The orchestra came to a stop, answered by a loud round of applause.
“They must be starting speeches. Shall I escort you back?”
“Miss Crowley here was just feeling faint,” I said. “We shall return shortly.”
He bowed. “Of course.” He pivoted and walked away, leaving us behind. As soon as he re-entered the palace, Anna pinched my arm.
“Do you think it’s true?” she whispered.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, you know about this whole treatise thing. I could tell by your expression. Did his story match the one you know?”
“It didn’t contradict anything.”
She let go of my arm to stand. A cold gust made me shiver, and I crossed my arms tighter over my chest. “Knowing Thom, the accusation didn’t even contradict his character.”
My shoulders sank under the weight of realizing the Thom I’d dreamed of had never existed at all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
When I returned to my chamber, my steps slowed at the sight of a note left on my desk, written on royal parchment.
I came to find you but you were gone. I’ll write to you. I’m sorry.
A pang twisted within me. To be so close again, to feel that pulsing energy between us, sent longing through my bones.
And yet…
I couldn’t get over the ache of being rejected when I’d finally been brave, finally decided to pursue what I wanted.
I crumbled the note and threw it on the floor. My feet pressed it flatter as I dropped on to my bed, my head in my hands.
My heart lodged painfully in my throat.
As the tree branches began to thin with leaves that turned brown beneath our feet, a chill in the air signalled change. The palace was emptier. With Prince Thomas at university and Prince Stephen forced into the countryside, the once overwhelming changes that left me, Anna, and Drea swamped now gave us an abundance offree time.
I skipped my visits home, unable to look into Mama’s eyes and explain my change of heart toward David. I wrote letters when I could, hoping Asha could forgive my cowardly absence.
I stopped walking by the pond. The ache was too much.
I only saw David once. I’d been bustling up a corridor with a tray of tea for Prince Leon, only to find him walking toward me. His steps faltered for the smallest beat. I stopped abruptly, a footman swerving around me at the last second.
David’s gaze was pain itself. His eyes wandered down my figure and back up to my face, full of longing. I had to look away from it. When I glanced up again, he was gone.
Looming closer was the deadline of when I would finally terminate my position. I had debated postponing it, telling Mrs. Calloway I’d changed my mind about leaving, but I couldn’t.
I had learned after all this time that following my heart often didn’t make sense. But I never regretted it when I did.
And it was true. As much as sorrow flickered with each reminder of David’s heartbreak, I felt peace at the promise of my newfound freedom. And although rejection still stung like an open wound, I didn’t regret kissing the mage prince for a second. Not when it had been one of the loveliest, most liberating moments of my life.
I wandered down the servants’ wing, my outstretched finger leaving a trail of mist behind just for the fun of it. It was a skill I’d finally mastered over the past month. And despite my poor fire skills growing up, I’d even been able to conjure sparks in the smoke, like an indoor lightning storm.
I knocked on Mrs. Calloway’s door, and she opened it with a polite smile.
“You’re leaving,” she said.
“Yes.”
