by Lola Gabriel
“Might want to drive,” he commented, pointing out the orchestra of horns sounding off behind her. Eden drove forward but continuously looked to Levi, dumbfounded.
“Are you following me?” she demanded. Her tone was snappier than she would have liked, but after the day she’d had, she couldn’t hold back.
“Yes,” Levi answered plainly enough.
“Why?”
“Why do you think?”
Eden’s nose and mouth scrunched together with a surge of annoyance. Now even Levi was going to treat her like a child? Following her around to supervise her? It was dangerous and stupid, even if he had the best intentions in the world.
“You’re going to get us caught!” she barked. “At the next light, you need to get out.”
“Can we talk for a bit? I noticed you lost the flock back there.” When Eden didn’t respond right away, Levi added, “I won’t keep you long.” The backs of his fingers then caressed her cheek, brushing away her tears lovingly. It simmered her temper, something that Eden wasn’t used to being done so easily.
“Fine,” she muttered. “You have fifteen minutes. By then, they’ll be looking for me.” Levi wasted no time, jumping right into the thick of his conversation.
“Why are you accepting a life of misery?” Eden ogled him. “I mean it. There’s nothing under the sun that your father could force you to do. Not really, at least. Not when he loves you as much as I’ve heard.”
“His love for me is only outweighed by his love of power,” she replied. “He thinks that marrying me to Darian will aid him in retaining that power. I’m pretty sure we’ve been over this.”
“Would he kill you if you didn’t?”
“Possibly,” Eden murmured. Even as it passed her lips, she knew it wasn’t true. Her father would be outraged and ready to kill her, but he wouldn’t. “Probably not, though.”
“So, what would realistically happen if you outright refused to marry this Darian guy?”
“Well,” she breathed, using the ball of her hand to rub away the streaks of tears on her other cheek. “He would probably lock me up and keep me prisoner until I finally agreed to do it. Beaten and starved into submission, if it came down to it.”
“That’s if he catches you,” Levi inserted. “You could always… you know, run away with me.” Eden glanced over to him to see if he was joking. He looked embarrassed by the romantic cliché he had suggested.
Run away into the night with my rogue soulmate. “Live in exile with you?” she asked with a raised brow. “Exile isn’t exactly appealing, Levi.”
“What about it isn’t?”
“Um, the fact you have to be on the run and always be looking over your shoulder? How I could never be in contact with anyone within the Kingdom without risking their life and my own? Also, I don’t have any of the necessary skills or qualifications to exist within the mortal world at my age?”
Levi shook his head. “It isn’t exactly hard, Eden. It can be inconvenient, but not difficult.” He continued when she only responded with a doubtful look, putting the car into park once she pulled into a lot. “I live a relatively normal life. I live several miles outside the city’s limits. I own a cabin and have my own source of funds from all the things I have collected in time. I invest what I can to have a steady income. I do what I want all day, and yeah, if I come into the city, I have to look over my shoulder.”
“When we first met, you were burnt to a crisp and lying unconscious in the forest,” Eden reminded him. “And do you think my father’s never going to come after me? That I can live this simple life you speak of? Which, honestly, isn’t as simple as you try to make it sound.”
“We’d be on the run for a while, of course. Do you really think he would search for you forever, though?” Levi asked. “That it would be a good look for him to have in front of the Kingdom? Spending most of his resources to look for his daughter rather than bettering the lives of his people?”
Eden’s forehead had returned to the steering wheel by the time Levi finished talking. Her head was a balloon that was too full and ready to pop. “Why am I even talking about this? The entire thing is absurd, Levi.”
“Because you feel this bond just as much as I do,” Levi answered. “Even if we aren’t in love yet, I want to experience the entire journey that explains why we are soulmates. And I can’t just fold because the Mad King wants to sell you off like—”
Eden interrupted him by nearly striking him across the face, but Levi caught her wrist before she could do so. Her chest heaved with anger, instinctively feeling defensive of her father. Levi didn’t waver, however, staring her dead in the eyes. “Who are you really mad at, Eden?”
She crumbled as easily as a sheet of paper. As tears reappeared in her eyes, Levi pulled her into his chest. It was like he could see right through her, and that shocked, terrified, and depressed Eden all at once. His arms were locked firmly around her, and his head rested on the top of hers, completely enveloping her broken form.
“I’ve lost control of my own life,” Eden wept. “It… it crushes my soul. No path I have before me feels right. I’m going to be wrong, no matter what I do.”
“Don’t say that,” Levi insisted. After giving her a moment to collect herself, he held her at arm’s length with his hands firmly on her shoulders. “Do not give up on me so easily. I know that just running away isn’t the best solution. I’m not going to let you go that easily. I can’t.” His voice grew husky the longer he spoke, tears stinging his amber eyes.
Eden had to clench her teeth and focus on her breathing to keep from breaking down into tears again. She wasn’t this weak—she had never been this weak. With a trembling lip, she stated, “I don’t see a way out of marrying Darian.”
Levi’s eyes watched as her teeth sank into her bottom lip to cease her quivering. His hand rested against her chin, pulling her lip out of her mouth with his thumb. He studied her for what felt like hours, his face slowly softening from its usual stony composure.
