outside, but when we are alone, you will find no comfort from me.”
Shaking my hand out of hers, I willed my shadows to wrap around me and take me away from her. And as I disappeared, I
heard the sob that escaped her body. The sound of it felt like a knife to my heart. Her pain hit my chest and I wanted to die.
Chapter 32
ORNELLA
I’d felt heartbreak before when Nicholas left me the first time. But this—this feeling wasn’t like that. This wasn’t something
I was familiar with. As I felt my chest practically cave in on itself, waves upon waves of grief took over my body. I felt as
if I couldn’t breathe. Slipping down towards the floor, I heaved over, coughing and crying. Sobbing—I was sobbing.
Would I be stuck here for years to come in a marriage that wouldn’t amount to anything? Even companionship didn’t seem
to be on the table. In a split second of words I shouldn’t have said, I realised my mistakes.
I didn’t know what I wanted until it was removed completely from me. I would be alone in this world. Nicholas’s sisters
would continue to build some form of friendship with me. Until they found out that I’d hurt their brother. I highly doubted they
would want to speak with me after all this.
I couldn’t stay here.
And I couldn’t go home.
I needed to be free of this place, of these walls.
Gathering what courage and little strength I had remaining, I lifted myself up on wobbly legs and headed towards the
stables.
Twilight was fast approaching. If I managed to secure a horse before the stable hands changed over, I’d be out of here in no
time. With the jewellery I wore—gifts from Morgana—I could use them to secure a room somewhere until I could decide
where to go from there.
I wasn’t welcome here—not really. I would become a burden and a wife who kept herself locked away in some tower.
This wasn’t the life I wanted for myself. I still craved that adventure. The woods still called to me each and every night.
Escaping and running away would be for the best. Especially for Nicholas. He would no longer need to marry me, or a
need to be friendly towards me in public settings. He could be free. Free of the burden I was to him. Free to find someone that
would care for him.
With determination and a strong will on my side , I snuck off to the stables carefully to avoid any of the wandering staff as
they left to change over. It was unusual for a castle to have two different sets of staff—a set for the day and a set for the night.
Apparently Nicholas’s family was different. They wanted their staff to be well rested and ready for the day.
The mare from Nicholas, whom I named Eira—meaning snow—neighed in greeting as I stepped towards her gate.
