Page 10 of War of Her Heart

“It is customary for the Commander to be with his Sovereign at all times,” Celine said while staring at Adar.

“His Sovereign doesn’t need me toprotecthim. He is perfectly capable of handling himself,” he said, still staring intently at the eggs on his plate.

“Then why even have a Commander?” Celine asked, pushing her luck a little too far.

Adar dropped his fork and raised his glare to meet Celine’s.

“Because if my Sovereign doesn’t want to get his hands dirty with tasks he deems beneath him, I will gladly step in and make theannoyancesdisappear.” A chill ran down my spine when he said that. Bronwen’s welcoming behavior made me forget momentarily that I was in the Night Realm surrounded by monsters and cold-blooded killers. And I was sitting next to one right now.

His response caused Celine to slide down slightly in her chair and quietly eat her breakfast.

Adar and Bronwen exchanged looks and were completely silent for at least a minute before Adar let out a huff and rolled his eyes. They had to be communicating through their minds.

It’s pretty rare, but Calum was able to communicate like this with his father, and now he could with my father. Specific bonds like Sovereigns with future Sovereigns of the same realm, Sovereigns and their Commanders, and mates can communicate like this. The specific bonds they had with each other allowed them a tether into each others mind to privately communicate. Anyone else would’ve ignored this exchange, but I’d seen it enough with Calum that I could tell when it was happening.

Were Bronwen and Adar mates?

Bonded mates were so rare now. Ever since the realms were created, Sovereigns were seen like gods to the fae in their realms. Since Sovereigns had arranged marriages, the rest of the fae population decided they should have arranged marriages, which made the chances of completing the mating bond almost impossible. Once you’re married, the only way out of it was death, so if you did had a mate and found them after you’d entered marriage, there was nothing you could do about it.

It’s sad to think about.

“I do have some bad news. Calum and Nathara are running late and won’t arrive until after nightfall. But don’t worry! I’ve planned a party to welcome them home,” Bronwen said, bringing my attention back to the group before me.

“We have a party practically every night, Bronwen,” Adar mumbled.

“This party is different.We have guests.”

Adar rolled his eyes. I was starting to notice that he did that at everything Bronwen said. Nope, couldn’t be mates.

“I am so ready to meet my future daughter. A party sounds like a wonderful place to meet her,” Celine said.

Knots formed in my stomach at Celine’s words.

“You two are welcome to explore the castle grounds today. The party will begin around eight, and I will have a servant escort you both to the ballroom.” Bronwen stood up and placed her napkin on her plate. “I will see you tonight.”

Bronwen left the room, and Adar wasn’t far behind. I realized then that I had barely touched my plate. I was so hungry before but as soon as I was in the room with Bronwen and Adar, I was so focused on watching their mannerisms and the looks they kept giving each other that I forgot my hunger.

I started to eat when Celine let out a loud huff. I had forgotten that she was even at the table.

“A day in hell without my precious Calum. How wonderful,” she said as she stared at the wall behind me.

Her favorite activity was pretending like I didn’t even exist. I didn’t mind because I wished she didn’t exist either. She stood up and walked out of the room.

After I finished my food, I sat there for a while and looked out the large window. I still didn’t understand how this was the Night Realm I’d read so many books about. It was beautiful. Even though it’s theNightRealm, the sun still shone, but it didn’t look anything like a day in the Mountain Realm. The sky was a dusty blue, the sun was out, but you could look directly at it without hurting your eyes and you could still see the stars. I guess they never went away, but other than that, it looked like a normal day. There was green grass, large shady trees, and flowers. Nothing scary or evil about the landscape.

After brunch, I wandered around the castle for a few hours. I found the library and a large sitting room. Bronwen said we could explore the castle and that’s what I did. I wanted to lookat the books in the library but I didn’t want to touch anything without getting explicit permission first.

After I made it back to my room, I decided to go ahead and get ready for the party. I wanted to look my best for Calum even if I had to stand in the back and pretend like he didn’t mean anything to me.

All of my dresses were exactly the same but in different colors. High necklines, long sleeves, and loose fitting. Ladies in Mountain Realm fashion covered everything so only your husband could see your skin. I chose the terracotta dress because it’s one of the brighter colors I had, and I thought it would help me stand out a little more so Calum would notice me.

I sat at the vanity and tied part of my dirty blonde hair back with a ribbon that matched my dress. My hair was long with the slightest wave to it, but I hated it. It had always felt so dead to me.

I saw people like Bronwen with fiery red hair or even Celine with her white hair that was so bright it almost glowed, and I just wished that I had something like that. My eyes were light brown and felt just as dull as my hair did.

After putting on my heels, I went to my nightstand and got a pill from the bottle. I had to take it at exactly nine, just like I had for my entire life. I slid it into the pocket of my dress and sat on the side of my bed while I waited to be escorted to the party.

The servant came to my room to lead me to the party. It was the same one from breakfast. As we made our way down the hall, she was going just as fast as earlier, but this time I was in heels, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with her.

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