“All right,” he conceded, tone defeated. “But, at least let me try. Don’t block me out, Eden.”
The urge to kiss him overwhelmed Eden, causing her hands to tighten around her steering wheel to lock herself in place. Every little thing Levi did was proof of their connection. He didn’t want to give up on her, on them. She needed him to be the firm one, the logical one. Maybe he was right. Maybe there was a reason they were soulmates instead of it being some twisted fate.
“Okay,” Eden breathed, giving a nod as weak as her voice. “You have until the wedding. After that… it’d be too dangerous.” Levi pulled her back into his arms and pressed a firm kiss to the top of her head.
“Thank you,” he whispered into her hair. They remained in their embrace for several minutes, breathing in one another’s scents and gently caressing one another. “Let’s meet tomorrow. I know that seems soon, but I want to know you’re okay. I can see this wedding planning stuff is getting to you.”
Eden would have normally fought back, insisting that they take more time before meeting face to face again, to ensure their safety. However, the thought of seeing Levi after the impossible day she’d had sounded too grand to pass up. She gave him another nod, and Levi pressed another kiss to the top of her head before slipping out of the car.
Yet again, Eden collapsed into her seat. Idly, she fished her phone out of her handbag to find over thirty missed calls from her cousins. She had been gone an hour.
What in the world had her life become?
9
A Week Later
Levi and Eden had been spending stolen hours together every single day. At first, Eden had returned to her cold and snappy demeanor because she felt as though she had embarrassed herself by being so emotional in front of him. All too quickly for her liking, Levi had melted her. Her feelings were gaining meaning every day, and it was making her dread the wedding all the more. Her stomach was consistently tied into a tight knot.
Early that morning, Eden sought ou
t to find her brother, Theo. It didn’t take a whole lot of guesswork to find him sparring in a special court a brief walk from the estate. He was always there. As much as Eden meditated, Theo trained for fighting. She gracefully hoisted herself up onto the stone wall that surrounded the court. All three of the men present were shirtless and sweaty, despite the crisp morning air. They had to have been at it for a while already. Eden watched idly for a few minutes before finally calling over to Theo.
“Oooh, brother!” It was the same inflection she had used as a child when she got her way with their father and he made her brothers do whatever it was she wanted. Eden had, admittedly, been a spoiled brat. She spotted his grimace at the familiar call, but he didn’t even glance in her direction.
“Can you not see that I’m busy?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“It can wait.”
There was no more room for debate, since Theo leaped into the air and shifted into his dragon form. He and the other two fought as fiercely as if they wanted one another’s blood, but none of them ever landed the final deadly blows. Nearly an hour passed before they all transitioned back into their human states. Eden had sat there with her head in her hands, watching indolently.
When Theo glanced over to see her still sitting there, he quickly got dressed before pacing over to her. “What is it, Denny?”
“You know I hate that nickname.” Eden glared at him. She hated all nicknames that could be derived from her name. They sounded manly and weird to her. “Can we talk in private?”
Sighing again, as though she was really putting him out, Theo turned his head toward his friends and called for them to head out without him. Once they jogged out of sight, his attention went back to Eden. “Now, what is it?”
“I’m having a hard time with this arranged marriage thing,” Eden admitted uncomfortably.
“Naturally. You’ve always been a little rebel when it suits you.”
Eden’s glare deepened. Theo had always been as blunt as she was, but not out of wanting to be honest—he just wanted to be a prick. He put it as him being “too busy for nonsense,” which meant that if you weren’t on his itinerary for the day, then he did not have time for you. He was a dedicated fighter, as well as a businessman, planning his days down to the minute.
“I’m serious!” Eden said. “I’m not sure I can go through with it.”
“Why not? It’s just a formality, Denny.”
“You know that’s not all it is,” she insisted. “Father won’t let me simply marry Darian and go back to my routine and studies. I’ll have to keep up appearances with him.”
“You could do worse, you know. He’s the only one who can even come close to beating me when sparring.”
“There’s something off about him,” Eden confessed. “It’s like there’s something sinister beneath the surface.”
Theo’s brows drew together. “Do you think he’s going to hurt you?”
“No, nothing like that…”
“Then there’s no reason for you not to marry him,” Theo stated plainly.
“You mean you don’t notice anything strange about him?” she questioned, wondering if she could be imagining it due to her rebellious nature. Theo opened his mouth to speak before snapping it shut and looking up to the sky to gather his thoughts. When he looked back to her, his eyes had warmed some.
“Even if I did, it wouldn’t be enough reason for Father to let you out of the arrangement,” he said. “From what I can tell, he’s a decent guy. He may be fake, but that’s to further his rank. It’s all a political game. However, he seems all right enough, and you know as well as I do that it would be good for the family.”
Eden looked away, defeated. She wasn’t entirely certain what she thought she would get out of the conversation, but she was hoping to have at least something new to think about—something to help her out of her dire situation.
Theo gave her a sad look before turning to walk away. Without thinking, she blurted out, “What about my soulmate?”
