Time flowed differently in Mythlandria, making it hard to keep track of how long I’d been here. Harder still was finding the dark Faerie among the strange and often terrifying creatures I encountered. Every morning I woke up suffocating with guilt and worry over my mom. What if I didn’t get back in time? What if it was already too late? Having questioned everyone I could on how to get home it was painfully clear no one was willing or able to help me. Except for perhaps the dark Faerie. And no one wanted to talk about him at all.
Then every morning Adrius arrived like a breath of air, with an invitation to breakfast in one of the many lush gardens. Hard to say which was yummier, but the plates of sensually displayed vine-ripened fruits and honey cakes were almost as tempting as he was.
Adrius smiled, looking devastatingly gorgeous dressed in dark green and black. This morning he had a bow and quiver slung on his back.
“What’s with the ammo?” I fingered a green feathered arrow after he laid them on the table.
“Just practicing…” He shrugged.
“Oh, now this I’ve got to see.”
“Alright, you try,” he countered, gesturing to the bow.
“Pardon me?”
“Go ahead. Give it a shot.”
I stared for a second, then grabbed the bow, selected an arrow, and positioned myself the way they did in the movies, with a cocky smirk. Must have been way off, because he cracked up laughing.
“What?” I glared.
“Nothing, it’s just… here.” He came up behind me, his arms circling me to reposition the bow. If I was supposed to be concentrating, it was useless, because all I could focus on was his breath fanning my neck and how incredible he smelled. My hand trembled. Flustered, I took a step away. Not such a good idea to be handling weapons in this condition.
“Okay, so we’ve established I’m totally hopeless. Your turn…” I handed him the bow and struggled to regain a normal heartbeat.
“Alright, Lorelei.” He flashed a sexy grin. “Watch and learn.”
He drew the bow, and for a moment I lost myself in the sinuous tensing of his bicep.
“It’s like this.” He caught me staring, so I nodded, twirling a lock of my hair. I should at least pretend to pay attention.
A strange feeling washed over me as I watched. Lean muscles pulled taut as he drew his bow — his every movement exquisite.
“Of course, if we were outside you would actually release it.” Lowering his arm, he set it down, his warm olive eyes never wavering from mine.
Again my pulse quickened and cheeks flamed. I averted my gaze even though what I really wanted to do was move closer to him… touch his arms, his face, his hair,, let my fingers brush his chiseled cheekbones, sculpted jaw… Biting my lip, I inhaled a deep breath. “Maybe we should go outside.”
Not that I was anxious to learn archery, but it gave me something to fixate on other than his perfection. It was hard enough not to make my growing obsession blatantly obvious.
We wandered to the edge of the river. Cool water bounced across the rocks, and jittery dragonflies careened to avoid the spray.
I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, examining the curled tips. “So, if I was to live here… hypothetically speaking, I would never age. I would never die.”
That same inexplicable look of frustration flickered in his eyes and then vanished. Adrius drew and released an arrow faster than my eyes could follow. It whizzed through the air striking a rock hundreds of yards in the distance, which cracked and shattered into rubble.
“Immortality is not as glamorous as it seems,” he said. “And there are some who live an immortal life in your world. But they exist in pain, watching as one love after another grows old and eventually dies.”
I shuddered, imagining what it must be like to relive that agony over and over again.
“There’s one advantage to staying here for eternity — hypothetically speaking.” Adrius's expression lightened as he leaned forward so his hand could brush the top of my head. "You would be a real Faerie Princess,” he whispered. Then plucked a fallen leaf from my hair and handed it to me.
“Don’t even go there,” I said rolling my eyes. “You can thank your brother for totally killing that childhood fantasy.” I repositioned myself closer to him, to hand him another arrow.
He leaned in slowly, his mouth hovering agonizingly above mine. My breath caught in my throat and for an unbearable moment, everything fell silent. The wind, the birds… even the pounding in my chest. Slightly lifting onto my toes I stretched, longing to close the tiny gap between us. The sweetness of his breath skimmed my lips.
Then he stopped, gently pulling back. “Speak of the devil,” he muttered, releasing me abruptly. Adrius stepped away but took my hand.
Confusion was rapidly replaced by disappointment, when Julien sauntered out of the brush, wielding that cat-who-swallowed-the-canary grin of his.
“Well, what a lovely surprise. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Grabbing an orange from the closest branch he bit into the fruit, skin and all, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
He had the worst timing.
