The ache in my chest turns jagged, sharp enough to steal my breath.
Where are you, Celeste?
I brace my hands against the doorframe, bowing my head, fighting the sudden roar in my ears. The fear I’ve tried so hard to keep at bay now rips free, uncoiling through me like a fucking storm.
She’s gone.
And I don’t know if I will ever get her back.
I lean against the cold, stone doorframe, staring into the empty classroom, as if by sheer will, I could summon her.
A shuffle of footfalls behind me jerks me upright, my hand instinctively flying to the hilt of my falchion. I whirl around—hope, stupid and reckless, roaring to life inside me.
But it’s not Celeste.
Ezra halts mid-step, lifting his hands in a calming gesture. “My apologies,” he says quietly, his sharp eyes missing nothing. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
I curse under my breath. My heart pounds against my ribs, an erratic drumbeat I can’t seem to quiet. “I’m sorry, Magister Kadmiel. I’ve been looking everywhere for Celeste.” I force my jaw to unclench. “She’s not in her room. Not in the dining hall. Not here.”
“Perhaps she went for a ride. She’s very fond of her horse.”
The tightness in my gut loosens a bit. “The stables. Of course.”
“You could also ask the coach master if she took a carriage into town.”
Now that he says it, I feel even more the fool. There are a number of places she could have gone. For all I know, her uncle could have summoned her for something important, and she left for Delasurvia in the middle of the night.
But she normally has Sir Holden as an escort, if she were to leave. I can only hope she and Nadya went for a ride on horseback, just so Celeste could clear her head to give me a well-thought-out answer to whether or not she truly wants to spend the rest of her life with me.
I thank Ezra and head to the stables, trying my damnedest not to run in a panic. But when I get there and find Thora in her stall, my stomach drops, and my throat closes up. She didn’t go for a ride. Where the fuck is she?
I make my way to the coach master to inquire if she left via carriage, but the coach master tells me no carriage has left the premises. Not even one of the carriages from the visiting kingdoms.
Fuck!
Something is wrong. I can feel it in my bones.
I rush back to Ezra, whom I find cleaning out vials at his desk. He peers up at me as I enter the room, and he must see the alarm on my face because he stands immediately.
“No one has seen her.” I swallow hard between heavy breaths. “Her horse is still in the stables, and the coach master said no carriages have left.”
His brow creases. “What do you think happened?”
I rake a hand through my hair. “Last night, I asked her to think about marrying me, to give me a truthful answer regarding what she wants. I told her to sleep on it and tell me in the morning.” I shake my head, unable to communicate the intrusive thoughts harrowing me.
But Ezra sees it on my face.
He steps closer, his voice low enough not to carry. “Dante. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. She didn’t run.” His certainty slices throughsome of the rising panic, but not enough to banish it completely. “Maybe she needed more time. Maybe she took another horse to Delasurvia to clear her head, to speak with her uncle.”
I want to believe him. I need to.
But I know her. She would never leave Thora behind.
I rake a hand through my hair, turning to the window, where the morning light spills in. “If she needs time… I’ll give it to her. But I need to know she’s all right.”
And if she chose something else—someone else—at least I’ll know.
I clasp his shoulder briefly in thanks, then turn on my heel.
