Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Fearing that the meeting with the Fifth Kingdom princess had left Lexi unsettled, Jeros hoped a visit to the stables and meeting his herd of unicorns would take her mind to a better place. Animals seemed to soothe her, and even she had said she understood them better than she understood people.
“Where are we going?” she asked a second time with the impatience of a child eager to see the surprise.
“That is for ye to discover, my…Lexi. Ye will see.” She had told him not to call her my own, yet the sentiment begged to roll off his tongue. But he must abide by her wishes. No matter how difficult that might be.
“Princess Faeniana would be an irresistible beauty if she changed her attitude. Has she ever been kind?”
“Never. She is known for her cruelty, not her physical appearance.”
“You would have been miserable if you had married her.”
Jeros snorted. “Ye have no idea how miserable I would have been.”
“I am glad you declined the Fifth Kingdom and your mother’s contract to make her your wife.”
His heart leapt. Could it be that Lexi was at last accepting their destiny? “And why does my rejection of the princess please ye, my lady?” He needed her to say it, needed to know where he stood.
She studied him as they walked along, her eyes narrowing to critical slits as if she struggled to find the right words. “You are not a bad person, Jeros. I know you and I have had our difficult moments, but you are good-hearted. You deserve happiness. Not misery.”
Disappointment sank his heart. While it pleased him that she thought well of him, it wasn’t well enough. “Thank ye.”
They passed into the garden via the double doors of the ballroom.
The aroma of lilacs, roses, and woodbine danced across the gentle breeze that made everything sway.
Bees buzzed and butterflies flitted from flower to flower.
The wisteria arbor did its best to block the sunlight from the corner of the terrace, its lush lavender blooms making the air even sweeter.
Lexi halted, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. “Oh my goodness, this place is so beautiful. What a lovely surprise.”
“Aye, the garden is one of my favorite spots here at Sevenrest, but this is not yer surprise, my lady.” He took her hand and gently tugged. “Come. I think ye will like what I have yet to show ye even better.”
Her lovely brows arched higher. “Really? Even better than this Eden?”
“Even better,” he said. “I promise. Come and see.” He couldn’t remember the last time he had been this excited to give someone a tour of his expansive stable and introduce them to his herd of unicorns.
He treasured the sometimes temperamental animals even more than horses, even though he considered both species a great deal more intelligent than many gave them credit.
As soon as they emerged from the grove of fruit trees and passed through the garden’s back gate, Lexi gasped. “You have unicorns!”
“Aye, lass. Quite the herd since they have grown to trust me and know I offer them the shelter of my stables only when they wish it.”
The inquisitive beasts in the adjoining meadow ambled closer, the larger, more mature animals first, followed by the youngsters, some of which had yet to sprout their horns.
The older mares, silver white in color, would ensure the frisky, golden colts didn’t venture too close until they deemed Lexi safe.
Then they all stopped as one and stared at her for a long moment.
The silver stallion, the mares, and every single young one bowed their heads, directing the gracious gesture at Lexi.
“What are they doing?” she whispered.
Jeros smiled at the way she drew closer as if seeking his protection.
Unable to resist, he put his arm around her.
Her soft warmth tucked against his side almost took him to his knees.
He cleared his throat and forced himself to concentrate.
“They recognize Pegasus’s mark. He is their alpha, their trusted leader.
They honor ye with their fealty because he chose to bless ye as a trusted soul. ”
“Oh my,” she said just as softly. “I am the one who is honored.”
Just as he had known she would be. Lexi Vine might be a proud woman with strong opinions, but she was also humble and overflowing with kindness and caring. That was another reason the unicorns bowed to her.
“Can I get closer? Do you think they would mind?” Without waiting for his answer, she eased toward them with her hand outstretched, knuckles first, in case one of them decided to bite.
But after the sign of their united fealty, Jeros knew without a doubt that none of them would ever get fractious with Lexi.
“Hello, beautiful ones,” she said quietly to the glorious creatures. “I can’t possibly tell you how overwhelmed I am to meet you. Thank you so very much for allowing it.”
