Evanthe turned to Seren. "You should give that brooch to me. Erebus won't like it if you keep something like this. He won't be as understanding as Drayce."
Seren looked at the brooch with a conflicted gaze but eventually handed it over as Evanthe suggested.
Aureus watched her give it up so easily, as if it no longer held any significance to her. As much as it hurt him, he felt a sense of relief. The last thing he wanted was for Drayce's darker side to conflict with him.
He had always treated both Drayce and Erebus like brothers and could only be happy for them. Yet, he couldn't control his feelings for a certain woman—one who happened to be Drayce, his brother's wife.
In his heart, Aureus knew he had liked Seren first, long before Drayce had even met her. When only he, in his beast form, could be near her. If Tyra hadn't placed the spell that prevented him from transforming into his human form, he would have been the one to protect Seren in that tower and bring her out.
