Chapter 31
Thorne
I had been pacing in my office for hours. Sleep eluded me and work failed to distract me. It wasn’t until I really thought about it, that I realised…
Something was wrong.
Did I make a mistake?
There had been something in her eyes, like a darkening. I didn’t trust it. I didn’t trust her. I clenched my fists.
Elira
I stormed out of my office, back towards the Keep. If I could just see her.. if I could just see she is ok –
I turned down the hall without a word, my stride quickening with every step. The lamps hissed overhead, flickering as I passed, but I barely noticed them.
Her door was closed. The world was quiet.
Too quiet.
I didn’t bother knocking.
I unlocked the door with the key Slade had given me. The door creaked open under my hand, and the firelight inside greeted me like a lie—soft and golden, flickering across the stone floor, casting familiar shapes across the walls.
For a moment, it looked peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Leo lay sprawled across the rug, one arm over his eyes. Slade was slouched against the chair, fingers brushing the edge of the armrest. Phoenix was half-curled at the end of the couch, a book resting on his chest like he’d drifted off mid-sentence.
“Elira?” I said softly. I walked over to the bed, expecting to see her curled up, fast asleep.
The bed was empty. I went to the bathroom. “Elira, you in there?”
No answer.
I stepped inside. The fire crackled. No one moved.
I crossed the room in three long strides and knelt beside Leo. “Leo.”
He didn’t stir, just snored ever loudly.
“Slade,” I snapped, moving to him, shaking his shoulder.
Nothing.
That’s when I saw the glasses—three of them, neatly arranged on the low table. Barely touched, but enough. I caught a faint, bitter scent beneath the woodsmoke.
My stomach turned.
“No,” I muttered, standing again, eyes scanning the room now with rising dread.
Her clothes were folded neatly on the bed.
Her boots were gone.
So was she.
“Gods,” I whispered.
I backed away from the fire, every inch of me going cold.
She hadn’t just left.
She’d planned it.
And I had helped push her out the door with my silence.
I pressed a hand against the wall to steady myself, jaw clenched hard enough to ache.
“Elira!”