Where Shadows Rest (Evermere #2)

Chapter 1 In This House

Serafina “Seri” Cimmerian

Sunlight filtered through Evermere’s floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing our breakfast table in golden warmth. I unfolded my crisp linen napkin, letting it float onto my lap like a delicate cloud, and couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful life surrounding me.

Koa was slathering his toast with strawberry jam, his espresso eyes focused with the intensity he applied to everything.

Zane was making a tower of bacon that threatened to topple at any moment.

And there was Casimir, elegant even while drinking his coffee, reading something on his tablet with his brow furrowed in concentration.

Eighteen days ago, I’d been handing my baby sister Josslyn over to King Julian’s care.

Eighteen days ago, I’d been terrified of what kind of husband I’d find waiting for me at Evermere as part of my stepmother’s truce with the vampire court.

Eighteen days ago, I’d dared to beg the fates, the universe, and the Moon Goddess for only the basics:

Let him be kind. Let him be decent. Please, don’t let him hurt me.

Instead of the bare minimum, though, I’d found safety. Protection. And love.

So much love.

My heart fluttered with a happiness I’d almost forgotten was possible. The pain lingered, the hollow ache in my chest where the siphoning had torn something essential from me, but it was fading more each day, replaced by this fullness.

I savored a bite of my eggs, humming at how delicious they were. Beneath the table, Brumous shoved his empty food bowl against my foot, accompanied by wide eyes full of desperate hunger, and I chuckled quietly.

Just a little, I thought, sneaking a piece of egg under the table. His tongue lapped at my fingers, gentle despite his eagerness.

“So,” Zane said, his voice taking on that teasing lilt that usually meant trouble for someone. “I hear you charmed our brother Sebastian into playing chauffeur while we were off hunting Claudio. Driving you and Lucian to the lake, was it? Very cozy.”

“He was polite and nice.” I felt heat rise to my cheeks, remembering how kind Sebastian had been.

“Oh, I’m sure he was.” Zane waggled his eyebrows. “Pops told us all about how you batted those big gray eyes and had Sebastian eating out of your hand in minutes.”

“I did not bat my eyes!” I protested. “I don’t even know what that means!”

Brummy nudged my hand. I fed him another bit of egg, marveling at how even his fur felt healthier already, less patchy than when I’d first rescued him.

“Sebastian’s not used to women who don’t want something from him,” Zane said. “Your complete obliviousness to his royal status probably short-circuited his brain.”

“But I did want something from him.” I frowned and tilted my head to the side. “I wanted to go to the lake.”

Koa snorted into his glass of orange juice, then set it down with a hard clink.

“Be quiet and eat your breakfast, Zane. Only those with nicknames are allowed to speak this morning.”

“Since when is that a rule?” Zane squawked.

“Since now.” The corner of Casimir’s mouth twitched upward, the closest he ever came to a smile at the breakfast table, and I felt that strange, wonderful warmth spread through me again.

I smiled at them all, these three powerful, complicated men who had become my world. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined finding this when I’d agreed to an arranged marriage as a way to escape my stepmother and her cruelty.

Papa would have liked them, I decided. He would have seen past their fearsome reputations to the goodness beneath.

Another piece of egg found its way to Brummy, who headbutted my thigh in thanks, and I could almost see him running through fields, his joy infectious.

Soon, I promised him silently. Soon you’ll be strong enough.

It was the same promise I made to myself each morning when I woke up and felt that empty space inside where my magic used to flow. Each day, the void felt a little less vast, a little less painful. Hopefully, in another few months, it would be full to the brim again.

“Right, moonbeam?” Zane demanded with a hot scowl at Koa.

I rubbed my forehead, trying to remember what we’d been talking about. My mind was still foggy from the siphoning, little gaps appearing where I was sure thoughts should be. Biting my bottom lip, I glanced over at Casimir, whose green eyes were locked on my face.

“Nicknames, Seri,” he prompted, and I flashed him a smile, although I was baffled how he knew my brain had hit a blank space.

“Koko, I did give—

“Don’t even start, cutie pie,” Zane cut in with a rapid wave of his hand, those gingerbread eyes narrowing in a warning glare. “I’m perfectly content without one of your sugar-coated monikers, thank you very much. Some of us want to maintain our dignity around here.”

“But I did give you a nickname! Zoodle!”

The silence lasted exactly one heartbeat.

