“Leave us,” Drake snapped, and the elderly fae woman who’d obviously been watching over Kira suddenly rose to her feet and curtseyed before discreetly leaving the room.
“I will be right outside if you need anything at all, Your Majesties,” she assured them with one final curtsey at the door. None of them responded. Instead, the three men continued to glare at each other as if they were having a conversation that only they could hear.
Drake was the first to relax even slightly. He huffed out a breath, as though he didn’t have the energy to continue glaring at Menion, and began to shake his head. “This is ridiculous. We all know there’s no changing fate. All of this was supposed to come to pass, and we shouldn’t waste time arguing over Kira when Fate has clearly laid her hand down.”
“What are you saying?” Blake asked. He turned to his brother with a raised eyebrow, “Are you suggesting we share her with this…this foreigner we know nothing about?”
“I’d be happy to answer any of your questions,” Menion assured them with a smirk that suggested he was happy to be the one to rise above it all.
“Umm…hello, I’m sitting right here,” Kira pointed out, beginning to grow even more frustrated with the three of them. “Seeing as I am the fated mate and the one with the visions, shouldn’t I get a say in all of this?”
Kira immediately regretted saying anything the moment the men turned to look at her. They gazed at her expectantly, almost as if they hoped she would have all the answers. The truth was, she was feeling just as clueless as they seemed to be.
“What is it you want?” Drake asked, his voice filled with hope. Kira gulped past the hard lump that had begun to form in her throat.
“I learned long ago that it isn’t about what we want,” she shrugged and glanced at all three of them before she added, “Fate has chosen our path for us, and it seems we need to learn to get along.”
“There’s just one problem,” Menion announced, and when Kira turned to look at him, she found his face was screwed up in a look of frustration, and perhaps even guilt. “I didn’t come looking for my fated mate.”
Pain lanced through Kira’s heart at his words. Though she hadn’t seen everything in her vision as Fate did not give her every little snippet of knowledge, she had a pretty good idea of why Menion had come in search of her. Yet it still hurt to hear the words said out loud.
“You’re welcome to leave at any time,” Blake announced, stepping out of the way of the door, and gesturing for the prince to leave. Menion’s face screwed up further, and he closed his eyes, looking more than a little pained.
“I can’t leave until I get what I came for,” he announced, opening his eyes again to look pleadingly at Kira.
Chapter 8 - Drake
“What exactly did you come here for?” Drake asked when he couldn’t take it any longer. He drew closer to the bed where Kira was still sitting, feeling jealous that Menion was so close to her, able to touch her. He moved around to the opposite side of the bed of the foreign prince, keeping one eye on him at all times. The rest of his attention was entirely on Kira. She looked much better than she had the last time he’d seen her. Having been to check on her every day since their return from the mountains, Drake was more than a little disappointed that he hadn’t been around when she’d awoken. Leaving Menion with that honor made him more than a little disgruntled. What if she believes I don’t care? a small voice in the back of his mind wondered over and over, the feeling gnawing at his stomach until he could barely take it anymore.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Blake demanded when nobody bothered to answer Drake’s question. “He came for her.”
The King of the Winter Isle stepped forward, his hands tightening into fists at his sides as though he was barely managing to control his urge to throw a fist in Menion’s direction. “I’ve got news for you. This is my kingdom, and Kira here was found on my territory. That makes her my subject and I will do whatever it takes to protect what’s mine.”
Drake didn’t miss the way Kira cringed at his brother’s words, but Blake obviously did. He was far too busy glaring at Menion. He looked taller than usual, his back obviously ridged with tension.
“I don’t think it’s quite that simple,” Drake observed, looking from Kira to Menion and back again. “You know what he came for, don’t you?”
“She is an oracle,” Menion pointed out, his voice almost irritated. Drake had to bite the inside of his lip to stop himself from making a sharp retort. Instead, he took a deep breath and shook his head before responding.
“She may be, but we aren’t, and I do believe my brother and I deserve some answers,” he insisted, crossing his arms over his chest. His hands were itching to reach down and touch Kira, but it was the last thing he could do right now. The last thing he needed was to look weak in front of his fellow royals. Instead, he forced his focus onto Menion, glaring at the younger prince with a grim set to his jaw.
The Prince of the Forgotten Isle closed his eyes again, a pained expression crossing his face once more. He seemed to take a deep breath, his Adam’s apple quivering before he deemed to open his eyes and explain, “I…I came here because my mother is dying.”
Drake allowed the shock to register on his face for only a second before he quickly controlled himself again. Blake appeared to have had the same reaction before a suspicious scowl took over his face.
“What does that have to do with Kira?” Blake asked the very question that was on the tip of Drake’s lips. Both twins glared at Menion then, both ready to defend the prize they’d found in the mountains. What right do we have to her? Drake asked himself, feeling utterly undeserving of the beautiful woman who sat before him. The expression on her face said she was growing increasingly frustrated with their alpha male bullshit, and Drake had to admit it was beginning to annoy him too. Yet the urge to protect and defend her was an almost constant tension inside him, one he felt wouldn’t ease unless he was able to touch her, to know and feel that she was safe and well in his arms.
Almost as if she could sense the tension within him, the beautiful blonde oracle reached out and placed a hand on his forearm. At the warmth of her touch, Drake’s arms instantly began to relax, falling back to his sides. Her hand slipped down his arm and gripped his hand, squeezing his fingers as she offered him a gentle smile. “Why don’t we all calm down and let Menion explain?” she asked.
She then turned back to Menion expectantly, releasing Drake’s hand. His skin continued to tingle where she’d touched him, and the urge to reach for her was almost uncontrollable. Instead, he contented himself with dropping down onto the edge of the bed, hoping that being closer might help to ease the anxiety surging through him.
“You heard the woman,” Blake snarled through gritted teeth. Out of the corner of his eye Drake saw his brother’s wings fluttering slightly, as if he too was having a hard time controlling himself. Drake wasn’t surprised. His brother had always been the reactive, impulsive one. It was his own reactions that were startling him most of all. He had always been the calm, level-headed one, and yet here he was, ready to throw himself across the bed at the slightest hint that the foreign prince might wish to do Kira any harm. “Get on with it and tell us why you’re here.”
Menion didn’t answer straight away. He turned to look at Kira, as if he needed her strength just to get the words out. It wasn’t until she connected her gaze with his that his shoulders lifted, and his chest seemed to inflate in preparation.
“I’ve searched the world for a cure for my mother’s condition,” he announced with a grim tone of voice, and Drake knew instantly that the results of his search had been in vain. “I’ve searched high and low for treatments and cures, I’ve tried everything, but nothing has worked. Kira is my last chance.”
“So, you do intend to try to take her?” Blake demanded. Out of the corner of his eye, Drake saw his brother reach for his hip, and obviously the sword that was usually sheathed there. Drake was more than a little relieved that he and his brother didn’t wear their weapons around the palace. Had either one of them had a weapon right then, blood may have been spilled.