Preston and playfully narrowed his stare at him.

“Your breakfast is almost ready,” Preston said to me as he pulled me to the stool that was next to his.

Okay, so I wasn’t crazy. He could speak and hear. With questioning eyes, I moved my stare back to Drake. He wasn’t looking at me anymore; he was tending to the stove, working that spatula like a short order pro.

“I was going to bring your breakfast up to you and hope that it smelled good enough to wake you up,” he said over his shoulder to me.

I felt butterflies flutter in my stomach and was thankful I woke up on my own. More than likely, he would have taken the way I’d woken up as a rejection to his kindness.

“Is it late?” I asked, glancing to the window, wondering what time it was.

“No, but it would have been nice if you had woken up yesterday.” Drake glanced over his shoulder at me. “I’ve missed you.”

“Yesterday?” I breathed.

He nodded once as he went back to working on breakfast. “We didn’t go to bed until a few hours before dawn, but I thought surely you would wake up last night.”

“I was dreaming deep,” I muttered as I felt Preston’s stare. My gaze met his; this child emanated peace and calm. Even though that dream was bothering me, I couldn’t help not being troubled with it at the moment.

For some odd reason, I felt an instinct kick in. I reached my arm around him and pulled his tiny body against mine, wanting assurance that he was breathing, that I could feel his energy, his life in my arms.

“I’m okay,” Preston whispered as he leaned into me just as naturally as I had pulled him to me.

Drake glanced over his shoulder and smiled sweetly when he saw our embrace.

I held Preston against me until Drake set a plate before him and me. Daringly, I smiled at Drake as he pulled up a stool and set a plate in front of himself.

“Since when do you cook?”

He shrugged his shoulders slightly. “Call me paranoid.”

“Not of cooking,” I said after I let out a moan. This had to be the best omelet I had ever tasted. The flavors were so vibrant, managing to touch every single one of my taste buds at once.

“Good?” he asked as he watched me chew every bit with utter care. All I could do was nod. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until now, but even if I were full I would have devoured this. I could swear I could taste the care that went into every ingredient.

The three of us ate in silence. They never signed in front of me, but I could feel their stares and smirks speaking volumes.

“Where is everyone?” I asked when I had finished my feast.

“Who is everyone?” Drake asked just before he finished the last of his orange juice.

“Charlie and Draven, Olivia and Chrispin.”