22. Made to be Broken

Chapter 22

Made to be Broken

LORI

P hantasms push and pull at my soul until I float into another nugget of the past. I am right back at the Yule brunch, but this time, I'm sitting beside Elio as his future queen. The big fat diamond on my ring finger paints a clear picture.

Iris had attended the Yule brunch as Elio's fiancée—not some piece of meat to be paraded around—and my Lori consciousness hisses and snarls at the knowledge.

My manicured nails click along the body of a crystal flute as the guests stream in. Garlands of white roses and irises sag above our heads, braided and weaved, and the guests wear old-fashioned gowns. But otherwise, the Snowhaven Tavern looks about the same.

The Shadow King's full-face golden mask confirms my suspicions that this is a true vision, and not merely a half-assed fabrication of my overactive brain.

To my left, Elio leans in so close that I can count his eyelashes. "Ugh. My father sent my brother in his place."

I take a sip of wine, Iris's body completely unperturbed by the Winter King's closeness when I'm simply burning inside. "I thought you'd be thrilled not to see him," I say.

"I am. I'm just…" Elio shoots me a sideways glance. "Have you seen Ezra since the academy?"

I hold his ice-blue gaze. "No? Why?"

"Never mind."

While Iris and Elio look at each other for the longest time, my consciousness drifts. I study the ice-flecked shadows in his blue eyes, pretty sure I'll never get to examine them so closely in real life.

I finally shake my head and drop my cloth napkin over my untouched meal. "Excuse me."

The heavy mahogany chair doesn't make a sound as I slide it back. The lightweight fabric of my red dress moves along with me, earning me quite a few appraising glances from the males in the hall—staff and kings alike.

Their stares crawl along my naked back, and my Lori awareness stirs again. The way Iris walks draws more attention to her in this moment than I have in my whole life. My heart is beating faster than it has before, and the way Iris straightens her spine and stares at herself in the mirror of the bathroom clues me in that she is shaken.

She fixes up her face and hair with an expert hand, putting on a fresh coat of lipstick and eyeshadow.

A man with golden hair corners me on my way out of the ladies' room. Even though he does not exude the same energy at all, I can easily recognize Elio's brother. He is taller by an inch and broader in the shoulders, but equally handsome—if a tad dissolute. His tie is undone, hanging loosely between the lapels of his white dinner jacket, which features a sharply cut, double-breasted design. The jacket is paired with a matching waistcoat and high-waisted trousers, completing the classic evening ensemble. His long platinum locks are slicked back meticulously, adding to the refined yet disheveled appearance.

A halo of light hugs his tanned skin, the phenomenon slightly more pronounced over his head and shoulders, and the ethereal glow gives his whole body an edge of religious fantasy.

A huff whizzes out of my lungs as I try to walk around him, Iris's eyes purposefully not settling on his face like she wants to avoid his scrutiny at all cost. But the angelic man braces his hand against the wall, blocking our escape.

Iris's pulse swirls, leaving us both breathless.

Elio's brother reaches for my waist and leans into my ear. "You look ravishing, my flower." The greeting is warm and heavy with meaning, riddling me with goosebumps.

I sidestep away from him, almost violently, the body I'm currently inhabiting desperate not to brush this man's skin. "Careful."

The devil-may-care smirk vanishes from his features. "You're serious about this?"

I raise my ring finger in his face. "I'm wearing a ring, aren't I?"

An unkind chortle quakes the man's chest. "I wondered if it wasn't your way of punishing me for what I said the last time we saw each other."

"I haven't thought about you in years, Ezra." My hips sway as I walk away from him.

"Iris!" he hisses after me.

A big smile appears on my face, and my neck hurts from the effort not to glance back at him, but I strut off without acknowledging him further.

Elio is waiting for me at the end of the corridor and my chest expands, blood gathering at my ears.

"What did he want?" Elio glowers at his brother before catching my hands in his.

I lean into my fiancé and pick a piece of lint off his collar. "Oh, you know Ezra. He wants to be the center of attention, as always."

"Did something happen between you two back at the academy?" Elio whispers on our way back to our table.

My face creases into a million lines. "Happen like… romance? Me and Ezra? Never! Why would you ask that?"

"I don't know. He seemed only too happy to imply that he knew you… intimately."

I blink a few times, still holding my fiancé's gaze. "Well, I can't help that."

Elio clears his throat, and his eyes find mine again. The bend of his brows is a little more pronounced—perhaps betraying a hint of doubt. "Did you two ever have sex?"

"No! And I can't believe you would double-check my words like that, Elio Lightbringer. When I said no romance, I meant it. I wasn't merely playing on words," I scold him, the pressure in my chest nearly unbearable.

"You're right. I'm sorry," Elio says, leaning away from me and shaking his head. "Ezra and I haven't really talked. Not since…" He becomes engrossed in a notch of wood on the mahogany table. "You know."

A wild bite of power rolls off him, his skin suddenly a lot paler, and a hint of frost spreads to his neck.

"I'm so sorry about what happened, Elio."

"I know you are." He wraps my hand in his. "Iris, I'm not a fool. This is a marriage of convenience for you, but my feelings haven't changed since school. Do you think you could grow to love me in time?"

I cup his cheek, the tension between my ribs easing. "Without a doubt."

He offers me a small, secret smile. "Never mind Ezra—or my father. They can't hurt us, now." He grips my hand, eyes full of devotion and love. "You and I, we'll be happy. I promise."

I stand on my tiptoes to kiss him, and as our lips brush, the scene melts into darkness.