Disgust and rage rolled through me. Fate was trying to force this bond on me, to rip me away from the only person I ever wanted. I could practically hear the heavens laughing. They brought her right to my door, like I didn’t have a choice in any of this.
But I did have a choice.
My mind screamed with only one thought, over and over, louder than anything else.
Elowyn.
I didn’t want this woman. I didn’t want fate.
I only wanted Elowyn.
And I would burn every prophecy, every celestial decree, every godsdamn bond to keep her.
“Come sit with us,” she purred.
I was going to deny her, to turn and leave, but something pulsed around me, magic, ancient and suffocating, forcing my legs to move against my will. I sat down hard in the chair, rage roaring in my chest.
Was this the heavens binding me here? Forcing me to stay? I wanted to leave. I needed to leave. I needed to get to—
No.
Panic flared as confusion clouded my mind. I glanced around, desperate to anchor myself to something real. Why couldn’t I remember?
Didn’t I have somewhere I needed to be today? Someone I needed to see?
Loma’s eyes locked onto mine, unblinking, as power pulsed between us like chains tightening.
Gods… what was I forgetting?
Elowyn.
Her name burned in my mind for a fleeting moment before darkness closed in, swallowing everything except the echo of hername—an echo that was fading, no matter how desperately I tried to hold on.
Chapter 17
Elowyn
Istared at the door of the coven home, willing it to open. My heartbeat thudded in my throat as I watched the wooden frame like I could drag Abram through it with sheer desperation.
Please. Gods, please. Where are you?
The whispers of the women grew louder with every passing second, their voices weaving together into one suffocating hum. Abram was an hour late. He had never been late for me. Not once. Something must be wrong. Something terrible. He must be injured. Or worse.
“Something is wrong.” My voice cracked as I stepped toward the door, ready to run barefoot if I had to. “He wouldn’t stand me up. He must be hurt. I will go check on him and bring him here as soon as I find him.”
Lizzie stepped into my path, blocking me with her body. Her hand reached out to lightly touch my arm, but the smile on her face cut sharper than a blade.
“A deadline is a deadline, Elowyn.” Her tone was falsely sweet. “We gave you an extra hour. Just admit that you never married anyone.”
“What?” The word left my mouth as a breath of disbelief. My gaze darted around the room, landing on face after face that refused to meet my eyes. Faces that looked away as if ashamed for me. Faces that believed the worst.
“That is what you think? That I didn’t get married?”
I didn’t need their answers. The silence was full of it. My chest tightened so painfully it felt like something inside me tore.
“He never came to any functions with you,” Lizzie said, her smile widening as tears welled in my eyes. “And now he doesn’t show up on the day of crowning?”
She looked directly at my shaking hands, at the tremble in my jaw.
