“Might not be?”
Aries hesitated. “She’s... seeing people. Courted, a lot, over the winter.”
Collin’s heart jumped into his throat, and then plunged into his stomach. “Maybe I should just start shopping for someone new, trade one heart for another like I’m replacing a cracked cup!”
“That’s not fair.”
“You know what’s not fair? Having the person I love walk out of my life without a real goodbye—and then hearing from you that she’s being courted by half of White Wood.”
Aries hesitated. “I thought you’d want to know.”
“Why? So I could hurry up and stop embarrassing myself?”
“No!” Aries snapped. “Because I care about you. Because it’s hard to watch you stay stuck in the same place while the rest of us are moving forward.”
Collin laughed bitterly. “Oh, I see. I’m the broken one.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s what you meant.”
The lake stretched before them, cold and wide. Collin stared out at it, throat tight, heart pounding. “You didn’t even ask how I feel,” he muttered. “You just assumed I was drowning.”
“Because you look like you’re drowning, Collin.” Aries’s voice was low now. “You go quiet when her name comes up. You act like you’re fine, but you’re not. You haven’t been since she left. We all see it.”
“We?” Collin repeated. “Again with this ‘we.’ You and Hadria, the wise and wonderful council.”
Aries turned to him. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Make me into some kind of traitor. I’m still your friend. I’m the one who’s always been your friend. But now you act like I’m some mouthpiece for Hadria just because I agree with her!”
“Maybe because you sound exactly like her!”
Aries stood abruptly, fists clenching. “I’m sorry I even brought it up.”
Collin stayed seated. “No. You’re not. You came out here waiting to say this.”
“I came because I thought maybe you’d listen. But clearly, you’d rather be angry than honest.”
“Honest?” Collin snapped, finally rising to his feet. “You want honesty? Fine. I don’t want your advice. I didn’t ask for it. And if Dragonfly is being courted, then I’ll hear it from her, not from you or your girlfriend.”
Aries looked at him—really looked—and his expression softened. “You really do love her—"
Collin didn’t answer. His silence said everything.
Aries nodded slowly. “Then go find out what’s true. But promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Don’t let it destroy you if she doesn’t feel the same.”
Collin didn’t respond. He just pulled up his hood as the rain started again—soft and steady. “I’ll see you at home,” he said, and walked away.
Collin’s boots sank into soft mud as he trudged through the forest. Rain clung to the leaves, steady and relentless. He shoved his hood back and let the cold drizzle wash over him.
He didn’t want to go home. Not yet. His anger at Aries, thoughts of Dragonfly courting, twisted through his stomach. A long walk through the woods had always worked to clear out his mind.
