Page 66 of Destined for the Fae King

“Selena!” I hiss.

She swats playfully at me. “You worry too much. We’ve seen all of—what?—two people come by? We’ve got to be at the back of this place. Besides, no one knows who I’m talking about.”

“Still.”

“Fair enough.” She holds up her hands in surrender. “But damn.”

I lean back on the wooden bench with a sigh. “Exactly.”

We’re silent for a moment, staring at the giant glass beastie nearby, which looks like a cross between a hippo and tiger, all striped and generously proportioned.

Selena looks over at me. “Maybe there could be a little fling in the future?”

Until his mate shows up.She doesn’t say the last part, but she doesn’t need to.

“A little hard to do that when…” I raise my wrist and tap my bond mark.

She shrugs one shoulder. “After?”

It was always going to be after anyway, wasn’t it? It’s not like I could be hooking up with the prince behind his brother’s back, especially not in Faery where everyone’s sense of smell is ridiculous and there’s a little thing called a mark, a magical mating bond, that can appear if two people are intimate with one another. Pretty sure that would be impossible to hide and very damning.

“Maybe,” I say at last. If the future was always leading there, why does it hurt so much to admit it now? “He mentioned liking someone else from long ago, though I hoped—”

Selena flings out her hand and grabs my arm. I fall silent. Then I hear it, a small laugh, the crunch offootsteps after.

We sit quietly, waiting for them to move on. Though I suppose we actually should be getting back to the celebration before we’re missed. I’m about to suggest as much when some of the approaching people’s conversation catches my attention.

“You’re really sure what you’ve seen cannot be changed?” a woman asks.

“What I see always comes true, in one way or another, and this vision was quite clear.”

I jolt in the seat and clasp my hand over my mouth to stifle a gasp. Lysandir. But who is the woman? I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, angry at myself over the jealousy that immediately flares in my chest.Not yours, Mira.

Selena gives me a funny look.

I drop my hand and mouth,Lysandir.

It takes a moment to sink in, but I know the second it does. Her eyes widen, her mouth drops open, and she hikes a finger behind us toward the backside of some large glass animal that the bench is positioned against. I nod, straining my ears to listen. Both of us shift in our seats, turning to look behind us.

Two figures draw still, their silhouettes visible beyond the colorful translucent glass. With any luck, they won’t be able to notice Selena and me, especially if we hold still.

“Then don’t you think you should just tell her?” the woman asks. “Or your brother?”

“And surrender to fate?” The sorrow in Lysandir’s voice is so deep it makes my chest ache.

Her. Oh God. Has he already met his mate? Is that what he was trying to tell me last night?

The woman crosses her arms. “It sounds like you’re doing that already.”

“Yes, he’s good at that.” Tharin? I can’t see him, but that’s definitely his voice.

A low, growling, grumble echoes from beyond, raising some of the fine hairs along my arms.

“So touchy.” The woman walks away, her silhouette disappearing.

“I just…” Lysandir’s head drops. “I kept hoping to find a way around it, but I feel like I’m running out of time.”

“So why aren’t you out there spending what time you have with her then?” the woman asks.

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