Chapter 31 #2
I’m too fragile. I stub my toe every time I turn a corner. I fall over air. Trouble finds me all the time.
If the connection sticks, I’m probably going to end up killing Kieran by choking on the food I inhale too fast.
“Agreed, but while we try to find a way to do that, what about the final trial?” Octavia asks, and the whole room goes silent.
I keep my mouth shut.
For a minute, no one says anything.
Tension hangs in the air, so thick I can barely breathe.
Aurora is the first to break the silence. “We have to pull her.”
“What?” I shoot up straighter. “You can’t do that.”
“Yes, I can,” she counters, eyes narrowing. “And I am. You can’t risk your life when you don’t know what’ll happen to Kieran. If you die, this whole Court might go with you.”
I want to argue. Scream that it’s not fair.
But as much as I hate it, Aurora is right.
She’s right.
But Declan—
Gods, Declan.
Is this it?
Is this how it ends after everything?
After the hell I’ve been through?
“I know you want to save Declan,” Kieran says quietly beside me.
His hand squeezes mine gently, like he feels the sadness crashing over me.
“And this isn’t just about the you-die-I-die thing—but I was going to pull you out from that trial myself even if this hadn’t happened.
I can’t watch you do this, love. Not anymore. ”
I glance at Kieran as I feel the gentle brush of his pain through the bond like a bruise beneath my skin—his terror, raw and aching, like he’s reliving whatever it was he saw from the stands when I was in the maze.
And it’s horrible, the feeling he shares with me.
I don’t ever want Kieran to go through that again.
But how can I let go of Declan like this?
“We’ll talk about Declan later, all right?” he asks softly.
I have no choice but to nod.
And truthfully, I’m grateful he even wants to talk about it at all.
“Does everyone agree that we should pull Cassandra out of the trial?” Aurora asks, her tone clipped and formal.
One by one, they all nod.
And just like that, I am no longer a contestant.
A hollow ache opens in my chest. Suddenly, I’m floating with nothing to anchor me but Kieran.
“What does that mean for me?” I ask quietly.
“You are our leader’s mate,” Skylar offers, glancing over at Kieran, her voice gentler than I expect. “It’s not traditional, but the stars made their choice. And we’ll honour it.”
“I get that,” Felix mutters. “But she’s human.”
Here it comes.
I brace myself.
“We might have to …” Gideon starts, then pauses, then continues carefully. “… turn her Fae.”
Oh, Gods.
He did not just say that.
“Absolutely not,” Kieran snaps. I clutch his hand even harder now.
“I’m not turning Cassandra Fae. She’s young, and we have years to figure this out.
I’m not ripping her from herself.” He looks around the room.
“If you are worried about appearances, then lie. Tell them we’re fated mates, not chosen. Shut them the hell up.”
Thank Gods Kieran says that—I wouldn’t know what to do if he agreed with Gideon.
Yes, there’s still the he’s-immortal-but-I’m-human problem, but I’m not ready to talk about that now.
Hell, we just said I love you for the first time today.
And now we discovered that we’re chosen mates.
I don’t want my whole life decided for me just yet.
“Fine, we can talk about it over time,” Atticus says, his arms crossed. “But do you realise this means Cassandra will have to spend the rest of her life here? She can’t go home—because you can’t leave, Kieran.”
Blood drains from my face.
My entire body, actually.
I didn’t say goodbye to anyone.
Noah threw the letter I wrote for Mum and Dad in the fire.
I was in such a dark place that I hadn’t let myself think about what I’d left behind.
My family. My home.
“Again, we can talk about that. I’m sure we can sort out a few days’ visit for Cassandra, and I will just stay behind,” Kieran replies, quieter this time. “There’s no need to decide everything right now.”
The whole room goes silent.
Beside me, Kieran exhales slowly, thumb brushing over mine. He doesn’t look at me, but I share every shattering emotion running through his beautiful mind.
“Look, I know this is a lot to take in,” he says at last, his voice steady but tired. “Let’s take some time. Think this through. There has to be a way to sort it all out.”
And he’s right.
His people know he’s right.
A sleep or two can change the way the stars look. Right now, we’re still in shock—or in denial—and none of us can see clearly when we’re bleeding emotions. Myself included.
“We’ve already got enough to deal with. Let’s take a step back. Cassandra isn’t going anywhere.” Kieran finally turns to me, and the smile he offers is soft and grounding. “Neither am I.”
That ends the hours’ long discussion.
Everyone starts filing out, talking quietly amongst themselves, and I just sit there in silence, too drained to move.
Aurora turns to me as Kieran leaves the room to speak privately with Gideon.
I brace myself for the nastiest comment of the century.
But instead, she just says, “I’m sorry I had to pull you out.”
I blink.
Is she serious?
Or did the fake Lucas actually succeed in strangling me, and this is some fever-dream purgatory?
“What?”
“I said what I said.” She lifts her chin, cool and regal again. “You understand I had no choice, right?”
“Yes, but—” You don’t have to apologise to me.
“I knew it was important to you,” she mutters, not quite looking at me. Her eyes drop to the ring on my left hand, her words bitter. “I suppose congratulations are in order.”
I haven’t even registered what she just said, but Aurora’s already turning away.
What just happened?
I either need sixteen hours of sleep, or a bottle of extremely illegal Fae wine.
I’m still slumped in my chair, drowning in my own spiralling thoughts, when the door creaks open again. I thought it was Kieran.
Turns out it’s Lucas.
“Lucas,” I breathe. My chest caves in with relief. “Oh, Gods—you have no idea how happy I am to see you.”
He forces a smile—but fails miserably.
My stomach twists.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“It’s the trial,” he whispers. Something in his expression makes my heart stop. “Jordan won.”
My breath catches. Daisy’s last words echo like a curse in my head.
I know before I even ask, “And—and Daisy?”
Lucas looks down, shaking his head.
She’s dead.
I know she’s dead.
Mother of the stars.
I thought I’d be okay. We weren’t exactly kind to each other.
But she begged me.
Gods, she begged me.
“I—” I swallow, steadying my breath. “I’ll ask Kieran to honour her wish.”
Lucas nods, and he doesn’t say it, but I know just how much today has hollowed him out.
And I haven’t even told him that it’s now entirely down to him.
He’s the one who has to bring Declan back.