Fragile Reign (Mortal Enchantment Book 2) (10 page)

Our eyes met and I took him in for the very first time. He had all the normal traits of the air elementals: white-blonde hair, lavender eyes, and killer cheekbones. But there was something more to him. He appeared regal somehow. Beautiful and polished in a way I would never be. He looked straight out-of-the-box ready for royalty. No assembly required.

Sebastian smiled, displaying perfectly lined teeth. “I know what you mean. I had to come here in this metal suit. I can’t imagine having to fight in this thing.”

“You’re not a knight?” I asked, already knowing his response. He was too pretty to ever pick up a sword. It was like I was meeting my very own life-like Ken doll.

“No, they wanted to bring me here in disguise.” He held out his arm for me to accept, which I did. Then we headed toward the castle. “The random attacks from the fire court have mother worried that they might target me.”

“Why would
you
be a target?” It was a ridiculous question to ask when I already had the answer. He was in danger because everyone knew he was my betrothed. Well, everyone but me. “Stupid question. Sorry.”

His expression turned serious. “Nothing you say is stupid. Please ask any question you like.”

“The obvious one is why would you agree to marry someone you just met?” I cringed. Why was I always so blunt?

If he was bothered by my candid question, he didn’t show it. “I never thought of it as a choice. I was selected to be your partner while still in infancy. Once I understood what that meant, I whole-heartedly accepted the honor.”

The honor? Being chosen by a king did sound pretty awesome, but his entire life was decided for him. Didn’t that matter? “Yeah, but haven’t you ever met anyone you wanted to date?” I refused to believe someone this good looking spent their teenage years alone.

The tips of his ears turned pink. Was he embarrassed? Maybe the question was too personal. We were still strangers at this point. “There were relationships here and there, but nothing too serious. Everyone I dated knew about our plans. It wasn’t a secret.”

My body shuttered. If our betrothal wasn’t a secret, did Rowan know about it? If it turned out that he knew and didn’t tell me, I would be a little hurt. Wait! Was he betrothed too? In all the time we spent together, he never once mentioned someone else. Maybe he didn’t like her, or even more likely, maybe he didn’t care. Nevertheless, I planned to ask him the next time we meet.

Lost in my own thoughts, I hadn’t even noticed that Sebastian led us inside the castle. The heels of my shoes clicked as we strolled down the main foyer of the castle. Sebastian stopped every once in a while to admire a painting on the wall. Of course, he recognized each one. I imagined he visited the castle throughout his childhood. My hand was still tucked inside his arm. His bicep was impressive for someone who had probably been waited on since birth. I doubted that his muscles came from hard labor. He looked like someone who might be on a water polo team. Or, perhaps he fenced in his free time. I had no idea what high-ranking elementals did in the mortal world.

I tugged on his arm so he would stop walking. I stared up at him. He had to be at least half a foot taller than me. “You must be uncomfortable in all of that,” I said, pointing to the heavy metal armor. “Would you like to get changed into something more comfortable?”

“That sounds wonderful.”

I turned around, nodding at the guards trailing us. It was impossible to get a moment alone anymore. The only exception being when I snuck away to meet Rowan. “My knights will escort you to your room. Get settled and meet me back here in an hour.”

He took my hand, placing it inches from his lips. “Till then, Your Highness.” He kissed the exact spot where I would wear a wedding ring. I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose, but it felt like a subtle message.

I watched him walk away and then headed to my room to get out of this dress. On the way I thought about Sebastian. As far as fiancés go, he wasn’t a horrible choice. He certainly wasn’t unattractive. The guy could have been a model in the mortal world. Beyond the physical, he was very kind and chivalrous in an old school way. I couldn’t say I had ever met anyone like him. As far as I could tell, Sebastian only had one problem:

He wasn’t Rowan.

I changed into a Pink Floyd t-shirt and my favorite pair of skinny jeans. For a second, I thought about how the council might react to my mortal clothing. They would certainly disapprove. I didn’t care. If I was going to get to know Sebastian, I wanted it to be on my terms. Once I arrived back in the foyer, I found him waiting for me. He wore the same attire as most of our court: loose fitting yellow pants with a plain yellow shirt. Although he meant to blend in, something about him just didn’t. He carried himself as if he were already part of the royal family.

When he saw me, he smiled as he bowed. “Princess Kalin.”

I guess I could add textbook manners to his list of perfections. I waved my hand. “Please just call me Kalin. There’s no need for us to be formal.”

“Of course,” he replied, holding out his arm for me.

I tucked my arm into the crook of his elbow. “I thought we might go somewhere and talk in private.”

“Did you have anywhere specific in mind?” he asked.

I led him outside the castle toward the side of the mountain where Dad liked to meditate. Where he
used
to like to meditate. He hadn’t been back to the area since he was kidnapped. I doubted he would ever find peace there again. I sat next to a large oak tree. The winds were stronger here. I pulled the hairband off my wrist, using it to tie back my hair.

Sebastian sat next to me, crossing his legs. “Do you like it out here?”

I closed my eyes, inhaling a deep breath. “I like the quiet.”

“Would you prefer I not speak?”

“Oh, no. I’m sorry.” My cheeks burned. “I meant that I come out here sometimes to get away. It’s been pretty crazy over the last two weeks.”

“I can only imagine the anguish you must have felt when your father went missing. My mother was distraught, but refused to talk about it most of the time. She has been close to your father for a number of years. When he disappeared, she barely spoke to anyone.”

Jaya had always been one of Dad’s strongest supporters on the council. I was sure their friendship played a role in our betrothal. “Your mother has been a friend to me on the council during his absence.”

