Chap 30
"Why didn't you tell the Crown Prince?"
Wade pulled her tighter against his chest.
"I don't trust them as much as I trust you."
Penny looked toward the door.
Toward the impossible distance between her and the throne room.
Toward the king.
Toward the crown prince.
Toward all the problems waiting beyond it.
Then she sighed.
Evander could probably cross the entire palace before she reached the hallway.
Defeated, she settled back into Wade's arms.
He immediately pulled the blanket higher around them.
"Are you cold?" she asked, twisting to face him.
Wade answered by kissing her.
Slowly.
Until she was smiling.
"I could ravish your body again," he said with a grin.
"But I am your day shift."
"My what?"
Penny smacked his chest.
Wade looked entirely too pleased with himself.
"You married me beneath the sea knowing it might not break the other marriage."
He began counting on his fingers.
"The king."
"One prince."
"One commander."
"One suspiciously amused general."
His hand dropped.
"You now have entirely too many husbands."
Penny groaned.
"You are setting schedules?"
"Of course."
"You are impossible."
"No. Organized."
Penny laughed despite herself.
Then her smile faded.
"How are you okay with this?"
The question escaped before she could stop it.
"You don't seem angry."
"You don't seem jealous."
"You don't seem like you're falling apart."
Her voice softened.
"Because I am barely holding on."
For the first time the teasing left his face.
Wade looked at her quietly.
Then reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"My dear wife."
His smile returned.
Smaller this time.
Sad.
"You have accidentally saddled yourself with a used toy."
Penny frowned.
Wade shrugged.
"I've spent almost two hundred years in this kingdom."
His gaze drifted toward the ceiling.
"I've been gifted."
"Borrowed."
"Loaned."
"Passed around."
His smile turned crooked.
"I'm fairly certain there are official palace forms somewhere."
Penny's heart squeezed painfully.
The joke somehow made it worse.
"Wade "
"Now?"
He looked back at her.
"Now I get to wake up beside a woman I actually love."
His fingers brushed her cheek.
"And maybe someday..."
His voice softened.
"Maybe she'll love me back."
The words hurt.
Not because they were dramatic.
Because he genuinely believed them.
Wade pulled her closer.
Resting his chin against her hair.
"Now get some sleep."
"I'll be here."
"Nothing is taking you from me tonight."
Penny's throat tightened.
Her hand lifted.
Tracing the line of his jaw.
The smile lines beside his eyes.
The face she had dreamed about long before she understood why.
"You idiot."
Wade blinked.
"What?"
Penny slid closer.
Pressing a kiss against the corner of his mouth.
"I am the lucky one."
Wade smiled and kissed her slowly.
Both hands cradling her face.
The way a man kisses when he is no longer afraid of losing something.
The feeling of someone gently tugging on her foot pulled Penny from sleep.
Warm sunlight filled the prince's chambers.
Soft gold spilled across the blankets.
Penny's eyes fluttered open.
For a moment she didn't move.
She was lying on Wade's chest.
One of his arms beneath her.
The other spread possessively across half the bed like he personally owned it.
Then she noticed something else.
The Crown Prince.
Sebastian was asleep behind her.
One arm draped casually around her waist.
Occupying the tiny sliver of mattress Wade had apparently decided to leave for the rest of civilization.
Penny blinked.
Both men were completely asleep.
She felt the tug again.
At her foot.
Slowly she pushed herself upright.
Carefully escaping the tangle of limbs.
Then she looked toward the end of the bed.
Prince Sebastian stood there.
Waiting.
Penny looked back.
Then looked at him.
Then looked back again.
The sleeping Sebastian remained exactly where he was.
Wade shifted.
His arm immediately wrapped around the sleeping prince.
Pulling him closer.
The Crown Prince sighed contentedly in his sleep and settled against him.
Sebastian stared.
Something dark flickered briefly across his face.
Penny bit her lip.
Very hard.
Because laughing felt unwise.
Then she felt it.
That sharp little stab of jealousy.
Not from Wade.
From Seb.
The awake one.
Penny's eyes widened.
Sebastian looked away immediately.
As if embarrassed she'd noticed.
Then he held out his hand.
Penny slipped from the bed and followed him.
Still wearing Evander's oversized shirt.
Sunlight turned the pale fabric nearly translucent.
Sebastian's jaw tightened.
His gaze swept over her once.
Then immediately shifted toward the bed.
Toward the sleeping vampire prince.
Toward the sleeping merman.
Toward the alarming amount of shirt Penny wasn't wearing underneath.
The jealousy became noticeably less little as Penny stepped closer.
Placing her hand against his chest.
Instantly he softened.
The change happened so quickly it almost made her dizzy.
His hand rose to her cheek.
His thumb brushing lightly across her skin.
"Want to get out of here?"
Penny smiled.
Immediately thinking of Alyrina.
Of the sea.
Of the flowers.
Of telling someone about the absolute disaster her life had become.
And for the first time since yesterday
The thought of going to the garden made her happy.
The prince pointed toward a gown folded neatly across a nearby chair.
Deep green velvet shimmered in the sunlight.
Penny picked it up and smiled.
The laces were in the front.
For the first time since arriving at the palace she could dress herself.
Evander's shirt came off.
When she looked up for help finding somewhere to put it, Sebastian was studying the ceiling with intense concentration.
Penny bit back a smile.
He was adorable.
A few moments later she touched his shoulder.
Sebastian immediately took her hand.
Then quietly led her from the room.
Through silent corridors.
Past sleeping vampires hidden safely from the daylight.
Down winding staircases tangled with ivy and gold sunlight.
Penny followed happily.
She had absolutely no idea where she was.
Without Sebastian she would probably still be wandering in circles.
At last he stopped before a small door.
As it opened, sunlight flooded inside.
Forest.
Rolling hills.
Birdsong.
Fresh air.
Freedom.
Sebastian pointed toward a distant rise.
"On the other side of that hill is the royal harbor."
Penny's eyes widened.
Boats.
Adventure.
She slipped her hand into his.
"Thank you."
Sebastian grinned.
"I heard you learned our language."
Ahead of them sunlight blazed through the open archway.
Beyond it waited the world she had only glimpsed through windows and behind garden gates.
Freedom.
Adventure.
A morning that belonged to her.
Behind her, somewhere deep within the palace, a king searched for her in his dreams.
A vampire prince slept peacefully.
A sea prince slept soundly believing she was safe in his arms.
And a vampire general slept warm in the certainty that he belonged.
Penny should have been happy.
Instead
That small nagging feeling returned.
The one she had learned not to ignore.
The one that whispered something was wrong.
She glanced back toward the palace.
Just once.
The feeling grew stronger.
Like a thread pulling tight.
Like a warning.
Sebastian offered her his hand.
His smile warm.
Gentle.
Trustworthy.
This was Seb.
Her sweet Seb.
Penny slipped her hand into his.
And walked toward the sunlight.