Page 33 of War of Her Heart

Other than a few females gawking at Sebastian, no one seemed to make a big deal of the fact that their Sovereign was in the bar with them. Even with his casual clothes—a long-sleeved black top with pants to match—nothing could diminishhis striking blue eyes and the shadows creeping up his neck like tattoos.

Despite his female admirers trying to get his attention, he never took his eyes off of me.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Sebastian and Adar were meeting us here,” she said as a smile grew on her face.

“Youforgot?” I looked at her with a knowing look.

“No, but I knew you’d object if I told you earlier. Just live a little, Violet,” she said as she pulled me towards the bar.

Live a little.

She was right. My time here in the Night Realm where I had the freedom to do whatever I pleased was limited. I needed to enjoy myself. And what would happen if I just had one drink? I could ignore Sebastian.

Doubtful. But I could try.

One glass of wine turned into two, which turned into more, but I needed them. I couldn’t live my entire existence around being careful because of my heart condition. What was the point of living if I just feared death the entire time? And it felt so good to make decisions for myself, even if it was something as simple as telling Bronwen I would have another drink.

The bar was small; the bar top was on the back wall with a few stools and a couple tables on both sides. Most of the room was open for dancing, which seemed to be what everyone came here for given the crowd of fae enjoying themselves and dancing to the angelic voice of a dark-skinned faerie with small weblike wings on her back and the drums of the two males with her, both with silver skin, black holes for eyes, and tails swaying to the music. It was dark, with only the candles on the walls lighting the room.

We sat around a table in the corner, and Bronwen talked the entire time—something she seemed to always do. She either just didn’t like silence or really liked to hear herself talk.

Adar found a lonely fae pretty quickly and left us to dance with her. This was the first time I ever saw Adar act normal. Like he was actually enjoying himself.

“Sebastian, I know you said no more family meals, but I’m growing bored of the mundane tasks I do around the castle. I need something else to focus on,” Bronwen said as she stretched her arms across the table to add a little drama.

“If you continue putting me in a room with Nathara and Lilian multiple times a day, someone will end up dead,” Sebastian said while ignoring the spectacle she was making of herself.

“So . . . not multiple times a day,” Bronwen said, skipping the part where he threatened to kill someone. She sat up and began tapping her finger on the stone table as she ran those words through her head. “Then it’s settled! We will just have dinners.”

“Why can’t it just be us?” he asked Bronwen, but he didn’t take his eyes off of me. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of me since I walked into the bar.

“You want your sister out of the realm. Excluding her and her new family from group dinners may look bad. They want an arranged marriage with her because they want an alliance with the Night Realm.With you. They could back out of the engagement if they learn she means nothing to you and that you don’t intend to keep an alliance with them.”

I couldn’t believe they were talking about this in front of me. If this got out, it could jeopardize the engagement which was obviously something Sebastian wanted to happen. And yet they were saying it in front of the daughter of the Commander of the Mountain Realm.

“I’ve seen the way Calum is with Nathara. He’s in love. He will marry her with or without an alliance with me,” Sebastian said.

My heart sank when I heard those words. I grabbed my glass and drank what was left.

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed at my reaction to what he said.

“Well, I disagree. You can perform your duty for the greater good and handle dinner with them for a few months,” she said, doubling down.

Sebastian glanced at Bronwen and gave her a nod.

“And on that note,” Bronwen continued as she looked down at my empty glass, “I will go get us some more wine.” She grabbed my glass and walked to the bar.

“Did you enjoy yourself today?” Sebastian asked as he continued to study me.

“Yes, not as much as Bronwen did though.”

“Do I even want to know how much she bought today?” he asked as he rubbed his forehead.

I giggled. The wine I drank was taking away the little willpower I had to ignore Sebastian.

“Probably not. But why do you buy everything she wants anyways?” I asked. I knew Bronwen’s reason, but I wondered if there was more to it. Bronwen said there was nothing going on between the two of them, but they were so close. And the way she talked to him without any fear, there had to be something going on.

“She deals with Nathara and Lilian so I don’t have to. I’d buy her the world if I could for that.”

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