The stallion came forward first, gently grumbling his greeting. The mares followed, and then the youngsters. Soon, they surrounded her, nudging closer and giving her a good sniff until she giggled.
Lexi welcomed them all, petting and talking softly, her giddiness unmistakable.
Jeros had never seen anyone so happy, and it pleased him beyond words.
Yes. This had been one of his better ideas.
He wished he had thought of it earlier. Her joy gave him joy.
It was the first time in his life that such a thing had happened, and he rather liked it. Liked it a lot, as a matter of fact.
She looked back at him and smiled. “This is the best surprise I have ever had. Thank you.”
He accepted her thanks with a graceful nod, reveling even more in her happiness.
“I don’t see any fencing,” she said as she gently stopped a foal from chewing on her sleeve. “Yet this is quite a large herd. What keeps them from wandering off into the woods?”
“They know they are safe here and will never be asked to do anything they are unwilling to do. A unicorn is somewhat different from a horse. One does not simply ride a unicorn or harness it to a carriage; one must always ask the creature if they will go along with whatever ye wish for them to do. One does not own a unicorn.”
“I see. And if they refuse what you ask of them?”
He shrugged. “Then I move on to the next beast and ask it. They stay here because they know I would never attempt to force them into anything. They trust me.”
“That means a lot.”
For some reason, it felt as though she was talking about a great deal more than unicorns—and he prayed that the feeling was correct. “Trust is important to ye, then?”
Her wry smile said much more than any words ever could. “I believe I already told you that trust and honesty are biggies with me. They are the deal breakers.”
“Deal breakers?”
She twitched a faint shrug. “Past relationships have ended because of trust issues or when I’ve been lied to.
When someone lies to me, I feel like they’re calling me stupid.
” She locked eyes with him. “And nobody better call me stupid. I may be a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them.
” She slowly extricated herself from the beasties vying for her attention and returned to him.
“What is it?” she asked. “You suddenly went all dark and scowly.”
He couldn’t get past the fact that she’d had relationships with others. A possessiveness, a raging jealousy that burned like an eternal fire, surged through him. Whether or not she knew it, she belonged to him and always would. “Yer past relationships. How many have hurt ye?”
She wrinkled her nose and grew thoughtful.
“All of them, I guess. With the guys I dated, I mean. A few friendships fizzled out, but not many. I haven’t circulated all that much or worked at finding someone to settle down with.
I discovered early on that it just wasn’t worth the effort to get emotionally attached only to get hurt.
” She jutted her chin higher. “How have your past relationships gone?”
“Ye met one that tried to become a permanent relationship. Were ye not impressed?” He would rather not get into how many couplings he’d had. He didn’t consider those relationships.
She grinned. “Yeah, she was an epic fail.” Ambling closer, her grin widened to a knowing smile. “You are a playboy. A love them and leave them type. Aren’t you?”
He found her accuracy unsettling. “Perhaps.” It was his turn to jut his chin at her, challenging her. “At least, up until now.”
She arched a brow. “Up until now?”
“I would never love and leave my fated mate.”
Now, she was the one who seemed unsettled.
“This place, this fantasy realm, is unlike any place or dream I have ever known. Unicorns, fairies, fated mates.” She slowly shook her head.
“I still have a hard time believing it’s real and not some sort of dream.
” With a thoughtfulness, she patted her chest. “Why wouldn’t my fated mate be in my time?
My world? If our souls were split by death the last time we loved, why weren’t we born within reach of each other the next time? ”
“Dark forces fight the rejoining of fated mates. They scatter those with the strongest loves across time and realities to bring down the Highland Veil.”
“You have mentioned that before, but I don’t exactly understand it.”
“Mairwen said ye saw it when ye arrived at Seven Cairns. Remember the colors in the sky?”
Lips barely parted in wonderment, eyes gazing at something only she could see, she slowly nodded. “It was beautiful. But what has it to do with fated mates, eternal love, and dark forces?”