AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In the distance, someone called my name. I knew that voice. It was a good voice, a voice that cared about me.
But it wasn’thisvoice. I couldn’t make myself look away from the spot he had last been in.
Forgive me for leaving you alone.
He had said the words like it was so simple. As if because I’d been alone all my life, it would be possible to return to that state, now that I’d tasted heaven.
It should have been me.
When I failed to reply, someone pulled my face away. It hurt my neck, to move after bending for so long.
A stiff neck.
He was gone, and I was faced with thetragedyof a stiff neck.
It was enough to make me laugh, ending the hollowed-out sobs, and once I started, I couldn’t stop. Not even as the women in front of me exchanged concerned looks. My best friend’s concern was riddled with confusion. The other—her gaze was cursed with knowledge. Understanding, as if she could comprehend what I’d lost.
But no one could understand.
I laughed until I choked, the moment of airlessness returning a familiar sting to my eyes, and though I’d thought I’d emptied myself of tears, suddenly, I had found new reserves.
Daphne pulled me to her chest, wrapping her arms around me.
My own arms hung limp at my side. There was no strength left to move them.
“Soteria, we must return to the castle.”
“What’s left of it,” Daphne added grimly. “Avery, we need to regroup. It’s chaos.”
I heard the words, but all I did was return my gaze to the ground.
“He’s gone.”
The words were no more than a whisper.
I hadn’t realized I’d hoped otherwise until Hecate murmured a sadconfirmation. “He is.” Finality rang through the words.
But if I’d learned just one thing, it was this: death was not the end.
My voice was stronger the next time I spoke. I ignored the look of shock in Hecate and Daphne’s eyes because, to me, the path was suddenly clear.
“I’m going to get him back.”
The fortified walls thatsurrounded the city had crumbled. The city was in chaos. Soldiers called out orders, trying to organize the terrified populace.
The palace itself was a wreck. People looked expectantly at us as we returned. I couldn’t bring myself to meet their gazes.
Hecate led us to the empty throne room. In a cruel irony, it was relatively untouched, with nothing more than a few loose stones.
“Tell me exactly what happened,” Hecate demanded. “Why did you go into my rooms?”
I didn’t ask how she knew. It didn’t matter. I filled her in as best I could, telling her about the deal I’d made with a demon for the portal and answers. How he’d threatened Daphne’s life if I didn’t obey. How the magic of our bargain prevented me from seeking help in fighting off the deal, no matter how I tried. How I’d scried using Hecate’s hidden Many Moon Mirror and seen my fated mate.
How he’d sensed me.
“This demon.” Hecate was barely breathing as she spoke. “What was his name?”
“Phaidros.” It was Daphne who spoke. “It was him, wasn’t it?”
