Betrayals of Spring (Forever Fae #2)(13)

King Oberon motions to the carriage and out comes two beautiful ladies. I recognize the curly blonde-headed one as being Meliantha’s best friend, Elissa, and the other blonde hair beauty is Ariella, Meliantha’s younger sister. Ariella turns in circles to look at the palace and its surroundings in awe. I’ve never seen a Summer fae so fascinated in the Winter Court before. She appears to be more at home here than me. I look over to see that Brayden appears to be fascinated by her actions as well. I narrow my eyes at him and study him for a moment. It’s very odd because he never shows interest in the females— or anything for that matter— other than fighting. I sneak a glance at Ariella and she notices him staring at her. She gives him a flirty smile and the trance he was in seems to break in an instant. I need to remind myself to ask him what that was all about.

He clears his throat and turns away from Ariella to look at King Oberon. He stammers at first but then regains his composure.

“This way, Your Highness. I’ll show you the way,” he insists.

“Thank you,” King Oberon replies. He takes Queen Tatiana by the hand and motions with his other for their servants to help bring the luggage and follow them. The contingent of warriors follows in their wake as well because they will be staying close to the King and Queen’s quarters. My father follows along after King Oberon, and I can hear their laughs echoing off the palace walls as they walk through.

I’m now left with the remaining Summer fae, which includes Meliantha, Ariella, Elissa, Ashur, and Finn. They are all looking at me for direction, except Meliantha who still has her head turned away from me. I really want to see her reaction when she looks at me. I want to see if I affect her as much as she affects me. Ariella and Elissa walk up the steps to wait on the others to dismount their horses.

Ashur dismounts first and comes over to clasp my arm in greeting.

“Thank you, Prince Kalen, for offering to guide us.”

“It is my pleasure, Guardian Ashur,” I offer.

I noticed Meliantha’s body shivered when I spoke, and I also noticed that she shut her eyes tight. Could she be feeling the connection, too? My thoughts are put on hold as the uneasy feeling I had before they arrived returns in full force. I look around quickly to spot the danger, but again, nothing seems wrong until I look up at Finn. His eyes hold a deadly intent that wasn’t there before. He dismounts his horse and walks over to help Meliantha down from hers. She gives him an odd look, and I can tell she feels something is wrong as well. He reaches for her waist and he slides her off her horse to the ground. Finn grabs her hand in a possessive grip and pulls her closer to him. She clearly doesn’t like what he’s doing from the frown appearing on her face. Well, hell, I don’t like what he’s doing, and I believe my reddened face is clear proof of that. The heat rising to my cheeks make them burn, and if I had my way, I would rip off his arms. I tear my anger-filled gaze away from Finn to look at Meliantha. I can see she’s looking down at my clenched hands, Her pensive expression lets me know she can feel my anger.

She bites her lip, and then from out of nowhere she lifts her face slowly to meet mine. Her amethyst-colored eyes bore into mine, and my heart instantly stops. Her eyes go wide and she puts a hand over her chest before sucking in a sharp breath.

The blast from the connection has me weak in the knees, and I would have stumbled back if I didn’t catch myself in time. She can’t deny these feelings now because I know she feels them, too. I see it in her eyes. The look on her face goes from shock to confused, but then it changes to anger.

I’m taken aback; I don’t understand why she would have hostility toward me. I’ve never done anything to her to make her react this way. I thought she would be happy to have this connection. I know her feelings in the past were growing for me each second she spent with me, and I felt the same feelings for her.

Finn’s grip on Meliantha catches my attention. It looks hard and bruising, and what’s really strange is that his expression is one of alarm, not anger. This guy is acting really weird and the vibes I’m getting aren’t good ones at all. I honestly don’t like him being around Meliantha and holding on to her so hard. I reach for her hand, but she quickly pulls away. My chest tightens with rejection.

I’m beginning to worry about her relationship with Finn. Why won’t she let me touch her, and why is she letting Finn do this to her? I don’t understand what’s going on. If we are meant to be together, why is she fighting it? I take a couple of deep breaths to calm my nerves before turning my attention to the group of Summer fae before me.

“I believe it’s time to show you to your quarters now. If you would follow me please,” I announce.

I take them to the back entrance of the palace so we can take the path to where the cottage is located. I’m confused as hell and uncertain about this turn of events. What the hell am I going to do now? I’m engaged to another woman, but have loved someone else this whole time. Now, the one woman I had fallen in love with years ago has changed into a different person and is deeply involved with another man. How did things get so complicated?

I can feel the frustration building, so I quicken my pace to hopefully get the thoughts of killing someone out of my head. I would really love to beat the shit out of Finn right now, but I don’t think that would be such a great idea. Imagining him and Meliantha together all these years make me livid. I know I have had Breena, but I never enjoyed sleeping with her. I shake my head and run my fingers through my hair.