“If it was only me to worry about, I would think about it but I...I can’t.”
She pulled away, and I let her go, trying to hide my disappointment.
“If your feelings have changed—” I said.
“Not because of you,” she corrected.“Iwantto stay, but I don’t want to sit on a throne of blood.I don’t know if I could stay here when...”
She trailed off, unable to finish, but I knew what she meant.There was too much pain here, too much memory.Hurt.
“Is there any way I could convince you to stay?”
She met my eyes, shaking her head.“Not right now.It’s more than that.”
She glanced at the bed, and I found her packed bags I hadn’t noticed before.My throat bobbed.I was too late.
“You’re leaving.”
She nodded, unable to look at me.
I cleared my throat, grasping for words, seeking a way to keep her from leaving.“Where are you going?”
She took a deep breath.“My brother and I hid away with the Dark Walkers for five years, our identity only known and kept by others within the tower.When the Enchantress lifted her spell on my name and face, everyone who had seen me at the balls knew who I was.Remembered who I was—a Kallistar—and word traveled.
“After the finale of the seventh ball, my brother received a letter.Donnovar was not completely destroyed as we had believed.A small remnant of our people survived the destruction.”Hope overwhelmed her voice.“And they’re waiting for us.They thought my brother and I perished along with the rest of our family in the fire.They want to rebuild—and they want us to come home.”
A sad smile encompassed my face.Sad, because I knew I could never ask her to give that up, but happy, because this was everything she had ever wanted.I couldn’t have wished for anything better for her after what she had been through.
“You’re going home,” I said, trying to fill my voice with happiness.
She nodded, trying not to cry, and whispered, “I’m going home.”
I crushed her in a hug, wrapping my arms tightly around her, maybe for the last time, but overwhelmed that after all this time, she had something to hold on to.Something to call her own.
“And you need to be focused on Paravellia for a while.”
I leaned back.“Well, kings usually send ambassadors to do their bidding, but considering Paravellia’s involvement in its destruction, we’ll offer help in any way we can, and I’ll need to oversee Donnovar’s restoration myself.”
She frowned.“Bold of you to assume any Paravellians would be welcome in my kingdom.”
I cocked an eyebrow at her.“I think it’s safe to assume you’ll welcome at least acertainone.”
She shrugged, a mischievous glint in her eye.“Perhaps.I might be able to be persuaded.”
“Then I will see you again?”
She squeezed my hand before leaving to grab her saddlebags from the bed.She hesitated in the doorway, trying to hide her sadness.“I will see you again.Whether in this life or the next.”
“Then goodbye for now,” I said.“Analleia Kallistar.”
She looked at me one last time.“Goodbye for now, Valeris.”
“I’m still holding you to your end of the bargain.”
“That bargain is void.We’ll have to create a new alliance.”
“But what if I need a spy again?”My voice turned coy.
She shrugged, grinning.“You know where to find me.”
