We’d all be trapped under Thayden’s eyes for the rest of our lives.
And I might never see Wolfe Nightblade again.
Clearly, it was over between us.
Wewere over.
Chapter 32
Elariya
“The Taste of Ash”
Istared at my reflection in the mirror while one handmaiden wove my hair into an elaborate braid. Another tugged at the laces of my corset, pulling tighter and tighter until my ribs protested.
“Just a bit more, my Lady,” she murmured apologetically.
I was in the capital. I'd arrived at Rohlorian Castle last night with my family. And Thayden.
Today, we were having a special brunch with Prince Maelor. A treat before the wedding tomorrow.
Gods, tomorrow.
Everything was happening so fast. Too fast.
It had been two days since I’d left the magical realm, and the grief inside me had rooted deeper.
I shouldn’t feel like that.
I’d gotten what I wanted. The goal was accomplished. My family were safe.
Thayden returned and greeted my family as if all was well. And he gave me that doting stare that grated on my nerves.
The secret was safe. He wasn’t going to tell anyone that my powers hadn’t been bound.
At least for now.
I guessed we’d see what would happen after tomorrow when I became his wife.
I tore my gaze from the mirror and looked out the window instead.
The city stretched in the distance in shades of gray. Weathered rooftops clustered together like huddled mourners, broken only by the dark spires of churches that stood sentry over the capital. Smoke drifted from chimneys, and somewhere in the distance, bells tolled, marking time I didn't want to count.
Rohlorian was nothing like the magical realm. Nothing was like it.
The air was heavier here. Oppressive, like the weight of a thousand watching eyes.
Here, everything was stone and silence and scrutiny.
I kept remembering the way Wolfe looked at me as I left.
If that was what nothingness looked like, I completely understood how he’d felt. He’d gazed at me, but it was like I was no one. No different from a stranger on the street.
And he just let me go.
I couldn’t even be angry that it was so easy for him to switch his emotions off so effortlessly. He was just doing what any normal person would do in his situation.
I didn’t remember loving him, so him pulling back to protect himself was completely understandable.
