sighed looking stressed out. I didn’t feel bad for him.
“Alright,” she said, sitting up, "let me summarize, we need to find my mom’s stuff in hopes of finding out how to use my magic to open the gate, which we are clueless on its exact location in the town, without anyone finding out what we are doing.”
She was so fucking smart and sexy, her arched brow and slightly sarcastic drawl making my body harden. It made me want to fuck her more. I shook my head at the insanity of it all. Bard frowned, “What were you saying about understanding going into the second reality jump or whatever?”
Her words were soft, “So until recently, I suppose I assumed this was a dream…but the night my mother died, I ran into the maze because I couldn’t feel her ‘magic.’ That was what she called it and as I got older, I obviously stopped believing that, which now seems stupid, but whatever.
“The point is, that there was a boy at the center of the maze. He’s been on the top of my mind and when I was in the forest, I thought I saw him. That’s why I freaked out, so later that ‘day’ when I was driving home, I thought about him and that was when it felt like everything switched over…so I ran towards the maze. And there he was. He didn’t want me to tell you guys.” I could see the slight guilt in her eyes.
I inhaled as tension went through my body. “What does he look like?”
Her eyes looked down and she tilted her head in thought. “White hair, tall, blue eyes, attractive…”
Bard growled as her head snapped up and she scowled.
I tried to refocus everyone else. “Did he give you his name?”
“No,” she groaned.
I looked to Oliver and his eyes darkened in realization. “It’s him, Oliver.”
“That’s impossible,” he demanded softly, “no one has seen him since he fled that night.”
“Wait, are you saying that he’s--”
“The Autumn Heir that killed your mother and probably wants to kill you? Yes,” I sighed.
She frowned. “No, he was really sweet, I don’t believe that. I’m sorry, I don’t believe that it was some fucking kid that did this--”
“It only makes sense, it would take heir magic to kill another heir,” Oliver stated softly, “Listen, Ophelia, it is imperative that you avoid him at all costs, as your guard--”
“My what?” She zoned in on that as I smirked slightly.
“Your guard,” he stated quietly, “the three of us are assigned to protect the De Jure Heir of the Spring Court.”
Her eyes darkened and my lip nearly twitched seeing her temper lighting. “Assigned? So I’m a fucking job?”
Oh shit. Merrick chuckled softly and Oliver snapped his eyes over to us. “Yeah? You tell her that she has to fucking marry you one day, Rain?”
I snarled as Ophelia’s face blanked and she leaned back into the panther. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Our parents signed a marriage contract before everything went to shit,” I stated as her eyes went wide, and then she looked back at the others. Wringing her hands together.
“So it’s your job to watch me, you have to marry me, and Merrick? Let me guess you want to get to Underside,” she mumbled, not letting Merrick say anything, his eyes widening at her words, “so you all benefit. What about you?”
Kirin smiled softly at her. “Just a shifter who wants to be around his mate, Zaya.”
“Mate?” she choked out.
“Good one,” Bard growled.
“You guys haven’t told her that she’s your mate yet?” I arched a brow as Koa blushed, looking down and Oliver narrowed his eyes at me, looking intense.
Ophelia stood, looking pale and her eyes had darkened to almost black before speaking quietly, “Kirin, can you walk me out?”
“Princess,” Oliver’s voice was sharp.
She sighed sounding tired, “I just need some space to think this through, please?”
The two of them were gone as I looked at Oliver, the other two running after her, probably to try to get her to stay. There was nothing else to say right now, though. If the woman wanted to go home, she deserved that. She also would probably never talk to me again considering she thought that we were going to be forced to marry one another.
I could choose not to. But after meeting her? Fuck that. I one hundred percent wanted to marry her. She was strong, brilliant, and stunning. If I had to have someone at my side, it was her.
Chapter 14
Ophelia Rose
An Expedition