Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
A tlas didn’t know why he was so damn nervous.
It was only Everinne, and besides, she’d been the one to announce that she was marrying him, not the other way around.
He knew she didn’t love him, and with the exception of their little interlude at the overlook the other night, he was fairly certain she still hated him.
Which begged the question, why did she suddenly want to marry him?
He didn’t believe for one minute that it had anything to do with that damned Lord Tovian asking for her hand, mostly because if he had proposed and she intended to deny him, nothing would stop her.
Everinne had no problem standing up for herself or telling off any male who stood in her way, and if she didn’t want to be carried off on a cloud of stardust, she would tell Lord Tovian she wasn’t interested without hesitation.
So, it had to be something else.
There must be another reason she’d so readily agreed to marry him, and Atlas wondered what kind of secrets she was keeping.
He could delve into her mind, listen to her thoughts as though they were his own, but he’d been cautious around her, building the layers of a stone wall between them in an effort to shut her out.
To ensure he didn’t eavesdrop on her personal turmoil.
Even now, her mind was a muted whirlwind of chaos, her churning emotions and thoughts threatening to destroy the barrier he’d carefully constructed, sending it crumbling into a pile of ash and debris.
When she looked at him, his heart strained.
Tonight, Everinne’s facade of indifference fractured, the vivacity of her aura waned.
Her turquoise eyes were still brimming with tears, the rings of gold around the center flaring brightly like captured prisms of sunlight.
The brazen cloak of fearlessness she wore had slipped, revealing the death-touched fae who wandered without purpose.
Standing before him with her bottom lip quivering, he saw the truth of her nature—a lost soul whose magic left her broken, yet whose fire could not be contained.
She was flames against his skin, burning him with a single look.
Atlas twisted his mother’s ring between his fingers, worried that if he took too much longer, Everinne might change her mind.
When he spoke, he kept his voice soft. “Are you going to break me, Wildheart?”
Everinne blinked, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. “Break you?”
His chest tightened to the point of pain, and he slid the ring onto her finger. The air hummed, vibrating with energy, and he shoved up from the ground, drawing her close. He linked their fingers together, then wrapped one hand around her waist.
The chill of the night whispered around them, but all Atlas could feel was the heat simmering between them, and the distance he’d forced between them for years slowly evaporated, fading into a distant memory like a mistake.
“Are you going to make me fall so deep into a sea of longing that I forget how to breathe when I’m near you? Until all I want to do is drown in you?” Atlas watched as her lips parted, as her breath hitched, siphoning away his resolve. “Will you break my heart and destroy my soul?”
Her gaze darkened, shadows slipping into the pools of turquoise that haunted his dreams. She shook her head, tucking her chin down. “My magic…”
“Not your magic, Everinne.” He placed two fingers under her chin, tilting her face up to him. “Will you ?”
“A heart can only be broken if it’s been given out of love.” She squeezed her eyes shut, her brows pinching together in a pain he couldn’t erase.
Atlas cupped her face then, running his thumb gently along the apple of her cheek. “And will you give me yours?”
Her eyes flew open, and it was then he saw the depth of her suffering, the emotions that plagued her. Loneliness. Despair. Regret. “I don’t think I have one anymore.”
“You do.” Atlas had seen her heart. The pulse of it was a song, a series of melancholy chords, music that could only be heard by him. “You have a heart, Everinne. One day, it will belong to me. Until then, I will give you mine.”
“Atlas…” Her bottom lip quivered again, drawing his gaze to her mouth.
“Take my heart, Everinne. All of it.” His hand moved from her cheek to the back of her neck and lowered his head, unable to tear his gaze away from those full lips that seemed to beckon him. “For as long as you need, for as long as you breathe, it’s yours.”
One kiss.
All it would take was one kiss, one meeting of the lips, and then she would know. She would understand the degree of his need for her, because she would know she was his mate. He told himself it didn’t matter, she could either accept or reject the bond, but at least she would know .
He inhaled the tempting scent of her—warm caramel fused with the decadence of rose and blackcurrant—and his pulse thudded loudly in his ears, his blood raced.
Her eyes fluttered closed, waiting for the moment their lips touched.
Everything he ever wanted, everything he tried to avoid, was finally within his reach.
“Get your fucking hands off my sister.”
Veros’s voice, heated with malice, cut through the night.
Atlas spun away from Everinne to face him, only to see Veros’s fist right before it connected with his face.
Pain ricocheted through him as bone crunched, as Veros’s knuckles slammed into the space right below his left eye.
Off to his right, he heard Everinne scream.
Midnight stars danced in front of Atlas’s vision, and he staggered backward, blinking through the agony.
He rolled his neck, regained his bearing in just enough time to see Veros readying another swing, but this time Atlas lunged forward, tackling his friend to the ground.
They collided against the cold stone in a crash of fists and grunts, exchanging blows like they had in their youth, when one of them lost a bet. Except this time, there was more at stake.
“Stop!” Everinne cried. “Veros, enough!”
But they ignored her pleas, grappling against one another, each of them taking well-placed swings.
Atlas landed a swift punch to Veros’s jaw, splitting his friend’s lip open.
