Page 69 of War of Her Heart

He grinned as he looped his arm around my waist.

The next moment we were standing in front of a body of water the size of a small pond, but nothing like anything I’d seen in the Mountain Realm. It was the brightest blue and looked like it glowed.

“Your wish is my command,” Sebastian said as he winked at me.

“Your . . . your secret spot.”

“Oursecret spot now,” he said as he grinned before pulling his white shirt over his head.

I watched as he walked towards the water, his muscles in his back flexing with every step he took.

Before I realized what he was doing, he pulled his pants down and stepped out of them. I quickly glanced away when I caught a glimpse of his bare butt.

Of course, he swims naked.

“Sorry, love. I didn’t have time to grab you a swimsuit.”

My cheeks reddened, and I realized that I hadn’t put my walls back up after letting him in. I closed my eyes and quickly put them back up. I looked back at him to see he was wading in the water.

Any other time I would have objected and started walking back to the castle, even though I had no idea where we were or how far away we were, but I needed a distraction.

“Turn around,” I said.

“Even if I turn around, I can still see you through my shadows, you know,” he said, winking at me.

“Well tell your shadows to turn around too!” I demanded as I crossed my arms and glared at him.

He let out a laugh before he turned to face the other direction.

I let my dress fall to the ground, pulled off my undergarments and quickly got in before he had the chance to turn around.

“What is this?” I asked as he turned to face me.

“It’s a starlight lagoon. There are a few in the Night Realm, and they used to serve a purpose more than they do now. Centuries ago, when darkness covered the realm, faeries would bottle up the water and use it to see. Now that there is light in the sky, they don’t serve a purpose, so they usually go untouched. Except for the occasional swim, of course.”

I looked at the sky to see it covered in stars. I had gotten used to it since my time here, but it was odd to think about considering the Night Realm was known for total blackness. No sun, no moon, no stars. At least, that’s what I had read in my books, but I was sure most of the books in our library were out of date when it came to information about other realms.

I looked down from the sky to see Sebastian’s eyes locked on me. Those blue eyes.

I was swimming in the most vibrant blue I had ever seen, what most would call the most beautiful blue, but nothing compared to his eyes.

The light from the water reflected on his eyes and made me feel like he was staring straight into my soul.

We swam in a circle just staring at each other, never faltering in our gaze.

I wasn’t sure who would break the silence first until he asked me something I never thought he would say. “Why haven’t you asked me to end the engagement?”

“What?” I asked. I wasn’t sure why he would bring up something that would remind me of the torture I just went through, or why he would have even thought about something like that in the first place.

“You know I have the ability to end this and send you and Calum home and yet you haven’t asked me to,” he explained.

I had thought about it quite often actually. That there was a chance that Sebastian would end the engagement for me because for some reason he had a sweet spot for me. But every time I thought about asking, I couldn’t do it. Because if he did end it, I would lose my freedom and the moments like this that I had with him. And I wasn’t ready to let go of that just yet.

“I didn’t think you would do that for me,” I lied.

“If you can tell me that you know without a doubt that you want to spend eternity with him, and you believe no one could ever make you happier than him, then just say it and I’ll end the engagement. But if there is even an ounce of doubt in you or a small part that feels anythingfor me, then I will fight until the last second to make you see what I see and feel what I feel.”

His response had left me speechless. All of this time I had downplayed the looks, his actions, and his endless flirting as nothing more than a fascination. That I was something new for him to toy with to let the time pass by, but his confession turnedthat into so much more. He had feelings for me, and I, well, I was falling for him. Even if I had denied myself that confession for so long.

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