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Chapter 21
Eurig
Bree waseager to head straight into the lands of the Wilde Fae, her intense need to save both Rafe and Taveon overwhelming the logic in her mind. Eurig understood. He was no stranger to torment or the realization that you would do anything to save the ones you loved. But Eurig was not about to let Bree rush into a dangerous situation half-cockedeither.
It was far too late to be trekking through the forest at this hour. The two of them had endured attacks already, and if they wanted to beat the Wilde Fae, they would be much better off resting instead of rushing through a bloodied forest once again. So, Eurig insisted they stay in the village for the night. He had moved all of the villagers into their beds earlier in the day, but there were still a handful of open ones they were able to use to rest for thenight.
The beds were in the same cottage, though in different rooms of the house. To Eurig, it felt like Bree was miles away instead of only feet from where he lay. With a groan, he rolled over on the hard mattress to stare up at the wooden ceiling. He wanted nothing more than to go to her. He had seen the way she looked into his eyes the night before in the forest clearing when they’d been healing each other’s wounds. There had been something in her expression, something he had never seenbefore.
And it had scared the hell out ofhim.
He couldn’t help but be drawn to her, but he knew it was wrong. For one, he knew she was spoken for. Either by Rafe or by Taveon, he wasn’t sure. They definitely both loved her, and her actions made it clear that she loved them, too. There was no room for Eurig in the equation, no matter how beautiful she looked when the moonlight caressed herskin.
The floorboards creaked, and he shifted toward the door to find Bree hovering just inside of his room. She had found a loose tunic in the wardrobe, one that barely hit the top of her thighs. Eurig swallowed hard and tried to avert his gaze, but he couldn’t help but drink in the sight of her smoothskin.
“Can you not sleep?” Eurig asked, his voice rough with an emotion he could not let hersee.
She toed the wooden floor with her bare feet. “Not really. It’s kind of hard to relax knowing what tomorrow brings. We have to infiltrate the Wilde Fae. The fate of the Court and everyone I care about depends on what happens when we do. If wefail…”
“We won’t fail. I will not allow it.” Years ago, Eurig had vowed to do whatever he could for Taveon. It was why he’d come to the castle in the first place, and it was why he’d stayed even after discovering the training he would be forced to do. And it was what had driven him to seek answers beyond the castle, to find a way to bring his old friend out of his slumber. But it was not his only reason anymore. Eurig felt driven by something more, and that something more was standing right in front ofhim.
“Yeah, but it looks like you can’t sleep either.” Bree took a timid step toward him, but she averted her gaze, as if she couldn’t bear to look at him. “If you’re not worried, then what isit?”
“Oh, I worry about a lot of things.” Eurig pushed up from the bed and settled his feet on the floor. “I worry about that dead raven. I worry what will happen to Taveon if we are wrong. And I worry about you. Don’t think I can’t see how much this is tearing youapart.”
“You worry about…me?” Eurig swore that Bree’s cheeks flushed withcolor.
“Of course I do,” he said. “I can see how much you care about themboth.”
“Them both?” Bree asked, her face screwing up in confusion. “Who do youmean?”
Eurig stood and took one slow step toward Bree, as if his body was moving out of its own volition. “Rafferty. Taveon. Who else would I be talkingabout?”
Bree’s eyes widened, and she nodded. “You could have meant Taveon, Rafe, or Dagen. Or anyone else who calls the castle home. I do care about them all, youknow.”
Lord Dagen. Did he hold a piece of Bree’s heart aswell?
“When you say that you care about them…” Eurig stopped himself, and he took a step back. The direction of this conversation needed to change. Her answer did not matter. He knew the truth. She belonged to one of them and not to him. And even if she did not, Bree deserved far more than a bastard outcast from a little plank above thesea.”
Bree’s entire face was the color of blood, and she stammered when she finally replied. “Are you asking me what I think you’reasking?”
“No,” he said, turning slightly away and clenching hisjaw.
“Yes, you are,” Bree said. “I can tell what you’re doing. You’re trying to pretend that you don’t want to know the answer to your question, but I can tell that youdowant to hear it. So, I’m going to tellyou.”
Eurig’s gut clenched tight. “Bree,don’t.”
“It’s true. Rafe and I are in some sort of…relationship. A romantic one.” Bree sucked in a deep breath. “As for the others, Lord Dagen and King Taveon, we share something special, but I can’t explain it. And I know they care about me,too.”
“So, you are a taken female. You have been spoken for.” He hated the words, even though they were true. No,especiallybecause they weretrue.
“I don’t know what I am. But I do know that I care about more than one male alone, and as confusing as it is, I refuse to believe there is anything wrong with it.” Bree sucked in a deep breath, and she stepped up before Eurig, tucking her finger underneath his chin and forcing him to meet her eyes. “And when I say that I care about more than one, that includesyou.”
