Throwing her head back, Islinda savored the bliss of the hot bath as it soothed her aching muscles. When they returned to the sa balcony from which she had been thrown over, he instructed her to go wash up. Not only was she a ss, but Islinda had not realized she was shivering all over. She had been in the cold snow for a while.
Now she soaked in the warm bath and wished she could never get out of it. The bath was so enjoyable. However, the heat was not enough to chase off the tremors that overca her whenever she thought about not being human.
Islinda sighed deeply, throwing her arm over her face. Andre must be mistaken. She did not feel any different. She was still the weak, human Islinda. By the gods, how had her life beco so complicated?
The water turned cold before she left the bath. She donned Andre’s tunic and pants and was still in the middle of drying her hair when she headed to the living room, only to stop short upon seeing Andre.
He had his back turned to her and had changed out of his earlier outfit, wearing a simple long sleeve tunic that did not diminish his beauty one bit. While Aldric had a cruel handsoness and Valerie had a strong yet slightly effeminate beauty, Andre had this carefree beauty about him. He did not need to do much, and yet won would fall for him. The typical playboy.
Andre must have sensed her heated gaze, as he turned around and their eyes t. He winked at her and heat rushed to her face. To hide her embarrassnt, she scowled at him in return.
He laughed heartily, saying, "Don’t fall for , Islinda, or you will only end up crying into your pillow at night."
Islinda scoffed, "Cocky much?" She sighed, "Don’t worry, that can never happen. I already have enough male issues on my plate."
"Yes, right." Andre seed to rember, his accusing gaze resting on her. "You seem to have a habit of collecting my brothers, Islinda."
"I’m not collecting your brothers, Andre." Islinda answered gruffly, slightly annoyed at the conversation. She turned away from him and grumpily located a seat and sat down.
Andre tilted his head, "Oh, is that so?" He said, "In that case, do you intend to marry both of them?"
"What?!" Islinda shouted, nearly choking on her saliva.
"I an, it’s not impossible. Our father did marry four wives. It might be hard since you’re a human, well, not fully human anymore, but everything is possible once you put your mind to it."
Islinda stared at Andre with a dumbfounded expression. When she finally recovered, she told Andre, "You must have lost your mind."
"Then what’s our plan?"
"What?"
Andre walked over to her and before Islinda could do anything, he enclosed her with both arms in the seat, and she had no choice but to lean back, blinking in surprise at the gesture.
"You’re toying with two Fae princes, Islinda."
Islinda felt her hackles rise, "Who said I’m toying with them?"
"Today, you like Aldric, the next day, you want Valerie. When are you going to make a choice?"
Angry now at the accusation that she was playing with Aldric and Valerie’s feelings, she placed her hand on his chest, intending to create space between them, but she couldn’t move him. Fine, she let it be, yet that didn’t deter her from speaking her mind.
"Let stop you right there. For starters, there is nothing going on between Aldric and ," Islinda could not tell him she only liked his alter ego which made things complicated, "And as for Valerie, we might have been together months ago, but it’s all over. He’s the one pursuing this ti. Maybe instead of telling what to do with my love life, you can tell your beloved brother that the both of us ended that night at the ball. Maybe then, he would listen to you." Islinda said sarcastically.
For a mont, silence ensued between them, only for Andre to chuckle dryly. "They say humans are so good at lying, they even lie to themselves."
"I didn’t know this was the conversation we would be having, or else I would not have co here." Islinda glared at him.
"I’m just worried about my brothers. They are enamored with a human who isn’t even human anymore?"
"You an the sa way you deceive everyone by pretending you’re not as strong as your brothers?" Islinda retorted and saw the way Andre’s face changed imdiately.
He pushed away from her, retreating not only physically but emotionally, and Islinda knew she had hit a nerve.
But this was not over, and she stood up from her seat, saying, "Does making everyone believe you’re not strong enough for the throne keep you on the safe side? Are you truly a martyr, or is this all a farce so you could take over when no one suspects you enough?!" Islinda pushed him.
Andre snapped, "That’s enough!"
Islinda flinched at the ferocity in his tone, but other than that, she had a stoic look. She and Andre engaged in a fierce staredown, which she won as Andre looked away first.
She said dryly, "It’s obvious that we won’t be able to hold a aningful conversation tonight. We can continue tomorrow."
Islinda turned to leave, only for Andre to grab her arm and spin her around. She smacked into him, letting out a startled gasp as she was pressed against him in an intimate way. She stuttered, "W—what are you doing?"
Andre ignored her, his eyes darkened with an emotion she couldn’t exactly decipher. He tucked her hair behind her ear, and she swallowed. What in the Fae was going on here? Sothing had changed about Andre, and Islinda wasn’t sure she was a fan of it. Wasn’t he the one who told her not to fall for him? So why was he trying to seduce her instead? Or was this a prank? Or a test?
"What are you, Islinda?" Andre asked in a low whisper that was enough to make any lady fall for him.
"I’m human." Islinda answered firmly. She was not falling for it.
"No." He rasped. "Think carefully. What about your parents?"
"My parents?"
"One of them might not be human. Think carefully." He continued to caress her hair. It was strangely comforting and made her concentrate.
"No, my father was clearly human. But my mother... My mother..." Islinda furrowed her eyebrows.
Andre picked up on that, "What about your mother?"
Islinda looked up at him with fear in her eyes, "I cannot rember my mother."
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