I needed him to choose me, to love me without celestial influence. I wasn’t ready. Silence filled a painful void that overtook me.
I didn’t know what to say, couldn’t figure out what to do.
“You…you need to leave.”
I wanted to say something else, but I couldn’t.
I stopped sensing him. Stopped tasting him.
Whatever magic had taken hold had vanished.
His teeth grazed his bottom lip, his shoulders slumped with a sharp exhale. “Aelira…” His fingers unfurled, reaching for me, but he swiftly lowered them to his side. Despair replaced his desperation.
He couldn’t understand what I needed—not in this form.
“Please, just go. Now.” If I didn’t say it, didn’t make him go, I would regret it.
“I’m leaving.” His hand gripped the door; his gaze dropped from mine as he slipped out into the hall.
The gown pooled around me as my body collided with the cold wood plank floor. I stared at the door.
The handle would turn, he would come back to me. He would tell me how he loved me, regardless of my choice.
Moments passed, but the door remained as it was—still and shut. Sobs escaped my lips, filling my chambers with their echoes. The embers popped in the fireplace once more. My fingertips dug into my skin until the pain matched my agony. It shouldn’t have been like this.
The stars glittered in the heavens—taunting me. “What do you want from me? Have I not given enough?” My seething reply was a whisper in the desolate space.
Chapter 21
My eyes burned as they opened, taking in the first morning light. The last tear was shed, but the pain lingered.
Cora knew. She tried to warn us.
They had been together, maybe even just like that. I tried to blink the thought of them together from my mind.
Maybe he could never control himself—not like he believed he could.
The bed still cradled me in my flowing gown. The ribbons were still loose enough for me to slide out of it, but I clung to it even as I slipped into the darkness.
I lay there as the sun steadied its place in the sky. Juniper came and went, leaving breakfast. It was left untouched. I’d never forget the way he looked at me when I told him to leave.
I left the book on my nightstand. There was no advice it could offer.
A rustling sound wove through the wind’s whistle. Green ivy trickled in through the windows, glowing and growing into my chambers. I stiffened my grip on the jet-black fabric. Itdragged behind me as I crept across the floor. Magic spiraled in my veins, buzzing through me.
The ivy crept inward again. My fingers cautiously trailed it. With my touch, it grew faster, creeping up the walls. I hadn’t called it, but still it reached for me.
A leaf shifted over my hand and rested firmly in place.
With the leaf’s embrace, I pulled my hand back slowly, but the ivy only crept further. It pulsated over me; each gentle vibration lulled me—the squall inside me diminishing with it until only tranquility embraced me.
The veins of the leaves illuminated as the sun peeked further past the clouds. The onyx fluttered against my chest in a way it never had before.
A knock sounded at the door, but I remained at the windowsill still clutching the leaf.
“Aelira… please.” Lioran’s voice was desperate on the other end as my silence greeted him. “I need to know you’re okay. If you won’t let me in, I’m sending Cora to check on you.”
“Come in.” I didn’t look up at him when he entered.
