“I was just looking and trying to see if I…” I hesitated.
“If you what?”
“If I was… pretty,” I finished, the word barely audible.
Maddie’s mouth dropped open. “Wait.What?”
I shook my head and turned away. “Forget it.” I turned, heading for the door. Maddie was on my heels. She caught my arm.
“Elle, stop,” she said, pulling me to a halt. “What’s going on? Why would you even say something like that?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters if it’s making you feel like crap.”
I tugged at the collar of my shirt. “I know it’s dumb. I know. But I was just wondering… why—”
She waited.
“Why none of the guys have been around,” I said finally. “Not really. Not for almost a week.”
Maddie blinked. “Wait—that’swhat this is about?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Forget it.”
“Oh no, absolutely not,” she said, stepping in front of me. “You’re not getting to drop that bomb and walk away like it’s nothing.”
I folded my arms. “It’s not a bomb. It’s just a dumb thought I had.”
“No, Elle. It’s not dumb. It’s human. But Iamgoing to need you to explain how the girl who literally walks around with shadows at her fingertips and the hottest men in the kingdom orbiting her like moons somehow convinced herself she’s not pretty.”
I looked away. “They’re not orbiting.”
“They areabsolutelyorbiting,” Maddie said, dead serious. “Slade watches you like you’re a sword he’s sworn to protect. Leo can’t go ten minutes without saying your name. Phoenix sits in your room like a ghost waiting to be let in. And Thorne—well, okay, he’s currently MIA, but that man would’ve burned a kingdom for you and we both know it.”
I flushed, but didn’t reply.
Maddie softened. She stepped closer and took my hand.
“Elira,” she said, voice gentler now. “They’re giving you space. Because you’ve been hurting. Because they didn’t want to push you.”
My throat tightened.
“Butnotbecause you’re not beautiful,” she added firmly. “You are. You’re stunning. Even when you’re glaring. Even when you’re bleeding. Especially when you’re being your impossible, stubborn, shadow-wielding self.”
I blinked hard. “You’re very dramatic.”
She grinned. “Comes with the scar.”
A pause. Then: “Do you feel better?”
“Not really,” I admitted.
“Want me to go punch one of them?”
I laughed—just a little. “Maybe later.”
Maddie squeezed my hand. “Come on. Let’s go eat. You need food. And possibly cake.”
