that must’ve been for you… but maybe I was destined to be yours so you could find happiness again… and maybe even love.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute, and I was afraid I’d said the wrong thing, but then Hiro reached over, took my hand in his gloved one, and pulled it into his lap. He didn’t speak any words, but that action made the hope in my chest flutter to life anew.
Maybe he was really going to give me a chance, give us a chance.
We were quiet for the rest of the drive, and I found that I didn’t mind because he held my hand there the entire time. A million questions ran through my mind, but I didn’t want to disturb this peacefulness we’d finally found between us.
He parked outside a little diner and had to let go of my hand so we could get out, and I followed him inside. A waitress sat us at a small booth near the back, and it didn’t escape my notice that Hiro sat in the seat where the front door was in his eyesight. I’d prefer sitting there, but I was surprisingly okay with him keeping watch.
“I’ve never been here before,” I said after an awkward minute.
“Their breakfast food is good, so you can’t really go wrong there.” He set his menu down and frowned at me. “Is there anythin’ on the menu that you can eat?”
I waved him off. “Yeah, no problem. I’ll get some pancakes or a waffle or something.”
“Right, good.” He nodded. “Maybe I’ll eat a waffle, too.”
I sent him a small smile. “What’s your favorite food?”
He pursed his lips. “Probably risotto. I have a couple family recipes that are pretty good. What about you?”
“I like these falafel things that my brother makes sometimes. He serves them at his restaurant, too.”
The waitress came over to take our orders and when she walked away, Hiro asked, “Are you a picky eater?”
I smiled. “Not really. No meat, but other than that, I’ll eat whatever.”
“Why no meat?”
“My family’s never eaten meat, and living in Faela re-established that. Fae don’t eat meat because the animals in Faela all have magic of their own—so do the plants, but they’re safer. The fae don’t want the animals’ magics messing with their own. I figured it’s a good policy to have, especially since I have the Power of Three which originates from Faela.”
He nodded his head. “I’ve heard a few things about this Three stuff, but I’m not sure I understand it.”
I sighed. “During the Berserker War, there was a vessel carrying the Power of Three. It’s a magic that came from Faela. Thousands of years ago, it was divided among three vessels, and everything was fine, but along the way, someone started using the power for evil and it turned dark. It’s what brought on the whole war.” I took a sip of my water. “When Ailin and Sebastian—my sorta dads—managed to release the magic from the vessel, my brothers—Jorah and Thayer—and I pulled it into ourselves, but we couldn’t contain it. At least not in this realm. The fae you met the other day, Nikolai? The blue-haired one? He and his brother pulled us into Faela. We trained our bodies to be able to hold the magic inside us and trained to be able to use it.”
His eyebrows were high on his forehead. “So… you really did help stop the war, huh?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, we were stuck in Faela for three years, so we didn’t even really know what was going on here at home, but once that dark force was removed, Ailin and the rest of our army were able to defeat the berserkers and centaurs.”
“That’s… okay, wow.”
I sent him a half-smile. “We just did what we had to do. We didn’t know we’d be stuck in the fae realm so long, though. That kinda sucked.”
“But you lived there to help the magic?”
“Yep.”
“And you still have it?”
“Yeah. Jor, Thay, and I took on the Mantle of the Three. We go back to Faela every few weeks to ensure the energy stays pure and isn’t tainted by dark magic.”
“Really?”
I nodded. “We live on the Pink Isle when we’re there. It’s kinda pretty, and our house is nice there, but I’m glad we’re living in Brinnswick full-time now.”
“You don’t miss living there?”
I shrugged. “I miss it sometimes, but when we were there, I missed my family more, so staying here makes more sense to me.”
He nodded and tilted