Page 103 of A Cruel Kindness

We stumbled forward, charging into the fresh Muli air and springing apart the second we could.

Only Peter, Ford, and Esme were there to greet us, surely to protect the bait and switch of Arthur slipping out of his tunnel and rejoining Freya as if his twin hadn’t done the same on Vir.

Whereas Freya was willing to set aside her observations for the sake of peace, Peter did not give us the same courtesy.

“What happened?” he snapped, immediately catching onto the tension between us.

I tried to answer, but no sound escaped my throat. Soren was the one to do it for us. “Nothing. We got the message to the Emperor. He accepted their offer.”

Peter nodded, even though his expression didn’t relax with the good news. He knew there was something deeper. “Alright,” he said, slowly. “I’ll coordinate another meeting with Elijah through his messenger. In the meantime, why don’t you head back to the cabin. It’s late. There is food there for you.”

He was right. Our journey had pushed us well into the night, so far that we were almost crossing into the next day.

I didn’t know how I was supposed to sleep in the same bed with Soren. Especially now that I knew what it felt like to fall asleep in his arms, nothing between us.

Soren took off towards the cabin on quick legs. Despite Ford’s attempt to appear passive at all times, his expression revealed more than he cared to admit. He noticed Soren’s anger and immediately followed him—a testament to their friendship.

Freya gave me a quick hug and whispered in my ear that she was here for me, but then took off towards the stables.

That left me and Esme.

“I have something for you,” I blurted out, reaching into my bag to pull out the box I swiped at the last moment.

Esme blinked down at it in confusion, as if she didn’t know what to do next, had never received a gift before. Slowly, her hand curled around the box and opened it.

Her eyes shot up to me a second later, welling with tears. “It’s yours,” I said, needing to make that clear. Carefully, she pulled out a stunning, delicate necklace made of rich gold intertwined with glowing emeralds. I knew she liked that green stone, though I’d never ask if it was because they replicated someone else's eyes.

“Thank you,” she whispered, voice full of emotion. That only kicked off my own swell again.

I nodded, then started walking, needing to do something with my body. Esme was quick on my heels.

“I can’t tell if you guys finally did it or not,” Esme said as we walked. Despite the humorous nature of her words, her tone was deeply serious. It was if she knew exactly how intense physical contact with your Soul Mate was, regardless of the fact that the Bond never awoke for her and Ford.

I was speaking before I could stop myself. “We did. That’s the problem.”

Esme took several seconds to respond. “Why?”

“Because I’m…” God, my throat was closing up just trying to get the words out. when I finally did, my voice sounded hollow. “Well, I guess I’m engaged now.”

Esme stopped dead in her tracks. “To him?”

“No. To—” I couldn’t even get it out.

“The Prince,” Esme finished for me. I nodded, trying and failing to keep my expression neutral.

“Oh, honey,” she said, her voice falling to a soft tone I’d never heard from her before. She pulled me into a hug, even though I didn’t think I’d seen her offer one to anyone, even Freya.

I accepted the gesture happily, but soon it felt mocking. The Bond wasn’t happy that she was the one comforting me.

As if she knew exactly what that was like, Esme pulled back with a careful smile. Her eyes were wistful, carrying knowledge in them that I’d never seen before. She grabbed one of my hands, clasping it between her own. “You know, they never tell you how cruel this is. They only consider it a kindness, giving you a Soul Mate. They promise you the love of your life, then make you live with whoever the Goddess picks for you, even if circumstances won’t allow you to.”

She sounded … well, she sounded like she was speaking from experience. “Esme…”

She shook her head, her lips pulling into a forced smile. “Don’t apologize for whatever you need to do to deal with this. Let Soren do the same. It will hurt less.”

The last thing she said was, “If it’s unbearable, please tell me.”

I wanted to push it, but I could tell on her face she didn’t want me to. Hell, I didn’t want to. I was too emotionally exhausted to say much of anything.