Cold Feet - Excerpt

This is an excerpt from Furthermore - the anthology with two Syrenka shorts that will go to support cancer research. You can buy Furthermore here, but in the mean time, here is a sneak peak from Kain the night he watched Eviana leave.

As soon as I saw the first glimmer of sunrise, I trudged back up to the house and tried to prepare myself for the humiliation to come. Though early morning, a flurry of movement reminded me that wedding preparations were in full swing. I sighed as I took that last, heavy step up to the expansive wood deck. No amount of preparation would make this any easier.

The sliding glass door slid open with a thud, and three protectors emerged carrying large vases of flowers. Troy saw me standing in the shadows and nodded in my direction.

“Master Matthew. I didn’t know you were here already.”

I tried to make my smile look authentic. “Couldn’t sleep.”

He set the heavy arrangement down and wiped a bead of sweat from his face. “Getting cold feet yet?” he teased.

My stomach flipped and I swallowed the anger in my throat. Instead of replying I forced out a laugh. This wouldn’t be easy. I was here and no one knew Eviana was gone. Who do I tell first?

“Is Mistress Dumahl inside?” I asked, deciding on her mother, the leader of their clan.

“Yes, in the banquet room I believe,” Troy said.

I nodded to him and walked inside the house. Moving around the center island, I couldn’t help but notice the flowers and baskets and wedding decorations scattered all over the place. A lot had gone into the planning of this wedding, and a lot of people were going to be very disappointed.

As I rounded the corner, I ran into a petite woman carrying a clipboard and yelling into her cell phone.

“No, I said fuchsia, not pink. You better not show up here with pink bows.” She looked up with a glare before recognizing me. “I’m not arguing about this anymore. Just be here soon.” She hung up and shook her head. “I tell you, give someone a little leeway and they think they can redesign the whole wedding.”

“Mistress Dumahl,” I said. “I need to…”

“Please, call me Marguerite, Kain. You’re a part of this family now.” She beamed at me with a smile that perfectly matched Eviana’s. I sucked in a breath. “I wasn’t expecting you so early, but I’m glad you’re here. Perhaps you can get her out of bed?”

“Eviana? But I need to talk to…”

“Yes,” she said and brushed past me. “Please tell Eviana that I need her downstairs in twenty minutes.”

Before she finished that sentence, her phone rang again. I heard her yelling at yet another vendor as she marched through the house. Tempted to leave, I stood there weighing the pros and cons of that decision. I could just slip away until they noticed Eviana had left and let them break the news to me. That would be easier, but that would also be cowardly.

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