“Happiness? I don’t even know what that is, Abram. My life has been chains and duty for people who wouldn’t care if I vanished. Happiness doesn’t exist for me. So, yes, I’ll gladly sacrifice it.”
“Little weaver…” His voice softened with pity.
I shoved away from him. He didn’t get to pity me. He was a god. I had seen Haden and Della, Thea and Cassius, all of them happy, bonded, whole. That would never be me. My coven hated me for my mother’s sins. I was cursed to watch others have what I never would—cursed to never be anyone’s first choice, never to be loved.
“Just leave me alone, Abram.”
For a flicker of a moment, his expression cracked, something softer breaking through before he hardened again.
I don’t know if he left first or if I did. And I didn’t turn to see if he watched me leave. I needed to get out of there. I needed away from the one man who I desired. My feet slowed… Abram had made it known to everyone I was the last female he’d ever want, so why couldn’t he leave me the hell alone?
He was always around.
Always hovering.
Always reminding me of what I’ll never get to have. Him.
Back at the coven, the women laughed together in the sitting room. But the moment I stepped inside, silence fell. Laughter turned to whispers. Their happiness shriveled in my presence.
It reminded me of my childhood, standing in corners, watching others smiling with one another and whispering secrets I’d never heard. Always outside. Always forgotten. The ache was old, but it hollowed me out fresh each time.
I backed away. At the stairs, laughter rose again, mocking me. My chest ached to belong, but I did what I always had, kept to myself. In my room, I locked the door, though no one ever came to see me anyway. I crawled into bed, sobbing into my pillow.
Marriage was supposed to save me from this ache. But now, I was terrified it wouldn’t. What if nothing could? I cursed the stars for making the only man I’d ever wanted Abram, a god who could have anyone.
I stared at the ceiling of my bedroom. My lonely life flashing in front of my eyes. I did not want my life to be like this. The ache in my chest made me wonder what love might feel like. How would it feel knowing that I had someone who loved me, who enjoyed my presence. I had not had that before.
Gods, even my mother hadn’t had time for me and my father….
I shook the thought away.
Fuck this.
I wouldn’t tie myself to the wrong man. What if I had chosen Belion, and he hit me again, forever? My stomach churned at the thought.
I stared at my hands. I couldn’t do this alone.
Belion had been the sign. I couldn’t marry any of the men I’d found. So I’d ask the moon and the fates to bring me someone else. Someone who was kind. Someone who thought I was enough, just the way I was.
Abram’s face flashed in my mind, and I tried to get rid of it. He haunted me.
Gods, I wanted Abram, and I didn’t understand why. No matter what, I could not get rid of these feelings for a man that told everyone I was nothing he wanted. It was pathetic, honestly.
I tilted my head to the stars, hating myself for the wish whispered from my lips. "If he’s meant to be mine…give me a sign."
Nothing happened.
“Okay, give me any help to find my mate.”
A sudden gust of wind swept through my room, stirring the air around me. My spell book trembled at the edge of the desk as if responding to my plea, quivering with a life of its own. Before I could reach it, the book slipped, landing open on the floor. Pages flapped wildly, illuminated by moonlight, until one spell glowed brighter than the rest: “Whispers of the Tethers.”
My breath caught as my eyes roamed the words. The stars, the moon, the fates—someone, something—was answering me. Trembling, I knelt and reached for the book, my fingers brushing the page. Whispering the words almost unconsciously, the air thickened, charged with magic that felt like it knew me, knew my heart. A shiver ran down my spine, a warmth spreading through my chest, and for the first time in forever, the possibility of love felt tangible, real.
The universe had shifted. The stars had shown me the path. I clutched the book to my chest, my heart hammering, and moved toward my closet. Tonight, fate would begin.
Chapter 4
Elowyn