Then Koa made a strangled sound, his eyes widening to an impossible size before he simply tipped sideways.

The crash as he and his chair hit the polished dining room floor was impressive, but not nearly as impressive as the unrestrained laughter that followed.

Sprawled on the floor, Koa couldn’t contain himself, clutching his stomach as tears leaked from his eyes.

What shocked me more was the sharp bark of laughter that escaped Casimir, whose green eyes sparkled with a mirth I rarely saw. He quickly covered his mouth with the back of his fist, but the damage was done.

“Zoodle?” Zane’s voice cracked on the word. His red hair seemed to stand on end as his face flushed to match it. “I never heard you call me that! Seri, you’re delusional. Cas, check to see if she has a fever—”

“I thought it was cute.” My bottom lip pushed out in a pout. I hadn’t meant to embarrass him.

“Cute?” Zane’s voice rose an octave. “Suck that lip right back in, Serafina. You’re the idiot who came up with such an dumb nickname—”

“Careful.” Casimir’s amusement vanished as quickly as it had appeared, his tone suddenly carrying the weight of command. “Do not call our beloved an idiot.”

Koa finally managed to control his laughter enough to climb back into his chair, but occasional aftershocks of chuckles still rippled through him.

“Zoodle,” he choked under his breath, setting off another minor fit.

I quietly returned to my breakfast, cutting a piece of bacon and savoring the salty crispness. Maybe Zoodle wasn’t the right choice after all. I’d only wanted to give him something special, like I had the others.

“I can’t believe this.” Zane threw his hands up, his toast forgotten. “I’m being victimized at my own breakfast table.”

No one responded. Casimir calmly picked up his tablet again. Koa ate his eggs, his lips still curved into a grin.

“The absolute disrespect!” Zane’s voice rose as he slumped back in his chair. “The sheer indignity. You lobbed that verbal grenade during pillow talk, then passed out! Woke up thinking I’d hallucinated the whole thing. Heinous, Seri. Truly heinous.”

I swallowed my bacon and blinked at him.

“I mean, Zoodle? Really? That’s what I am to you? Casimir gets Simmy, Koa gets Koko, and I get Zoodle?”

“Yes, because you’re a little twisty, a little ridiculous, and good for everyone.”

Something shifted in his expression, a flash of surprise and a softening around his eyes that melted the exaggerated outrage.

“Go on, starlight.” He leaned forward on his elbows. “Feed me more praise.”

I grinned, recognizing the pleased gleam behind his pretend annoyance. For all his protests, he cherished every bit of affection thrown his way. He was like a cat pretending to be above it all while secretly purring.

“You’re very clever. And brave. And you make everyone laugh, even when things are difficult. You’re silly, but comforting. Comforting like hot chocolate that people line up for at midnight when they need…” My voice faltered at the memory of cold floors and hollow stomachs. “Something warm.”

His chair scraped back so violently that it nearly toppled. He rounded the table in three strides, his calloused palms cradling my face before I could blink. His thumbs brushed the apple of my cheeks, fiery lashes lowered to half-mast.

“More,” he demanded, his breath sweet with maple syrup, although his mate scent of night phlox nearly flooded it out.

“When you smile for real, not that smirk, your eyes crinkle at the corners.” The words spilled out, drawn by some invisible thread connecting my ribcage to his. “And your hair in the sunlight looks like someone spun copper wire through a campfire.”

“You’re cheating.” His forehead dropped to mine. “Using poet words.”

“Only the truth.” I brushed my nose against his. “My handsome Zoodle.”

Next to us, Koa fake-retched.

“Either kiss her or stop blocking the butter dish, fireweed.”

“Well, I suppose there are worse things than being a Zoodle.” Zane said the word as if it physically pained him, and I hid my smile in his neck.

“You’re so easy, bro,” Koa sneered. “A handful of compliments and you roll over like a puppy.”

“I prefer ‘discerning appreciator of genuine feedback,’ ” Zane shot back as he pecked my forehead before returning to his chair.

“I prefer ‘predictable,’ ” Casimir scoffed, cutting his waffle with the care of a surgeon.

Then the dining room doors burst open with such force, they banged against the walls.

The metallic thunk of a blade burying itself in the platter of waffles froze me mid-bite.

A plump, older woman with steel-gray hair stormed in with her apron fluttering and eyes wild.

I’d only glimpsed Mrs. Wentzel before in passing, but the kindly chef I’d seen from afar now looked like something from a horror movie.