The Secret Trinity: Reign (Fae-Witch Trilogy, Book 3) by Jenna Bernel Page A

bust in and start snapping pictures of us.  It’s a good thing Draíochta didn’t have any tabloids, but I supposed our high profiles made us the target of some juicy gossip regardless.  I hoped it wouldn’t always be like this.  People would get used to it eventually, right?  The best thing I could do right now was pretend I didn’t notice and go about busin ess as usual.  I took a sip of my drink and stood up to use the restroom.
    “I’m going to the jax ,” I said, and Clay smiled. 
    “Aye, you’re picking up on a bit of Ireland, I see,” he said in a suddenly thick accent, pleased with my slang term, and I wink ed at him before walking away.
    Just when I was about to turn the corner, I saw Penni come into the pub with some friends.  She promptly glared at me, and from the look on her face, she was also h olding back a few choice words.
    When I got to the restroom, I splashed some water on the back of my neck hoping that would calm me.  I really didn’t want to get into it with Penni .  The way she was talking in the locker room, it was so obvious that she wanted Clay because she couldn’t have him.  It was all a game to her and she wasn’t the kind of girl to take the loss so easily.  Just because they barely had a thing when they were in middle school, big whoop, if she only knew how much of a claim I had on Clay.  Not that anyone would ever know, not that Clay even wanted to know.  Suddenly I felt anger and resentment surface.  He had me.  What was he waiting for?  Why was he still holding back?
    I looked into the mirror.  The bright green inside my eyes almost sparkled against the overhead light.  What is he seeing in these eyes that stopped him from telling me the truth?  Maybe I really am broken.  My face became hot and red, and I had to dab a cold, wetted paper towel against my forehead to dimin ish the hue before I returned.
    I rounded the corner and saw Kayla, Clay , and Penni sitting at our table, and she was getting way too comfortable in my seat.  She giggled that stupid fake laugh and put her forehead on Clay’s shoulder , clutching his arm like she couldn’t contain herself.  I saw Kayla glower at her before she stood up to go join the dart game, sick of Penni’s act too.  I didn’t think twice about my next move.  My crowning was tomorrow night and I couldn’t risk an altercat ion here.  Before I had another stupid repeat mistake and sent King Bryan over the edge with stress, I turned on my heels and walked out of the pub, deciding it was a good time to visit with my brother.

Chapter 17:  Heart-to-Heart
     
    I knocked on the door of Morgan and Grant’s after quickly teleporting over there to keep myself from punching Penni , and Clay for that matter.  The way he let her fawn all over him li ke that was beyond irritating.
    “Come in,” Adam’s voice chimed from the other side of the door.
    “Hey, I thought you were out trying to get Jeremy and Bree together,” Adam said, closing a spell book and setting it on the coffee table when I entered.  Poor Adam is sitting here studying, trying to find a way to break Liam’s unnatural bindings with his part- Fae prisoners, while the rest of us were out on the town.
    “Geez, Morgan and Kayla have such big mouths.  Bree and Jeremy didn’t need a facilitator.  I just got them in the same room.  I think Jeremy can handle it from t here ,” I said , sitting down next to him on t he couch.
    “What’s bothering you?  You seem a little...”  Adam asked, not quite b eing able to pinpoint my mood.
    “It’s nothing.  I think my soul might be broken, that’s all,” I said , slamming my head against the back of the couch.
    “Don’t say that, Ari.  Your soul is perfectly fine,” Adam said, patting the top of my head a couple of times.
    “Clay’s your Soul Keeper, isn’t he?”  Adam asked bluntly, and my face contorted.  I knew my grace period ha d been dwindling.  Adam now knew my secret because Liam had