He quizzically peered over his shoulder at her. “What about it?”
“Well…” Eden stared away, twisting her hands together. “What if my soulmate is right around the corner? I don’t want to miss out on that for a loveless marriage…”
Theo folded then. No longer was he the icy, driven businessman; he was her brother. Going back over to her, he reached a hand up to help her down from the wall and locked eyes with her to convey seriousness and compassion.
“You and I both know that there is no telling when or if your mate will come along. I know it sucks, and I know I would never be in your shoes, but it’s just something you need to accept, okay? I don’t want you fighting this, Denny, and I mean that. Father’s been… unwell. I think that he is in such a state that you would not be out of reach of his wrath. He’s fragile,” Theo added in a mumble, “for lack of a better word.” Clearing his throat, he continued. “For your safety. Can you promise me?”
“I…”
“Eden.”
“I promise I won’t fight it blindly, how about that?” Eden suggested. “If I find a reason to fight it other than not liking Darian, I’m going to.”
Theo looked displeased but accepted the compromise. “If you can, let me know whatever it is you find or come up with. And if you can’t come up with anything, please try to make the most of it. I don’t want to see you so miserable.”
She nodded and gave him a hug. He was tense at first but then eased, patting her back. “I love you, Theo.”
“Love you too. I gotta go. Be in touch.”
With that, they parted ways. Theo ran into the direction his friends had gone, more than likely going on a hike, as they usually did. Eden headed back to the house to get ready to meet Levi. They were supposed to meet in the countryside for a day together out in nature so they could get away from the anxiety of constantly having to look over their shoulders.
Dressing down for the occasion, Eden adorned herself with jean shorts and a fitted olive-green t-shirt that came down just an inch above the waistband of her shorts, with black high-top sneakers to match her casual look. Her auburn waves were neatly weaved together in a loose French braid. Looking herself over once, Eden grabbed her purse before heading to the garage. Before she reached her car, Eden lost sight of it when a man stood just inches from her, blocking her view. Eden jumped back, hand clutched to her chest.
“Oh my god, Darian! Must you always sneak up on me?” she hissed, brushing a lock of hair from her face.
“I don’t mean to,” Darian smiled politely before he took in her appearance. Then he arched a thick, suspicious brow. “Where are you off to?”
“It’s none of your business,” she stated, moving around him.
“Well, I think the wellbeing of my fiancée is in the realm of business.”
“Don’t pull that card on me, Darian,” Eden replied. “We’re not married yet. Not that I would be your business then, but I certainly am not now.”
“I did not mean it as if I own you, darling. I am merely curious, as well as concerned,” he tried to assure her, pacing after her. He leaned against the driver side door as she moved to unlock it. “Look, I want you to like me. I checked with Ivy, and she said you guys didn’t have anything on the agenda today, so… I figured we could spend the day together. Go out and do something, away from the Kingdom.”
Eden eyed him curiously. “Just because nothing is going on with the wedding plans doesn’t mean I can’t have anything else going on. I do have a personal life.”
“Well, what is it you have going on? Are you meeting with someone? I could pick you up after,” Darian suggested with his presidential smile.
Eden froze. Darian could easily check with whoever she mentioned as part of her excuse, just to verify her story. It was also known that Eden was a homebody who did not go out into the city unless necessary. She looked at her car with longing, realizing, as the moments ticked by, that there was not going to be any ignoring Dar
ian. Not that day.
“Okay, fine. Let’s go,” she mused, admitting defeat without bothering to answer any of his questions. Darian didn’t seem bothered. His smile stretched across his face again, and he tossed an arm about her waist.
“We should take my car.” His words didn’t even register to Eden, being encapsulated by her sorrow over standing up Levi.
What would he think?
After an hour-and-a-half car ride of Darian unsuccessfully attempting small talk with Eden, the car came to a stop outside of a marina. Letting herself out of the car, Eden peered over to Darian. He smiled at her. “What’s better than a relaxing day on a yacht?”
Eden wasn’t pleased. She thought that they would be doing an activity of some kind. They would be trapped on a boat together with nothing but conversation? This was the last thing she wanted. The only thing that gave her comfort was knowing that, if worse came to worst and she had to get away from him, she could easily outswim him.
“Certainly wasn’t what I was expecting,” she admitted under her breath, following him to his yacht.
It was absurd how large it was. Eden snidely thought that someone as fake as Darian wouldn’t have enough friends to fill such a vessel. Crude remarks about men compensating ran through her mind while he showed it off. Despite all of her negative feelings, it really was a remarkable yacht. It was well tended to, not a spot of algae or mold in sight. The wood furnishing was all glossy, freshly polished.
“The bar is fully stocked, and I brought provisions for a lovely picnic lunch,” Darian announced as they reached the bow of the ship. He sounded so proud of himself, which for some reason rubbed Eden the wrong way. It sounded as if there was a secret reason behind his pride.
You’re just paranoid, Eden, she scolded herself. Her brother’s words replayed in her head, knowing that everything he had said was right. “It’s very thoughtful of you to do this,” she complimented rather dryly.