Page 47 of Devastation
Reaching out, I lay a hand against her cheek, "I'm your family now and so are the other queens. Cadmus is your family, whether you want to admit that to yourself or not."
My second comment makes her laugh as she wipes her eyes. "He hates me."
Folding my arms across my chest, I give her a look. "You know he doesn't. He's just protective of you. Fiona entrusted him with your safety, and he has sworn to help you transition to your new role. It's a huge responsibility, but he believes in you. I can see it."
She takes a few deep breaths to calm her emotions before she blows out her last one, tilting her head up to look at me with such raw emotion in her eyes that it almost knocks me over when she says, "Do you truly think I can be a good queen? I don't want to let everyone down."
My lips tug up in a smile as I tap my chest with my hand and answer, "I know you will be a good queen."
Something shifts in her stance and eyes as she nods, accepting my words. Rolling her shoulders back, she declares, "Then I won't let you, or my people, down."
My soul sings within me as the tether snaps into place and flares a bright neon orange between us before fading away.
Kinder gasps and asks, "What was that?"
"It was you accepting our bond. I told you that you'd be stuck with me," I tease and pull her into a side hug.
Her arm wraps around me and she admits with a chuckle, "I still think Cadmus hates me."
Ruffling her hair, I laugh and counter, "Hate? No. Annoy? Yes. Maybe because your favorite hobby is to rile him up."
She pulls away from me, her cheeks tinged a bright shade of red, and she scuffs her foot against the ground. "Well, I don't really know how to act around him. He's pretty cute."
It's my turn for my mouth to hang open in shock as I squeal, "Oh my goddess! You have a crush!"
She lunges at me and covers my mouth with her hand, "Shhhh!"
Her eyes flick around wildly as if she expects him to pop up out of nowhere, causing me to full on belly laugh.
Her hand falls away once she's sure he isn't here, and I grab her arm and steer us back toward the banquet hall, singing, "Kinder and Cadmus, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-" but I'm cut off as she elbows me in the ribs and mutters, "I hate you. I should never have told you."
Smugly, I retort, "I'm just taking my big sister role seriously," to which she groans loudly.
I can't wait until Serenity and Mar meet our new little sister.
Chapter Nineteen
Hale
We're a few glasses deep before Lana and Kinder finally make their way back to us. A woman and a girl walked out of this room earlier...but with one look at them now, two women stand before us.
Kinder looks more sure of herself, not hiding behind her own shadow. A genuine smile graces her face as the two women chat.
Glancing over to Cadmus on my right, I smirk when I see his mouth gaping slightly as he stares at Kinder like he's seeing her for the first time.
I can't help but rib him, "Your role as her advisor and mentor is about to get a lot more interesting, isn't it?"
He snaps out of his intent focus on Kinder and fumbles over his words, his cheeks flaming with embarrassment. Smacking his arm lightly, I assure him, "I'm not judging you. It's okay, your secret is safe with me."
What I meant by that was that his secret was safe with Zedd, Luke, Leo, Ash, Lana, and me. I was absolutely going to talk to them about this after dinner.
Cadmus lifts a golden goblet to his lips and gulps down a few mouthfuls of wine before blinking his eyes a few times and focusing on his plate.
Perhaps this is the first time he's truly seeing Kinder as the queen she is born to be.
The open chair next to me scrapes against the stone floor as Lana plops into it, and Kinder takes the open seat on the other side of Cadmus. She flits her gaze toward him a few times, and I can tell she's trying to be discreet in her appraisal.
Those will be interesting lessons indeed.
