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Suddenly there was a break in the canopy of branches above us, just enough for the sky to peek through. I stumbled to a stop and peered up. For a moment I simply stared in wonder. The moon was full and bright, casting a sliver of light across my skin. I stared at my hand and the way the light danced across the glitter before tipping my head to stare back up at the sky, where I noticed a single star peeking through the swirls of fog.
In that moment something shifted within me, something I couldn’t explain in words.
Eden?
I blinked at the sound of my name spoken in Darius’s voice, though it didn’t sound as if he’d spoken it out loud. My gaze shifted to his and I found him watching me. The last of the hardness from our last meeting had completely faded, replaced with a bright look filling his eyes, the same one I myself was beginning to feel. Where had such a look come from? Had he sensed what had just occurred within me, something so small yet still momentous?
“Something...changed,” he said. “Are you alright?”
I wasn’t sure, yetsomethingwas definitely different. The moment our gazes met once more, I finally had a word for the feeling that had just been planted in my heart:hope.
Chapter 15
Ifound Bolt sitting cross-legged on my pillow when I returned home from my Weaving, nibbling at the end of some spider silk in agitation as he waited for me. Stormy huddled in the corner, watching warily, for tonight had been another when he’d been too frightened to take me to my Weaving.
I sighed. “What does Mother want now?” My recent win had made me feel more like a Nightmare, a fear that had dispelled some of the hope and left my mood sour.
He stiffened as if caught in the act of doing something wrong. “She didn’t send me, and would be upset if she learned I was here, but I need to talk to you.”
That tickled my curiosity. What could Mother’s little minion possibly want to discuss withme? Hoping I wasn’t making a mistake in trusting this spider who possessed questionable loyalties, I shut the door behind me and settled on the bed.
“Whatever you have to tell me must be very important to risk Mother’s wrath.”
He avoided my eyes and nodded but remained silent, whether due to fear or reluctance to tell me whatever he’d come here to share, I wasn’t sure.
I waited a moment before breaking the uncomfortable silence. “Does this have anything to do with her plan?”
He shook his head. “I wish I knew more about what she’s plotting, but she remains elusive. From what I’ve been able to gather, it doesn’t seem good. I’ve wanted to discuss what little I know with Darius...but he hasn’t spoken to me ever since he found out about—” Bolt heaved a heavy sigh and fell silent once more.
“He’s not speaking to you?” So I wasn’t the only one currently distanced from Darius...though after our moment in the forest, I now felt closer to him, giving me reason to hope that distance was beginning to lessen.
“I felt bad about leaving him so suddenly and without word, so I returned and told him everything, not just about being Ebony’s creation but also about...what I’m about to tell you.” All eight of his eyes became glassy. “Now he hates me because of how much I’ve hurt you.”
My heart lurched. “Why would he care?”
Bolt’s eyes widened. “Because you’re his everything, Eden. You always have been. You’ve consumed him from the moment he met you.”
I raised my brows skeptically even as my heart yearned for his words to be true.
Bolt frowned at my obvious doubt. “You don’t believe me.”
“How can I? Darius’s behavior towards me in the beginning was so...contradictory, and he certainly doesn’t like me now.” Yet even as I spoke the words, I knew they were given from my fear. Deep down in my heart I knew he cared; he wouldn’t have such stubbornly persistent faith in me otherwise.
“He liked you from the moment he met you,” Bolt said. “He was just...conflicted. He still is. But he cares for you. Midst yelling at me after learning how much I hurt you, he’s asked for further details about how you’re doing and is devastated to learn the extent of how difficult things have been for you.”
I tried not to focus on my warm feelings at hearing about Darius’s reactions and instead on what Bolt had come to tell me. “What do you mean, how much you hurt me?”
Bolt flinched. “The thing is...” He lowered his eyes and picked at a loose thread in my duvet. “Darius didn’t betray you.”
I sighed. “That’s what Stardust has been trying to convince me of, and IthinkI believe it, but neither of you has any evidence that proves he didn’t, whereas there’s ample evidence that he likelydid.” My heart prickled thinking of the loss of my dearest friend.
“I have evidence,” Bolt said in a rush, as if anxious to get his words out before he lost his nerve.
“You do?” I eagerly leaned forward, desperate for the evidence my heart had been yearning for ever since my suspension. “What is it?”
“Will a confession suffice?”
My forehead furrowed. “A confession? From whom?”
