Three Rings (The Fairytail Saga) (53 page)

Ivyanne swallowed. ‘Actually, until we find Ardhi-my love life is going to be the least of my priorities. I have a kingdom to run, two parents to grieve, a mad man to capture and you guys to protect. Until everything is balanced again, I’m going to try not to think about any of it.’

Lincoln looked pained. ‘But we could find him tomorrow-or it could take another twelve years!’

Ivyanne nodded. ‘Twelve years isn’t much in the grand scheme of things Link. The man I choose has to love me for centuries-at my worst and at my best. I won’t rush because I’m afraid you’ll both get sick of waiting.
One
of you won’t, and that man will be my match because he understands my needs.’

Lincoln’s eyes narrowed. ‘So you
do
still love him?’

Ivyanne swallowed. ‘Yes. And until I don’t, I don’t deserve to wear this.’ She slipped the ring off her finger, the lump in her throat doubling as she did so. She didn’t want to break up with Lincoln. She couldn’t stand the thought of going an hour without his kisses-let alone a month, or a year. ‘You saved my life tonight Link,’ she managed to choke out as she pressed the ring into his palm. ‘You handled it all so well. I don’t doubt for a second that you could be a terrific king some day, and deep inside me, I don’t just expect you to be, I
hope
you will be.’ She leaned across and kissed him gently, her tears mixing with his. ‘But you need an equally devoted queen. It’s not you that needs to be a better person, but me.’

Lincoln touched her face. ‘Don’t,’ he whispered. ‘I’ll take you exactly as you are, here and now. I’ll force him out of your mind with a million kisses. I’ll be so strong for you that you won’t need to do anything but breathe. Just don’t leave me my love.’

‘I have to. I can’t...I can’t love you the way you need me to with a broken heart.’ Ivyanne tore herself from his grasp and went inside, her vision blurred by her tears as she stumbled through the darkened room.

Holding in her sobs, she hiccuped, getting down on her hands and knees and crawling across the floor until she discovered an unoccupied mattress with her fingertips. She made her way up it and turned herself onto her side, curling up into a ball around the crown, holding her knees together like she was trying to hold her insides in. She squeezed her eyes shut against the tears, but that just amplified Lincoln’s anguish in her ears. In her heart, she was still out there with him, soothing him. In reality however, she’d abandoned him when they needed each other the most.

Then, a soft, warm touch on her hand brought her back into her own body. Ivyanne opened her eyes, and found herself staring into Tristan's which were still a dark golden brown, even in the dim light. He was on the mattress beside her. A shock went through her as she realized that he-and the girls-were all hearing Lincoln’s sobs in the still night and had probably figured out
why
he was falling apart.

Tristan’s fingers traced the outline of hers, one finger stroking up the length of the bare knuckle where Lincoln’s ring had rested seconds before. His eyes widened slightly, and he caught his lower lip between his teeth-but that action was not enough to conceal the smile which seemed to illuminate him from within.

‘Thank you,’ he mouthed in the darkness.

Ivyanne nodded slightly but then pulled her hand back and rolled away. When the tears came this time, there was nothing she could do to silence them, and no reason why she should. Suddenly, she understood why Ardhi had acted the way he had-because Ivyanne was quickly learning that the hardest thing in the world to do was act fair or logically where her heart was concerned.

End

Thank you for reading Three Rings-the 3rd installment of The Fairytail saga, ‘Heads or Tails’ is due out October 2nd, 2013.
Join Ivyanne as she transitions from princess, to ruler to wife.