He paused, and for a moment, I saw the weight he carried,not just knowledge, but grief.
“One day you’ll understand,” he said. “The starsare cruel. But theydon’talways speak in ways we want to hear.”
A bitter laugh clawed its way up my throat. How easilyI’dbeen fooled,tricked into loving someone whose purpose was never love.
“Soour meeting, our relationship… it was all a lie.” I looked at him, really looked at him, and saw it now,the precision, the restraint, the mind that had studied me like a constellation. “And poor, naive little Tilly walked straight into your web.”
He didn’t flinch.
He absorbed the words likehe’dexpected them, likehe’drehearsed this moment in the quiet ofhis own guilt.
“I never lied,” he said, his voice low. “Not about what I felt. But I did calculate. I had to.”
He stepped closer, and for the first time, I could see theastronomerbehind the smile,the one who knew the stars by name and had mapped my fate before I had even spoken to him.
“We couldn’t afford to be wrong, Tilly. Too much depended on it.”
It was confirmed that none of the brothers could be trusted. Not even Cillian.
Donte regarded me with compassionate eyes, but I found no solace in them.
“I won’t keep you from your journey any longer,” I said, turning away.
“Tilly, wait!”
Though looking away hurt more than I could imagine, I started to walk away. Even though I was tempted to glance back just one more time, I kept moving.
“Tilly, I don’t have much time,” Donte said with a sigh. “I hope one day you understand my reasons. It was never my intention to hurt you!I’mtruly sorryfor everything. Goodbye.”
Only then did I turn, the finality of his words stabbing at my heart like a knife. I watched him step into the vortex. It shimmered, brightened, and then collapsed inward, winking out like a dying star. The light shifted and returned to normal. Birds began to sing, and water gurgled from the fountain.
“I was livid, but I would not cry for him. Let him vanish. I would survive. I had to.”
EIGHTEEN
ILLUSIONAL
“Ipromise the pain will leave your heart,” Seraphina said. “At first, it may seem unbearable, but even the deepest wounds eventually scar over.”
I turned to look at her, my eyes glistening with unshed tears. Suddenly, it all became painfully apparent. I wondered how I could have been so naive as to miss the clues revealed by the images on the tapestries and my so-called relationship with Donte.
Overcome by an indescribable weariness, I could only shake my head in disbelief.
“It’s you that Donte is meant to be with, isn’t it?” I asked. “It’s been staring me in the face all this time, but I never realised until now how you and the brothers have used me.”
Seraphina approached, her gaze steady. “Tilly, I understand your anger. You feel betrayedbut you misunderstood. None of this was aboutmanipulation. The curse that binds us is a forcemore powerful than you realize. It has stolen so much from us. Breaking it is the only way we can return toour true essence.
“And you think stealing my life, my future, justifies your actions?”
“We should have told you from the beginning, but after the abduction, you were fragile. We didn’t want to shatter you completely. We were trying to protect you.”
“Liar!”
She reached her hand out toward me, but I backed away, anger rising. She had played her role well, gentle and concerned. Making me believe she was someone I could lean on. She was just as conniving as the others.
“Stay away from me! All of you! I know you’re watching somewhere. Just leave me alone!”
I slapped her hand away, and her calm mask faltered.
