Blakeshire (Insight #9)(85)

“I just needed to hear it, Madison Marie. Just once.”

I smiled absentmindedly, hearing something close to that coming from another voice.

“What?” he asked, searching my odd expression.

“I think I’m going mad.”

“Because you love me?” he said with a boyish smile.

I moved my head from side to side. “That is the only thing keeping me sane.”

His stare questioned me.

“I think one of the two of us has a guardian angel.”

His smile grew wide. “If that angel gave us this moment, I will forevermore be in its debt.”

“I think we are being prepped for war, that this darkness is more than you assume.”

“I never assume anything. And whatever war is waiting on us can wait a little longer.” His hands glided along my arms. “You’re freezing.”

His strong arms moved around my body as he picked me up gracefully and carried me into the hall, then to the doors of my room.

“You know, I was supposed to show you this room, see your expression. This job of mine robbed me of that, too.”

“They made it seem like you had been building it for a while.”

His eyes grew distant for a brief second. “It was the only thing me and my father did together. It was silent bonding. He carried all the materials to this dimension. Nothing is from Esterious. He did the same for my mother’s quarters.”

A glance from Drake opened the doors to my chamber.

You would think that after that breakthrough we’d just had that the last thing that would cross my mind would be Britain telling me that the bed before me belonged to Willow. Internally, I kicked myself and gripped Drake’s hand as we crossed the room.

I glanced at the stone floor, the basins of paint, water, the fire, and breathed out. That was my style of art, not Willow’s, so I assumed that was what Aden was referring to when he said Drake added to the room. Before I could wonder what Drake could have taken away, I pushed my wayward thoughts away.

“Aden said you added to this room,” I murmured as I pulled back the thick duvet.

I saw him tense as he helped me with all the pillows. “Did he show you?”

I nodded toward the colorful walls of the room. “I think it’s clear I figured it out.”

Drake glanced to the room, the paint, then back to me. “That was the first thing I designed. I knew you liked messes,” he said with a wink.

“What, then?” I asked, completely perplexed.

He urged me on the bed and climbed in next to me. I saw him messing with the bed post near the curtain, but I was still at a loss. I heard a hum at the foot of the bed and saw something moving: it was a black wall. I edged back on the bed as I heard him laugh under his breath. “Calm down.”

He pointed at the wall, then all of a sudden I understood it was a massive TV. I grinned when I saw a paused episode of I Love Lucy on the screen.

“You added a TV?”

“That and a stereo system. In my defense, they do not use televisions in Chara or Esterious, so I should get some slack for not having one ready.”

“Where did you find one this big?”

“Your dad told me where to get one.”

“My father?” I asked as I pointed to my chest.

Drake smirked. “I complimented him that night I met him. He told me where to buy and suggested that I buy the next size up.”

“I left you alone with him for five seconds,” I playfully complained. “Does he have you watching football, too?”

“He mentioned it. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled that we were breaking this screen in with this DVD.”

He raised his arm, inviting me to tuck myself against him. Nothing had ever felt more natural.

He hit ‘Play,’ resuming the last episode we had fallen asleep watching. His fingertips tenderly traced my arm as he laughed on cue with the simplistic craziness of this classic.

I let my body relax against him, but my mind was going haywire. I felt an overwhelming sense of trepidation and had no idea why.





Chapter Eighteen

Drake




I’m sure she thought I was relaxed, at ease with her in my arms as we watched this black and white comedy. But my mind was racing. The meeting I had with Landen and the others promised a malicious future; the only thing positive out of the experience was a forfeited bond with the men I would trust my life, my kingdom with.

Landen and the others had predicted that with this trial there would be five sacrifices needed…two were his. I already knew the other three were mine, and now I had a sick feeling that I knew exactly what those three sacrifices would be.

I had little fear over any explosion or this trial until I discovered that she had been alone with Donalt. What he told her made the ice in my veins wave constantly. The vague dream I had of that night was becoming less ambiguous, and knowing that there was a child and that that child was damaged broke my heart. I knew now that I had failed two people that meant the world to me, then and now, and if I didn’t figure something out soon I would do so again.

Every time the ice became too much, I thought of when she told me she loved me. I had imagined that moment a thousand times over and never once thought I would see that kind of fear in her eyes. The dark side of me told me she was forced into that moment; the very slim positive side led me to believe that her eyes were just opened, that she believed every word I spoke, that I had been forgiven for all the wrongs I’d committed in this life.