Valenara’s laugh is bitter and broken, but the determination in her eyes is unmistakably familiar, even in the transparent projection. “Why shouldn’t I? You break our vows daily. If you can live a life without honor, I can, too.”
“You would declare war on me?” His voice is dangerously low.
Valenara wipes blood from her split lip and glances down the hall. “For her?” her voice breaks. “For her, I would do anything.”
“You are my wife,” he roars.
“And she is my daughter!”
S’lach advances on her, and the echo fades to mist, leaving adult Celine standing helplessly in the empty entrance to the hallway.
No one speaks. Lyklan stares at his feet. He’s a silent, uncomfortable observer. In a way, we all are. Celine doesn’t want to relive this. But Valenara’s word is powerful, even in death.
“My truth...” I take a step toward her. To do what, I’m not sure. I can’t erase the past or change the future. I’ve tried to defend her, but everything I do fails. My stomach twists, and I drop my hand—every direction I turn, failure smacks me in the face.
“She tried to protect me,” Celine murmurs. “I didn’t know that. It always seemed like she had given up.”
Like I’m giving up?I swallow around the lump in my throat. This isn’t about me. I’m caught in the crossfire, but this is Celine’s story—the history of her family. Pushing my own pain to the side, I approach her slowly. “You were young,” I whisper.
“B-but later, I have so many memories. She rarely stood up to him, Malach. I blamed her for the weakness. I thought she was acoward.”
I wince. Fighting a war requires sacrifice. There are always casualties, and Valenara didn’t have S’lach’s cruelty or his careless disregard for radiant traditions. I suspect she lost part of herself every time she betrayed her vows to defy him.
“She was always tired; she might have fought back more than you think.” The faded observation is all I can offer Celine. It isn’t enough.
Sadness sinks in as I remember the first time I was invited to the estate. My mom made me wear my best clothes, scrubbing my hands until they stung. She was thrilled that her son would get to play with Valenara’s child.
I was annoyed, but that changed when I met Celine.
From that first day, I knew we belonged together. I would have done anything to make her smile, and I can’t help wondering... Did Valenara know her strength was running out? She encouraged our friendship and helped secure our betrothal before she passed. Was she recruiting me to fight in her stead after it became clear she couldn’t win the war on her own?
I rub the hairs on my arm. They’re standing on end, a strange energy buzzing along the surface of my skin. “I think she did her best to make sure you were never alone,” I say.
Celine’s face falls. It’s not what she wants to hear, but I think it’s what she needs. The time for lies, both malignant and benign, is behind us.
She rubs her eyes. They’re red-rimmed but painfully dry. “I need to prepare for the duel.”
“Baby, if you want to talk about it?—”
“I don’t.” Celine fixes her stare on Luca. “I don’t want to talk about the past anymore. All I can do is focus on what’s ahead. Her echoes, all those memories, they’re behind me where they belong.”
Luca runs his fingers through his hair, and Alistair and Ciprian exchange a glance that Celine doesn’t notice.
Riven sighs. “They aren’t behind you, darling.”
“What did you say to me?” Celine’s expression hardens as she whips her head around to face him. He’s leaning against the white wall, deliberately casual.
“You heard me,” he says calmly. “You aren’t past these things, and that’s painfully obvious; therefore, they can’t be behind you.”
She advances on him, happy to take what he’s offering: an outlet for her pain and anger, and pokes him in the chest. “You don’t know shit, Riven. He killed her, right here in this fucking house. She died, and I left. I chose to put it behind me.”
“But you didn’t bury it deep enough, did you, darling? It’s clawed back to the surface to bite you. You’ll fight him, and you’ll win—I know you will. We all have faith in you, or we wouldn’t be here, but if you choose to wall this off again, it will distract you at the worst possible moment. Are you willing to let him win because you weren’t strong enough to face this?”
“Hey, I don’t think this is the best idea,” Luca protests, rubbing the palm of his hand over his heart. He feels her agony through the bond, and I envy the connection, although I suspect Celine’s pain is a hard pill to swallow.
“You aren’t protecting her right now, Luca,” Riven says calmly. “You’re arming the weapon that will kill her.”
“Fuck you!” Luca’s eyes flash yellow, and Ciprian wraps an arm around his waist to hold him back. “You don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