Veros retaliated with a hit to his ribs, the cracking unmistakable.
White hot pain speared through him as his blood rushed to heal the wounds.
Vile curses escaped Atlas through gritted teeth, and he rammed his elbow upward, connecting with the underside of Veros’s jaw.
Spasms of agony seared him, but he fought through the throbbing aches, because this discomfort was nothing compared to what he’d already suffered.
He would take each hit without a care and fire back with one of his own, because nothing, absolutely nothing, would cause him more torment than being separated from Everinne for a lifetime.
Then suddenly Veros was being ripped off him and Caedian was there, tossing the Lord of Time across the garden patio as though he weighed nothing more than a bag of sand.
“That’s assault on the Imperial Prince, my lord.” Caedian stood with his sword drawn, its tip aimed at Veros’s throat. Gone were all traces of humor and friendship, and in their place was the cold-blooded resolution of an esteemed warrior. “Stand down. Now .”
Veros straightened, a line of rage creasing his forehead, cutting between narrowed brows. He ignored Caedian, the focus of his ruthless glare directed toward Atlas instead. His chest heaved, his busted knuckles fisting at his side. “You swore an oath to me.”
Atlas stood, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, and his flesh came away smeared crimson. “And I’ll uphold it. I’ll protect her.”
Everinne stalked toward them, her hands planted on her hips. She stared her brother down, but he didn’t so much as spare a glance in her direction. “Do not speak of me as though I’m not right here.”
“Just not from yourself.” Veros spat, his bloodied saliva staining the stone ground at his feet. The accusation was clear. “She deserves more. She deserves the world.”
“I will give her the world! The sun and the moon. The sky and all of its stars. The petal of every flower, every drop of rain, every snowflake from winter’s coldest months.
I’ll give her every damn mountain and the endless sea.
” Atlas threw his arms wide, anger heating his veins, causing his blood to boil. “I will give her everything!”
“And what of your loyalty?” Veros countered, stepping closer, then freezing in place as Caedian once again raised his weapon in a silent threat. “What of your fidelity? Will you remain faithful to her or?—”
“Is that what this is about?” Atlas exploded, his fury engulfing the pain carving its way through him, cut open by the hurt of his friend’s open condemnation.
He’d grown accustomed to the reputation he held, to how others perceived him, but never in a thousand years would he have imagined Veros would make the same callous assertion.
The betrayal stung deep. “You think I’ll sneak off to have illicit affairs while she’s sleeping in my bed? ”
Veros’s jaw locked. “I won’t allow her to be another one of your conquests.”
“I’m standing right here!” Everinne shouted, but her voice was drowned out by the hollow loathing of her brother’s words.
“You don’t think I’m worthy of her.” Not a question, but a testament to the truth.
Atlas nodded slowly, stepping back, the realization all too clear.
“Is that it, Veros? My closest friend thinks the worst of me, just like every other fucking soul in this damned city. That my magic, the power I wield, is also the substance of my character. You think I’m a rake, a playboy prince, who’s undeserving of his sister. ”
Veros’s shoulders bunched, and a vein ticked along his temple. “She’s fragile.”
“I most certainly am not,” Everinne huffed, her warm breath misting before her.
“Fragile. Such a curious choice of words, my lord.” Atlas ran his thumb along his jawline, considering, his contempt palpable. “Fragile…yet you’ve sat back and watched her break, refusing to use your almighty magic to help her.”
“The hands of time are not so easily altered.” Veros bristled, crossing his arms over his chest. “You know I have boundaries. Limits.”
Atlas scowled. “As do I.”
“You humiliated her in a room full of people!” Veros erupted then, stalking so close that the sharpened edge of Caedian’s extended sword bit into the skin of his flesh. “They called her your whore, Atlas. How do I know you won’t hurt her again?”
“Because she’s my fucking mate!” Atlas roared, the rein of his control snapping, leaving him full of untethered wrath.
But a tiny, barely audible gasp held him in check.
His gaze flicked to Everinne, who stared at him in utter horror.
Eyes wide and round with fear, she looked at him as though he’d just professed to being a monster, a demon of the night, as opposed to confessing the truth that had damn near killed him every day.
She stood frozen in place by the words he’d shouted out of desperation, and in the thaw of the aftermath, she ran.
Fleeing. Her heels clicked against the patio as she tore into the gardens, vanishing into the night.
Atlas’s shoulders sagged. He roughed a hand over his face, raked his fingers through his hair, then stared at his best friend. “She’s my mate, Veros.”
“I know.” His words were a hoarse whisper. “Why do you think I made you take that vow?”
Atlas dragged his gaze back to Veros, and with the flames of anger now just dying embers, he realized it wasn’t vexation that was harbored in his friend’s hardened expression, but something more like fear. Vast and all-encompassing.
And it caused Atlas’s blood to run cold.
“Because time,” Veros ventured, “much like fate, is not always kind.”
Fuck.
“Go after her.” Veros sighed heavily in resignation, swiping at the blood streaking down his chin. “She won’t listen to me, but she might listen to you.”
Atlas didn’t hesitate.
He turned without another word and ran.