Masked Fate (Fated Love #3)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Soren

As I sit opposite Pandora over breakfast, I feel a strange, unsettled feeling in my chest when I look at her. She avoids my gaze, but I don’t like how vulnerable she still looks, the same way she looked last night. Her shoulders are hunched like she carries the weight of the world, her usual spark dimmed.

And I don’t fucking like it.

What is going on with me?

When she asked me to stay last night, I knew I shouldn’t. But she was scared and didn’t want to be alone, so I held her all night. I left the room before she woke up this morning.

“What exactly happened last night?” I ask, bringing all eyes to me. “We need the details.”

Rave and Astrid share a look, and Pandora puts her fork down with a loud clang that echoes through the dining hall.

“Nothing that concerns you,” she replies in a clipped tone.

She’s right, but for some reason, I can’t help myself. “Considering I’m usually sent to protect you, I think it is,” I reply, leaning back in my chair. “Not to mention, I was the one who found you wandering down the hallway last night and got Astrid to heal you.”

She studies me, a contemplative look on her face. “My sister tried to kill me. Again . Happy? Maybe the two of you can find some common ground in wanting me gone.”

The room is uncomfortably silent for a few long seconds.

My fists clench. “She. Tried. To. Kill. You?” I ask slowly, enunciating every word. Pure rage fills me. I don’t know where it comes from. I know I have no right to be feeling anything regarding her, this witch that has always left me feeling out of control.

“Yes, she set my room on fire and warded it so I couldn’t zip out.” She sighs, flashing Rave a dirty look. “Sound familiar?”

Shadows drift from the floor upward. I know Rave would never hurt Pandora, but I instinctively want to move to protect her. Something is going on. I’m missing something, and I need to figure out what it is before it makes me crazy.

“You know I’d never harm my mate,” Rave replies, scowling.

“She knows,” Astrid replies, rolling her eyes. She rests her hand on Rave’s forearm. “She is just reminding you what an asshole you were.”

Only she could get away with calling the King of Shadows an asshole.

Astrid then turns to Pandora. “Your sister needs to be handled. This has gone on long enough.”

“I know,” Pandora whispers, looking down at her still-full plate.

“Eat,” I command, lifting my chin toward her food.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” she replies, but there’s no heat in her words this time. She’s exhausted.

“You don’t look after yourself, and you’re giving your sister what she wants,” I say, my tone now gentle.

Her violet eyes narrow, but she picks up her fork and takes a bite. I don’t miss the look that Rave and Astrid share between them.

“I’ve wanted to eliminate her for a long time, Pandora,” Rave growls, anger sharpening his features. “I think it’s time you take me up on it.”

“Kainan agrees with you,” she says, swallowing her bite of a strawberry.

“Who the fuck is Kainan?” I snarl, wondering why Astrid is suddenly wearing a shit-eating grin that she doesn’t bother to hide.

“Why do you care, Soren?” she asks, still smirking.

I don’t have an answer to that because why do I care? I’ve always said I hated Pandora and not just her but all witches after what happened to me in her kingdom.

But that wasn’t fair of me, was it?

“Rave told me to protect her. How am I meant to do that if I don’t know everything?”

Yeah, I know I’m grasping at straws here, but I don’t fucking know what’s going on with me.

“I asked you to keep an eye on her twice, not to be her personal bodyguard for the rest of your life,” Rave replies, his lips curling in amusement.

Fucker.

They still haven’t told me who Kainan is. She’s obviously not mated since her wrists are bare, but maybe she has a male in her life. Or maybe she knows who her mate is but hasn’t completed the bond.

The knot in my stomach tells me I don’t like either of those options very much.

Shit. I need to get my cock sucked and stop feeling so fucking on edge about anything that has to do with Pandora.

Her mother was a monster

Her sister is a monster.

Maybe I’m not angry on her behalf because I already hated and wanted Ebony dead. So now, Pandora and I have that in common.

What’s the saying?

The enemy of my enemy is my friend?

Yeah, that’s what this is.

We’re now on the same side with a very common interest.

Rave once told me that Pandora is an incredibly strong witch, which makes me wonder why she lets her sister treat her like this. I guess at the end of the day, no one wants to take out a sibling. I’m an only child, but I see how Rave is with his brothers. No matter how much they fucked up, I don’t think he could ever kill them.

Unless they hurt Astrid, then all bets would be off.

“Does she ever leave Allyria?” I ask Pandora, wondering if that intel is indeed true.

She shakes her head, her black hair falling across her soft cheek. “Not really, no.”

I turn my head to look at Rave. “Well, I say we show up unannounced and visit the witch. What do you think?”

His eyes are on Pandora’s. “I think it’s time. I know she’s your little sister, but if we have to choose between your life and hers, you know which one we are choosing.”

She closes her eyes tightly but nods. “Don’t hurt Kainan.”

My eyes narrow, jaw clenching. “If you want him alive, someone better tell me who he is then.”

“He’s my cousin and right-hand man,” Pandora replies, studying me through lidded eyes. I notice how long and thick her dark lashes are, then wonder why I’m noticing such a thing. She mutters something under her breath that sounds like, “I miss the days when he ignored me.”

Well, too fucking bad.

I did ignore her because I couldn’t deal with the past and her connection to it.

But she’s important to my closest friends, and I can’t pretend she doesn’t exist anymore.

“You stay here. We will take care of it,” I announce after a few seconds of silence. “What kind of wards or witchy spells do you have on your castle?”

“You won’t be able to get inside without being invited,” she replies, pride flickering in her eyes. “Not without strong witch magic anyway.”

“We’ll just have to lure her out then.”

I’ve not killed a female before, but for Ebony, I’m more than happy to make an exception.

Rave eliminated the previous Witch Queen when I was bleeding out, barely alive, so I didn’t get my revenge.

But at least I can have this.

And I’ll still be able to sleep like a baby, knowing the realm and Pandora are safer.