Relief flows through me for just a moment before I realize what I’ve agreed to. I feel like I’m going to be sick, but I swallow the nausea and force my spine straight.Thank you, Redara sends through the bond; and I feel better about my decision already.
This will be just like every other time I’ve lost everything,I remind myself.I’ve made it through before; I’ll make it through again.
With my emotions under control once more, I lift my gaze. “I’ll pack a bag and be ready in a few.”
“Wait,” Kinsley calls out. She meets my eyes. “You’re goingto go with him?” I nod, and she looks between us with worry on her face. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I don’t want her to worry any more than she already is.
She strides towards my door. “I’ll help you pack.” She doesn’t leave me a chance to argue.
“You don’t need to bring a bunch of stuff,” Rauk calls out after me.
I ignore him; I have a feeling I'm going to be doing that a lot. As soon as the door closes behind me upstairs, Kinsley whirls on me. “Harper.”
“Kinsley.”
I push past her and grab a bag from my closet. I gather several shirts and throw them in the bag, followed by some pants. I really don’t have a lot to my name. It only takes me a few minutes to pack up. Since my place is so small, Kinsley can see everything I’m doing. “Can we talk about this first?”
I grab a few cosmetics and shove them in my bag. “What’s there to talk about?”
“Harper.”
I come to a stop. “What?”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I thought you were the one most excited about me going there.” She’s been talking about it for months, about how excited she was for me.
“That was before.”
“Before what?” I can’t help but ask.
“Well, before I met the guy, honestly.”
I laugh, but it sounds forced even to my own ears. “You’re theone that believes in fated mates and all that.”
“I do, Harper. But I also believe in you. I don’t want you to hurt or be sad. I don’t want you to leave, not like this.”
Her words stir up something that feels an awful lot like emotion, and I can’t have that. Not now. Not when it feels like my world is falling apart. So, I turn to what I always do.Anger. “You can’t have it both ways, Kins. You can’t tell me every day how much you can’t wait for my mate to show up and then tell me not to go with him. It doesn’t work like that.”
Kinsley’s not fazed by my anger. “Tell me honestly that you want to go, and I won’t stand in your way.”
I stare into her eyes and pull off the biggest lie of my life. “I want to go.”
She looks unconvinced. “Redara’s okay with it?”
“Redara who?” I ask. “I haven’t seen her since Noxlyn showed up.”
“Is that his dragon?” she asks.
Thankful to have something else to focus on, I jump into the conversation. “Yeah, you should see him. He’s terrifying.” I describe him as we walk to the door. I let her out and glance around my home, the only one I’ve ever had, one last time. Then I close the door and follow her down the stairs. “I still haven’t told Lox his name rhymes with the dragon’s.” When we get to the bottom, I stop. “I need to talk to Eliza; I’ll be right out.” Kinsley nods and steps outside. Once she leaves, I knock on Eliza’s door.
She opens almost immediately. “You’re leaving.” She’s never been one to beat around the bush.
“I am.”
“Don’t get killed.” That’s all she says before slipping back inside.