“So what exactly are the two of you up to?” Julien waggled his fingers at us then dropped onto the grass. “Shouldn’t you be preparing for the king’s ball this evening?”
“There’s a ball? Tonight?” My gaze darted from Julien back to Adrius.
Adrius nodded. “Beltane. The Feast of Spring. The king hosts this fete at Elyssium each season.”
I tried to imagine a party in Mythlandria… with strange and beautiful beings lacing the Citadel ballroom. Nothing about the picture I came up with made me want to go.
“Sounds fun,” I said, thinking exactly the opposite. It was hard to muster enthusiasm for something I wasn’t all that fond of in my own world, where I knew what to expect. There my biggest problems were Brianne and her crew of spiteful witches. Here, the spiteful witches were real and a lot more dangerous.
"Relax, Lorelei." Adrius moved closer, picking up on my sudden anxiety attack. "It’s merely a gathering with some friendly…"
“And not so friendly,” Julien added.
“…guests,”Adrius finished, shooting his brother a scathing glare. “You’ll enjoy yourself.”
"There's no one I know,” I insisted, suddenly more panicked at the inference that they expected me to attend. “No one that’s even human… Except for me.”
The brothers exchanged a look, but Adrius spoke up as if to stop Julien from saying what he was thinking.
“That doesn’t matter. They are all anxious to meet you.”
I couldn't help the gnawing in my stomach. "Right, I'm sure the mythological beings of the Nevermore are all dying to get to know me. The ones that aren’t trying to kill me.”
“What are you talking about?” Adrius frowned.
“Just a little run in I had the other day.” That was an understatement. In one short terrifying moment I’d managed to lose the one thing that made me who I was. “It’s nothing,” I added quickly when he tensed. “The point is they’re your guests, not mine. I shouldn’t be there."
"They'll be yours too, one day, and you won’t fear them once you get to know them."
Adrius rested his hand on the small of my back. That familiar feeling of protection flooded me. The one that made me want to agree with any idea he came up with. I made a mental note to ask him later if he was using some kind of mood control on me or something.
“What do you mean they’ll be mine one day?”
Julien cleared his throat. And Adrius quickly changed the subject. “Everyone is anxious to meet you.”
“They don’t even know me.”
"They already know everything they need to know. You're bold, beautiful, brave — and you drop like a leaf at the first sign of blood," he teased.
“You’re funny.” I chewed my lower lip.
“You’re forgetting the fact that you are their future queen. They have to love you,” Julien said, frowning at his brother’s hand tracing circles on my spine.
“Yeah, and who started that rumor anyway?" I said with a nervous laugh. I wasn't ready to give in to this crazy destiny they all had planned for me. They had to know I couldn’t possibly become their queen. But I’d learned not to jump to conclusions too quickly, since things were almost always more complicated than they seemed in Mythlandria.
When I looked up, Adrius was staring at me, his olive eyes glinting with flecks of amber. Standing so close to an angel, with his fingers sending tingling waves down my spine. If I blocked out all the rest of it, it was a perfect moment.
“But what do I wear?” I exhaled a defeated sigh, and tried to muster some enthusiasm.
Julien laughed. “Spoken like a true princess! A wardrobe filled with garments, yet not a thing to wear.”
I threw him a look. It was true there were an assortment of fanciful gossamer gowns, yet nothing that seemed fitting for a ball that included both Faery and Elven royalty. Although I had no idea what would be considered suitable attire.
“Anything you wear will be perfect,” Adrius soothed.
“Feel free to sit down and stay awhile, Princess.” Julian patted the ground next to him. “Being an expert on the female form, I’d be happy to give you fashion suggestions, if my brother has to rush off.” He gave Adrius a dark grin.
“Actually, we were just leaving.” Adrius’s voice remained unchanged but he tightened his grip on my hand. In Julien’s presence his whole mannerism changed. The openness I’d been enjoying disappeared, leaving in its place a stoic mask. I looked at him but didn’t respond.
“So soon?” Julien cooed.
“Like you said, there’s a ball to prepare for.” His voice had an edge to it. “You ready?”
It took me a second to realize he was talking to me.
“Yes.” My confusion was evident.
His fingers squeezed mine as he led us out of the orchard.
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Julien leaning against a tree, watching. What was with this hostility between them? More questions better left for another time judging by the vein in Adrius’s temple pulsing violently.