Page 43 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“And you are perfect the way you are. You are helping inside the castle the most,” Endellion points out. “You do what Mom did before she went on her travels. That’s important, too.”
“But, I can do more,” she implores.
“They won’t know it unless you offer it to them,” I tell her quietly.
“She is right,” Endellion says. “Alana doesn’t ask you for help directly because she thinks you don’t like her.”
“But that’s not true,” she says. She looks down at her fingers. “What’s your insecurity, Azadeh?” she asks me now. “You are perfect to me. I want to be you.”
“Don’t wish for that,” I say quietly. “Because you have a loving family. And I don’t. Shayan is here with me because my own father doesn’t want me, and Simin is here because my sisters avoid me. My biggest fear is living my life all alone.” To be in a room full of people, and feel lonely. To have people all around, walk by and not notice me. To die lonely.
“You won’t be alone here,” Kilah comforts me. “I am your friend.”
“I’m your friend, too,” Endellion says, his silver eyes gleaming slightly under the moonlight.
Silence engulfs us before Kilah clears her throat. “I didn’t mean to hurt Alana,” she says.
“Maybe you should tell her that,” I try to encourage her. “I’m sure she will hear you out. She will be happy to make up with you.”
“Maybe,” Kilah says quietly.
“No one will magically realize that you want to be included if you don’t give them any clues,” I say. “You have a strong bond with your siblings. I’m sure the moment they get the hint you want to be involved more with them, they will jump on the chance.”
“I can try, I guess,” Kilah says tentatively, while brushing over her face to wipe away her tears. “Goddess,” her eyes widen. “Is it past midnight already? Dad is going to bed anytime, and I bet he forgot his medicine. He twisted his ankle during the fight and conveniently forgets to take any medication.” She jumps up. “Good night,” she tells us, and for a moment it looks like she wants to say more, but then she just hurries away.
“It’s her pride,” Endellion says. “She overcompensates for - what she sees as - her shortcomings with it.”
“You nudged her in the right direction,” I say, smiling when Endellion sits down next to me. “This is a beautiful little garden.”
“It’s my mother’s favorite,” Endellion explains.
“It has to be lonely for your father to be without her,” I say. “I might not understand the mate bond fully, but I imagine it has to be hard to be away from your mate.”
Endellion smiles. “It is, but my mother is a scholar, and these travels are important for her. So, my father accepts it because he loves her.”
“That’s beautiful,” I say. “To have someone love you like that.”
Endellion stays silent for a while. “I don’t have a mate. Neither do Caelan nor Flinn. And when I say we have no mate, I don’t mean that we haven’t found them yet. It means they don’t exist at all.”
I stare at him in surprise. “What? But, I thought all werewolves have a mate.”
“It’s a feeling,” he explains. “That there is something inside you missing, that there is a pull towards someone, although you don’t know who they are. I know that Nevyn and Alana already feel such a pull. Kilah doesn’t yet because her wolf spirit is still dormant, but I’m sure she will feel it, too. But for us triplets… it’s just not there. It doesn’t exist. We knew early on that something was different, and our pack witch confirmed it.”
The pack witch. It’s the second time I hear about her, but I haven’t met her yet. “But how is it possible?” I whisper.
“We don’t know.” A hint of sadness crosses his beautiful features. “Maybe it’s a curse.”
“You aren’t cursed, Endellion,” I say softly.
“How do you know?”
I shrug. “I just know. It’s a feeling,” I say. “There is a fate for you. You just can’t see it yet.”
“Is this your gift?” he asks me.
“It’s part of it,” I explain. “It’s just a sixth sense I have. And… I can protect people if my emotions are in the right place. But, I can’t quite grasp it either. I don’t know much about what I can do.”
“Are you the only prince or princess with said gift?”
