Responsible for unspeakable things.
And yet I feel this bind of blood and promise between us. As if I’m humming in his veins, and he’s sparking in mine. While the thread to the king is dark and quiet. So different from my tie to Wilder. Empty.
I press my palm over my heart and count the beats like they might provide answers. My lips press tight as I steady my breath. I focus on the warmth that stirs when I’m not paying attention to it.
Magic I’ve been denying.
Truths I’ve been avoiding.
I stare at the door between my conscious mind and what’s inside, and it opens when I release my thoughts.
Until I’m floating in a room full of stars.
My fingers loosen their hold on the thread, and something gold sparks in the obsidian darkness. It’s distant, but he’s there at the periphery. Like he’s been waiting for me to seek him out again.
“Don’t you have anything better to do than wander around at the edge of my thoughts?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”Wilder’s voice is lethal and soothing.
Infuriating and utterly calming. But tonight, it’s also strangely distant.
“Are you in the sleep quarters?”
“Why? Planning on venturing up to my room?”
My nose scrunches.“Of course not.”
His laugh sends a shiver through the thread.
“So you aren’t going to tell me where you are?”
“Keepingtabs now, Starfire?”
“No. I’m counting down the minutes until the full moon because then I’ll finally be rid of you.”
“Says the girl who has refused to let me die twice. I’m beginning to think you have a little crush.”
“That couldn’t be farther from the truth. And I saved your life before I knew you killed Isolde. Clearly, I should have just let you perish.”
“Your king killed her; you can hardly blame me.”
My eyebrows pinch.“You gave him the ammunition. He didn’t know how close we were.”
“Because he’s not paying attention.”
“But you are?”My jaw tightens.“Lucky me.”
Wilder doesn’t respond. For a moment, the other end of the thread is quiet. My mind wraps around it, traveling the path to see if he’s still there, and that’s when I’m met with the steady beat of his heart.
“Looking for something?”The roughness in his voice is as soothing as it is chilling.
“Why did you do it?”I ask, shifting my head on my pillow so I can stare out the window and look at the stars.“Isolde already lost so much in this war. She didn’t deserve to die like that.”
“War is rarely pleasant, Elorie. We all lose something. There are no winners, regardless of the outcome.”
“Is that how you justify the things you do?”
Wilder exhales in my mind, quiet for a moment before speaking.“Do you know what’s interesting about history? About war?”
