Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(44)
Exasperated, he took me by the shoulders and bent his head to the side so he could see my face. “Ariella, no I don’t blame you. Is that what you’ve been thinking this whole time?”
“Yes,” Brayden interrupted, coming to my side. “I know you lost your brother and you are grieving, but in the future you don’t just walk away from a royal when they are speaking to you.”
“Brayden,” I snapped. “He’s my—”
He held up his hand to stop me and sighed. “You didn’t let me finish, angel,” he murmured out loud, but then finished silently, “I know he’s your friend, and with that being said he should’ve let you be there for him as a friend. He upset you and that’s not acceptable.”
“You’re such a caveman,” I pointed out truthfully. “You can’t protect me from everything.”
“No,” he admitted, “but I can certainly try.”
He then leveled his stare at Kamden and continued, “I know Ariella is your friend, but you still have a duty to respect her as a royal. She was with him when he died, and she tried to save him. She’s going through her own pain with his loss as well.”
Kamden closed his eyes and bowed his head. “I know, and I’m sorry. Did he say anything before he died?”
A tear fell down my cheek at the remembrance of Lukas’ last words. “Yes, he did, Kam. He told me to tell you farewell and that he missed you.”
Kamden sighed and ran his hands through his messy, dark hair. “I can’t believe he’s gone. It doesn’t feel real. I always thought he was invincible.”
Brayden clapped him on the shoulder and smiled reassuringly. “Lukas was a friend of mine and one of my best warriors. He will never be forgotten.”
Nodding, Kamden half-smiled and said, “I’m sorry to have bothered you tonight, but I honestly did feel bad about leaving you like that, Ariella. I appreciate you trying to be there for me, and I didn’t like leaving with the way things ended with us.”
Embracing him again, I squeezed him tight and breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully, now I could rest knowing that he was safe and that he didn’t blame me for his brother’s death even though I wasn’t strong enough to help him. That guilt would stay with me forever.
“You’re welcome, Kam. That’s why I sent for Zanna. I knew you needed someone to be there for you,” I explained.
Kamden pulled away with wide eyes. “You sent for Zanna? Where is she?”
“What do you mean where is she?” I shrieked. “She was supposed to be with you. She got here a week ago, Kam. Are you trying to tell me you haven’t seen her?”
“No,” he expressed worriedly. “I spent some time with my family, but the rest of the time I spent going to all the places Lukas and I would go to when I was a kid.”
I didn’t want Kamden to hear what I was saying, so I looked to Brayden and said silently, “What the hell, Brayden? You don’t think anything has happened to her, do you?”
He shrugged and furrowed his brows. “I’m not sure, angel. She might be in the village at his parents dwelling. He said he didn’t stay there the whole time. She could be there waiting on him.”
“Good point,” I agreed. “But if not then we’re going to need to find her.”
Trying to shake off the uneasy feelings I knew he had plaguing his mind, Kamden spoke up, trying to sound optimistic, “You know, she’s probably at my parents’ house. I haven’t been back there in a few days so she might be there. I’ll go back and see if they’ve seen her.”
Deep in my heart, I had a bad feeling that she wasn’t going to be at his parents’ house. Please let it just be the worry and sadness of recent events making me paranoid, I thought to myself.
Kamden opened the front door, but I caught his arm before he could leave. “If she’s not there then we need to look for her. It’s been a week, and the last thing she needs to do is go searching for you when the sorcerer will do anything to get to me. We have the palace and this place protected under a spell, but outside of the perimeter its fair game. Staying inside the protection spell is crucial,” I stated adamantly.
He nodded and stepped out onto the front porch. “I’m sure I’ll find her. Again, I’m sorry for disturbing you.”
Brayden shut the door and ran his hands through his hair. “As much as I wanted to be angry at him for disturbing us, I guess it worked out for the best. At least now you won’t be preoccupied with worrying about him.”
Yawning, I collapsed onto the soft, leathery couch and leaned my head back on the cool fabric. “I’m just glad he doesn’t hate me,” I mumbled sleepily. “I hope he finds Zanna.”
“He will,” Brayden said. “Now come on and let’s go to bed. You’re tired and we have a big day tomorrow.”
“What about …” I began, wondering if we were going to finish our bonding.
He shook his head and took my hand, pulling me off of the leathery chair. “We have tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. At least now I know you want to finish the bond with me. Once everyone leaves tomorrow we will have the night to do whatever it is you please.”
I smiled and bit my lip. “Yes, we do, and I’m going to take full advantage when tomorrow night comes.”