I was crawling into bed when a light knock came at the door. Ava gave a soft sigh as I pulled the blanket up around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. She completely relaxed as I tucked her in. I crossed our suite to answer the door, hoping this didn’t take too long. I wanted to get back to bed.
“Hey, Charlie,” Kallie greeted in a small voice. “I came to talk.”
She barely sounded like herself. It was obvious something was really bothering her. I could hear the whizz of Alette’s small wings hovering slightly above Kallie’s shoulder. The faekin let out a few tiny noises that sounded deeply upset, and I knew she was concerned for her sorceress.
“Sorry. Ava’s already in bed,” I started. I didn’t want to disturb her.
“I don’t want to talk to Ava,” Kallie stopped me. “I came to talk to you.”
My brow furrowed. “Me?”
“I need advice… about Marcus,” she admitted.
I leaned against the doorway. “You’re upset he wasn’t at the ceremony.”
Kallie sighed. “That’s part of it… but it’s more than that.”
“How can I help?”
Kallie hesitated, like she had a hard time talking about it. “You almost lost Ava, but when the time came, you were ready to let her go. I need advice from someone who’sbeenwhere I’m standing. Ava’s my best friend, but if I talk to her, she’s going to convince me to keep holding on… and I don’t know if I can do that anymore. I know you’ll be straightforward with me and tell me how it is. Not how I want it to be.”
Holy shit, this was really serious. I wasn’t sure how much I could help Kallie, but she obviously needed a friend right now.
“Let’s take a walk,” I suggested. I put on some shoes and shut the door quietly. Kallie followed me out of my quarters and down the empty hall. “You’re talking about breaking up with Marcus?”
Kallie scoffed. “Breaking up? We’re notreallydating. And that’s just it. I can’t keep going back and forth with him. He says he wants to be with me, but he won’t make the commitment.”
I shoved my hands into my pockets. I wished I had some insight to help Kallie, but I couldn’t say I understood Marcus. I knew if I were in his position, I wouldn’t think twice about committing to the woman I loved. And I knew he loved Kallie— without a doubt. So I wasn’t sure why he kept holding back.
Still, I tried to comfort my friend. “I’m sure he’ll come around.”
I flinched as soon as I said it, because I knew it wasn’t the right thing to say.
“People keep saying that, but the longer this goes on, the less hope I have,” Kallie admitted. “Danny was right when he said I need to make a decision. And I don’t think I can until someone hears me out.”
We stepped onto a large balcony. The air was cool outside, and the city was quiet.
Kallie leaned against the banister. “I figure I can either stay and let Marcus string me along, or I can leave and have my heart broken. Either way, it’sreallyfucking hard. I just want to understand why you didn’t walk away from Ava. She’s put you through so much.”
I shrugged as I came up beside her. “Even when things are hard, I know we’ll get through it. Things keep getting better between us, because we’re both committed to growing together. Even when we were having problems, Ava was willing to put in the work. Do you think that’s something Marcus will do?”
Kallie didn’t answer right away, like she was mulling over the idea. “I want him to, and that’s what’s kept me holding on this long. But I haven’tseenany progress.”
“The way I see it, you’ve got two choices— leave, or stay. Both options are going to be painful, but one of them is going to hurt less. I don’t know which one that is for you. You need to make that decision for yourself.”
“It doesn’t feel like I have a choice.” Kallie’s voice broke. “Even if I walk away, Marcus and I are still magically bound together. I just feel…”
Kallie sniffled. It was so quiet up here on the balcony that when her breath caught, it seemed to shatter the air around us.
Kallie wascrying, which was a big fucking deal, because she only ever cried when things gotreallybad. Out of all the terrible shit we’d been through together as friends, I’d only witnessed her break down twice— once when we found out Marcus had joined a prison gang, the other when Ava was fighting for herlife in the hospital. Kallie always held it together— always kept her guard up and presented a rock-hard exterior. For her to cry meant she was already beyond her breaking point.
Kallie turned away from me. “I just look up at the stars and realize how fucking massive this universe is, and I feel soalone. Marcus is supposed to be my person, but I’m solonely.”
She broke into full sobs that racked her whole body. “I’ve tried to… break our bond, but I’m… not strong enough to go through with it. I don’t want to let him go… but IknowI have to. Because if I don’t, this connection is going to kill me.”
My heart broke for her. I was really rooting for Marcus and Kallie, but this wasn’t my decision. If Kallie didn’t want to be in this relationship anymore, she shouldn’t be bound by the magic of their bond to stay. It wasn’t fair.
“Elves can break bonds, too,” I told her. “My grandpa taught me how. If this is really what you want, I can help you.”
