Liane twisted her hands as she watched guests pour in. They lined up to greet her, giving her a bow and making the sign of the star against their foreheads, before filing off to mingle and pick at the banquet table. She’d eaten before she arrived, at the Avatheos’ insistence. The divine didn’t need to sustain himself on something as mundane as food.
Ludwig leaned in from behind her and whispered in her ear, “If you need a break, just say the word.”
“I’m fine,” she said.
Ludwig stepped back without another word, and she felt the sweat gathering on her neck. She was sweltering beneath layers of fabric, and her back was starting to throb. Was a fever brewing? Stars above, she hoped not. More people filed by; their faces ablur. And she took a few deep, calming breaths. She could do this. The goddess wouldn’t have chosen her if she weren’t capable. Visions could be misinterpreted, even by the Avatheos.
When the ballroom was sufficiently full, the Avatheos stood. And she thought she would be able to hear a pin drop as the crowd turned to face her, their attention hungry.
The Avatheos held the silence for a few heartbeats before he said, “Thank you all for coming tonight. We are pleased to present the goddess’ chosen vessel, the holy warrior who will conquer the darkness.”
A cheer erupted from the crowd. Glasses clinked in a toast, but the fire burning up her back was becoming unbearable. More people lined up to greet her, but their faces melted into one another. And each new wave of people that came up to her felt like waves crashing against the shore. Some wished her well, others offered prayers or subtle bribes for miracles she couldn’t perform. It was a strange out-of-body experience.
She felt like she was choking. She grasped hold of the arm of her chair, nails biting in hard enough to bend them back, her breathing ragged. She stood, and they fell silent, waiting for her to say something profound.
“I need a moment to catch my breath,” she said.
Ludwig was at her elbow, guiding her out into the secret passageway. Luzie had been slouching in the hall but perked up when they entered.
“I need a few minutes. Mind taking over?” Liane asked.
“Take all the time you need.”
Liane squeezed Luzie’s shoulder and hurried down the hall and out the servants’ entrance. She’d really mucked it up. If it weren’t for Luzie, she might have made an even bigger mess. She needed air and a second to think. To clear her thoughts with something that wasn’t destiny or doom.
The villa had a back garden, with tall hedges that she could get lost in. The air was humid and sticky, and she pulled back her veil to uncover her face, but it got caught on the golden spikes of her headpiece. She wanted to rip it off her head, strip down to her underclothes, and splash in the fountain that she could hear somewhere in the garden. The weight of her veil and gilded crown made her head throb. The fountain she’d heard was mounted against the garden wall, and a stream of water trickled from it. She cupped some cold water in her hands and then splashed it against her face. It did little to soothe her.
The coiled trapped feeling she’d been ignoring for days was ready to snap. She wasn’t suited for life within temple walls, shrouded in silk, and meant to act mysteriously divine. Maybe she should confess her vision and be free of this role as avatar before someone really got hurt. But then what became of his vision of doom, and the sword in her back? The fate of the kingdom was on her shoulders, and she couldn’t stand it. She wanted her life back.
A jasmine bush climbed up over an archway leading to a shadowed part of the garden. Liane glanced at Ludwig for a second before running into it. Her feet pounded on pavement, and his armor rattled as he pursued her. She ran through the garden until the fear that spiked her veins subsided, and she was doubled over.
“What are you doing here?” Ludwig asked.
She popped her head up to answer, but he wasn’t talking to her. Her breath caught in her throat to see Erich haloed by moonlight. Her stomach swooped. Was this a hallucination, or was he really there?
“I just want to talk to her.”
“You have no right—” Ludwig started to say, but Erich ignored him and looked at her.
When their eyes met, she felt as if his gaze set her skin ablaze as she remembered their last kiss. The garden, the party, and everything else fell away. She thought giving him up would be easy, but nothing about him was ever simple. He took a step toward her, and Ludwig inserted himself between them. Erich’s eyes flashed gold for a second before he extinguished whatever fire had burned in his gaze and looked at Ludwig.
“Let me talk to him. Alone,” Liane said in a commanding voice.
“Liane.” Ludwig suddenly sounded very tired.
She crossed her arms and stared him down. After a few minutes, he ran his hands through his hair, a sure sign of defeat, and said, “This better be the last time.” And then he left them alone at last.
Erich stood back from her, his eyes roving over her body. Tingles shot down her arms as she remembered the way he’d touched her. The feel of him so near and yet outside her reach was torture.
She needed to say goodbye. Whether he was a dragon or a man. A prince or a corrupted. The goddess had chosen Liane’s path, and her destiny couldn’t be entangled with his. But stars above, she wanted him more than she’d wanted anything in her entire life. She’d thought saying goodbye would have closed this chapter, that she would have been able to set him aside, as if the memory of him wasn’t consuming her day and night.
“Erich. How are you here?” she gasped. Something between a question and a desperate plea.
“Do you want an answer, or do you want to kiss me?” He closed the distance between them but didn’t touch her. She kept her hands firmly at her sides, though she was desperate to feel him, to run her hands over the hard planes of his chest and arms.
“A little of both.”
“I know the host, Leonhard. He invited me and said I would want to be here, and now I know why.”
