138: Ada's POV

I was about halfway through my plate before someone spoke again.

“So, now that we’ve established we’re releasing Cade from his duties and working to welcome Elizabeth back in court,” Nik grimaced and leaned back in his chair, “Any other bombshells the three of you need to drop?”

He looked to me first, and I shook my head. Darius did the same. Phoenix sighed, sitting up straight in his chair. “Actually, there is one thing,” he said, holding up a finger, and bounded from the room.

Darius cocked his head to the side, “Well, that can’t be good.”

Moments later, Phoenix returned, a piece of parchment in his hands. He laid it in front of me. I picked it up, glancing at the looping script on it, “What’s this?”

“From Georgina,” he shoved his lips together harshly, mushing them into a straight line.

My eyebrows shot up, and I lifted the sheet to read over it:

*My darling Phoenix,*

*I do not believe our love is dead. One day, you will come to your senses and see Ada for the filth she is. She is nothing more than a common whore who has put you under her spell. There is no possible way she is your fated mate.*

*I will work to remove this spell.*

*Our love will rise from the ashes like your namesake.*

*I will arrange a meeting soon. Look to the crows.*

*Your love,*
*Georgina Lennox*

The snort that erupted from me echoed through the still dining room. I set the parchment back down and nodded slowly, “’ Look to the crows?’”

Phoenix sucked in a breath, “We all have our strengths.”

“And yours is crows?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

Nik snorted back a laugh as Phoenix shook his head and smiled, “No. But I love animals. She and I used to send each other codes by crows to arrange meeting times.”

“Do you keep pet crows?” I cocked my head to the side, a slow smile creeping up on my face.

“And turtles,” Darius offered, shoving a bite of steak in his mouth.

“And cows,” Nik added quickly.

“And goats,” Darius listed, “Also a koi pond and six barn cats and two field dogs.”

I blinked, staring at Phoenix, who had a deep flush creeping up his cheeks. The blush went clear up to the tops of his ears, a brilliant shade of crimson. Phoenix scratched the back of his head. “As I said, I love animals.”

“How did I not know this?” My voice was soft as I kept my eyes locked on Phoenix.

He shrugged, “It’s not something I really talk about.”

There was a tightness in the middle of my chest and a thickness in my throat, “But you told her.”

It wasn’t a question. Phoenix slowly sucked in a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut briefly. Nik set his fork down on his plate, standing up slowly, “Darius and I will meet the two of you in the living room when you’re done.”

Darius and Nik exited before either of us could respond. I remained relaxed in my chair, continuing to breathe against the tightness in my chest. It burned with each inhale. Phoenix had now averted his gaze, looking anywhere in the room but at me. I cleared my throat:

“Did you care about her more than me?”

Immediately, he shook his head. His green eyes went wide. “It’s not like that at all.”

“Then what is it?” My voice was small, “It seems like all I ever find with you is secret after secret.”

Phoenix set his jaw, leveling his gaze on mine, “You don’t care about me the way you do my brothers.” I froze, hands gripping the arms of my chair firmly. He continued, “Don’t deny it. You’ve kept me at a distance. You love me, yes. But you don’t love me the way you love Nik or even Darius.”

“How could you say that?” I said softly, tears forming in the corners of my eyes.

“Easily. You don’t ever seek me out unless the other two aren’t available,” he rolled his shoulders back, sticking out his chest, “You also would never have forgiven me the way you forgave Darius for what he did. And if Nik had been the one kidnapped?” he whistled, shaking his head, “You would have burned down the entire Kingdom to find him.”

“I would never have to forgive you like I forgave Darius,” I snapped, leaping to my feet, “You would never treat me that way. You also seem to forget the biggest difference between you and your brothers.”

“Well, I know it isn’t dick size, so go ahead and enlighten me,” Phoenix rolled his eyes.

My chest was heaving with each breath, “Both of them have made an effort to let me know them. They’ve shown me pieces of them that most people don’t get to see,” I narrowed my eyes, my voice rising in pitch, “You treat me like you do every other member of the court, with one exception: you’ll put your dick in me and offer me the occasional dance.”

Phoenix blinked. Then he stood slowly, taking a large step toward me, “You haven’t even bothered to ask.”

“With them, I didn’t have to,” I countered quickly.

He shook his head, “There’s no way that’s true.”

“It is. But you? I’m put below my stepsister, who’s helping to form a rebellion against all of us, apparently.”

“I just knew Georgina—”

“I swear to the Moon Goddess if you fucking say you knew her before or that you’ve known her longer, I will slice your balls off with this butter knife,” I grabbed the knife off the table and held it up, “and then shove them down your throat so far you shit them out before you have time to scream.”

Phoenix paused. Slowly, a smile crept up on his face, and he chuckled. It grew into a laugh. His eyes stayed locked on the butter knife in my hand. He nodded at it, “I believe you would,” he took another step towards me, “So I won’t say either of those things.”

“Then why won’t you let me in?” I tossed the knife back onto the table and crossed my arms over my chest.

“I don’t know how,” he whispered, brushing his knuckles against my cheek, “I’ve been very unserious my entire life. Georgina was the first person I let know the real me, aside from my brothers. Look how well that turned out for me.”

“I am your mate,” I stated firmly, “I am tired of finding these types of things out through other people or *because* of other people, Phoenix.”

He sighed, nodding. Phoenix held up a finger, looking at me with bright eyes, “What if I took you on a date tomorrow? Just us two— all day.”

“Fine.”

“I’ll try harder.”

“And I’ll try harder to include you,” I reached for him, wrapping my arms around his neck, “Also, I do seek you out more than you think.”

He cocked his head to the side, “Oh?”

I grinned, standing on my tiptoes, bringing my lips near his, “You’re by far the best kisser.”