CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
A brief visit to my family was supposed to have cooled some of the anxiety that had simmered within me.
I should’ve been missing David while at home—his steady warmth, his gentle touch.
But instead, my mind returned again and again to the prince with a cocky attitude, flipping through books and bossing me around.
I’d lost my mind.
I sat at the kitchen table with my morning coffee, light flooding the small room through the window, sunlight blanketing me with a golden warmth.
Thomas would be gone soon. His semester started in a mere two weeks.
And then? Then, I wouldn’t have to sit in this turmoil anymore, or fight this strange attraction to him that was a shallow mockery of love.
I could return to wedding planning, finish my final months at the palace, and prepare for a life of staying at home.
Of no magic.
My shoulders sank. There was still a chance David could change his mind about my magic training. Yet every time I’d brought it up, he had that same wrinkle in his brow, that same guarded expression.
To believe otherwise, that he’d support my ambitions, was only foolishness.
I stared at my mug, willing the coffee to move. The black liquid swirled around the rim, just as Thom had turned the pond into a whirlpool only two months ago. I was excelling so fast, faster than both he and I had expected. And to sacrifice all of it…
The creak of well-worn floorboards made me glance up.
Kelara gave me a small smile. “Copper for your thoughts?” She helped herself to the morning brew, ladling out a mugful from the pot hanging over the hearth. She took a sip and grimaced. “That’s strong.”
“It was a Junirian blend from the market,” I said. “I wanted to try it.”
“You’re always wanting to try new stuff.” She came and sat beside me. We watched through the window as horses flew past, carrying riders and carriages along with them. “Why not stick to what you know is good?”
“Like Felipe?” I turned to her, and her body stilled. “I saw you two when I was home last. You’re not…”
“That’s none of your business, Lyra.”
“And that’s not a reason.”
She exhaled. Her fingers wrapped around her mug tightly as bitter steam rose and curled in the air between us. “He’s Asha’s papa.”
“That’s why I’m worried.”
“It’s been years.”
“He’s still Felipe.” I gave her a sad smile.
“He wasn’t here to pick up the pieces he left behind after he betrayed you.
I was. I was the one who held you when you cried for hours in the dark.
I had to take time off work to make sure you washed and ate.
And I kept Asha smiling while you fell apart. ”
“Lyra…”
I huffed. “Felipe didn’t want anything to do with either of you when he left. I think it should stay that way.”
Kelara ran her hands over her face, leaving a flustered redness behind. She leaned onto the table. “Asha deserves a father.”
“Yes.” I reached out, my hand on her arm. “But she deserves a good one. And you deserve a good man who is loyal and kind. Felipe was not that man.”
“I’m so lonely, Lyra. And with Gina turning for the worst—” She blinked rapidly, and a tear slipped down her cheek. She sniffled. “Spirits, I hate crying. I wish I had your resolve.” She laughed bitterly through the tears.
I rubbed my thumb over her shoulder. “And I wish I had your resilience. Don’t give up now. Not when Asha needs you. When I need you.”
She nodded. “And what about you?”
“What about me?”
Kelara tilted her head. “You and David and getting married. How do you feel?”
I fiddled with a knotted strand of hair. “Good, I suppose.”
“You suppose?”
“How am I supposed to feel?”
She shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t even remember a bit of my wedding planning. My heart was racing the entire three months Felipe and I were engaged.”
“Well, I don’t feel that.” But even as the words left my mouth, my heart skipped a beat.
I did feel that—just with a man who wasn’t my fiancé.
“Perhaps you really are built differently than me,” Kelara said, taking another sip before scrunching up her face at the taste. “But I’ve never met a bride who wasn’t flustered about her wedding day.”
I gave a close-lipped smile and shrugged. Before she could continue to poke and prod my heart, Mama bustled in. Asha clung to her leg as Mama listed my responsibilities for my final day at home: visiting the florist, the baker, the priest.
All in hopes of a wedding I was starting to fear I didn’t actually want.
She dragged me to each, and I spent the entire time looking forward to getting back to the palace.
To the little pond where someone would be waiting for me.
I pulled my bindle closer and hurried along the streets, bracing against the autumn chill that tried to push me back.
My cheeks stung from the wind’s fury. I ducked into an alleyway, desperate for the palace’s shelter before I, too, blew away with the leaves.
A gust roared past as I took a moment to adjust my coat and warm my hands.
It was too cold for this time of year. But then again, summer had slipped past me faster than I thought possible.
I braced myself to head back into the weather’s onslaught when a familiar voice carried over the wind. I slunk back into the alley’s shadows, ducking behind a wooden crate.
Felipe strolled by, his arm around a pretty young woman. His hand was tight around her waist, and she blinked up at him with an adoring gaze, the same gaze Kelara had given him every day of their very brief marriage.
My stomach sank. Even knowing it would happen, it still hurt seeing Felipe’s callous betrayal again. Kelara would likely fade back into the heartbroken shell she became when he left the first time, when I had to carry her heartache on top of my own.
They disappeared around the corner, their voices still floating on the breeze. Anger prickled at every part of me. I wanted nothing more than to shout at Felipe and his parasitic hold on our family. I gathered my courage to exit the alleyway, slowing down when he was nowhere to be seen.
An orange leaf soared toward me. It pressed against my torso with the wind’s hand. I grabbed it and ran my fingers over it, pieces crumbling before they flew away.
Prince Thomas would be gone soon.
A pang coursed through me at the thought.
And I feared Kelara wouldn’t be the only sister heartbroken through the fall.