He stared at the puffy white clouds blocking most of our view. “She wants you to take the throne. At first, she worried about your mortal upbringing. But you made quite an impression on her when you arrived. She admires your…tenacity.”

Surprise did not begin to explain my reaction to his comments. The council fought me every step of the way when I first arrived in Avalon. I didn’t think I had one supporter on the entire council. It could have been so much easier if Jaya had stood up for me then. If any of them had tried to help me, we might have found Dad before the war started against the fire court. “There is no need for me to take the throne. My father will recover soon.”

Sebastian shifted, turning his body to face me. “Are you sure?” he questioned. “After what happened to him, I don’t know how anyone could come back from that.”

“Dad
will
recover,” I said, sternly. Although I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince him or myself.

My reaction made him squirm. Sebastian cleared his throat. “I’m sure you’re right. After all, he is the strongest member of our court.”

A dull ache formed in the pit of my chest. I wasn’t trying to make him uncomfortable, especially since he had been nothing but kind to me. I desperately needed a subject change. “Tell me about you.”

“What do you want to know?”

Everything.
“Whatever you want to tell me.”

“First, I prefer to be called Bash. Sebastian is what my mother calls me.”

I assumed he would prefer his formal name, but I was happy to go with a nickname. “Bash? I like that.”

He grinned. “In my free time I play the piano and cello, but music is not my passion. I love to travel. As a child I visited every country in the mortal world. My parents insisted I learn about different cultures and customs. Of all the places I visited, Italy and Africa were my favorites.”

My mother never took me anywhere. She always lived in fear that someone would catch me using my powers, which made no sense since I was never trained. I was shocked that she let me attend a mortal school. But I guess that wasn’t a big deal since I had knights with me at all times. “I always wanted to go to Tanzania. You know, go on one of those Safari adventures where you get to see the wild animals.”

His eyes danced with excitement. “It’s not too late. You’re still young enough to go without worrying about aging.” Placing his hand on top of mine, he said, “We should go together.”

I pulled my hand back in one swift motion. Together? I wasn’t ready for that. Bash looked like I just stepped on his puppy. Guilt poured into my chest. The poor guy had been nothing but nice to me. It wasn’t fair to reject him like that. I put my hand on top of his and squeezed. “Sure, maybe we will go someday.”

His whole face lit up. “Sounds like a plan.”

Any girl with working eyeballs would have been happy to switch places with me. Bash had all the criteria for the perfect boyfriend. Obscenely handsome appearance aside, he was nice and charming. He seemed to really care about what I had to say without being judgmental. I should have been ecstatic that I was betrothed to someone like him.

But I wasn’t.

Instead, all I could think about was Rowan. He was also charming and gorgeous, but with a dangerous edge. I could hardly tell what he was thinking most of the time, whereas Bash was open to answering all of my questions. When I was with Rowan, I always felt safe. Mostly because I know what kind of warrior he is. I doubted many could hold their own against him. Bash would protect me behind the comfort of his knights. Both of them came from very prestigious families, but Rowan wasn’t gifted anything by his family. Eventually, he would claim his throne with only a sword.

I had to be upfront with Bash. He had certainly earned it. “You’ve been so nice to me and for that reason, I can’t lie to you. I have feelings for someone else. I don’t know where it’s going right now, but I do know he’s important to me.”

“Rowan, right?” He appeared uneasy just saying his name. Like the words burned his throat.

“How did you know?” I asked.

He chuckled. “Everyone knows.”

Of course. We were probably the hot gossip topic around Avalon. Fire elementals continued to attack our court in the mortal world, which should have put us on opposite sides. In the eyes of the elementals, we were the definition of a doomed relationship. “If you knew about us, why did you agree to come here and marry me?”

Bash stared at me as if he were surprised I asked. “Because I knew the daughter of the air court king would put her court before her heart.”

And that’s when the truth slapped me right across the face. Bash understood what was expected and just assumed I would feel the same way. But the decision wasn’t as easy for me as it seemed to be for him. I wasn’t ready to give up what I wanted for the sake of my court. I wanted to find a way to have it all. “You make it all sound so simple.”

“I’m sure it’s not and I want you to know I am in no rush.” Bash took my hand, entwining our fingers. “But I am hoping you have room in your heart for me. In time, I hope you will at least give us a chance.”

Bash continued to impress me with his kindness. “I’m sorry to put you through this. You’re obviously an awesome guy. You deserve better.”

“There is no one better than you, Kalin.” He tugged on my hand, closing the distance between us. “I am very happy in my current position.”

This close, he smelled like some kind of sweet nectar. I couldn’t help taking it in, letting go in the moment. He placed my hand on his chest. Heat radiated up my arm. Watching me, his eyes settled on my lips. The intensity of his stare made my mouth dry. I swallowed hard. Part of me was screaming. I had to say something, anything. “I want to try.”

I jolted at my own response.

He stepped back, sporting a confident grin. “I am so pleased to hear you say that.”

I had no idea what had just happened, but I felt horrible like I had done something terribly wrong. If I meant what I said, I was hurting Rowan. The guy who had saved my life more than once. If I didn’t mean it, I was lying to Bash. The guy who was opening his heart to me, willing to wait for a chance to win mine.

Bash reached for a small leather sack attached to his side. “You look like you could use a drink.” He removed the lid, handing the pouch to me. “It’s wine. I made it myself.”

In addition to perfection, he also makes his own alcohol. Seriously, where did this guy come from? No one could be this amazing at everything. I took a sip. It tasted the way he smelled: sweet, like honey. “This is delicious. I can’t believe you made this.”

Bash seemed satisfied by my response. “You can have the rest of it. I brought a barrel with me for your father.”

I finished the bottle. The liquid warmed my tongue and throat. “Thank you so much.”