Page 41 of Secrets & Curses of Fate

“Haden,” I breathed when his eyes met mine.

“Storm,” Haden said, fear evident in his ghostly eyes. Suddenly, he burst into a million tiny specks of light. The mating bond severed, slamming into me again and dying as Haden’s soul disappeared. The pain of losing Haden raced through my veins, scorching grief into my bones.

I yelled my pain into the stars and heavens. It didn’t change anything, though. Haden was dead. Haden was gone. Tears poured from me as a sudden storm appeared over us. I curled against Haden’s dead body, putting his arm around me again, burying my face into his chest, and inhaling the scent of home. And even though I knew he was dead, I couldn’t help but worry that he would get cold in the storm, so I covered him as much as I could.

I could hear the movement of someone coming closer to me, and I opened my eyes thinking it was Haden. But disappointment coursed through me when I saw Holden. Tears streamed down my face as he watched me cling to Haden. My gaze shifted when I saw cloaked figures standing at the edge of the woods. They were gone in the blink of an eye, and I was too caught up in grief to care.

“Ardella?” I glanced up at Holden when he started crying uncontrollably at the sight of Haden’s body. I rested my head on his chest, thinking that at any moment it would start moving again. He just left, and I already miss him so much. I felt hollow, like my heart and soul had been cut from me. There was a shuffle as Holden knelt on the other side of Haden, crying as he held his hand.

I stared at the side of Haden’s face. He looked like he was sleeping. I reached up and touched his cheek, thinking maybe he would wake up and tell me I was in a terrible dream. When he didn’t, I swallowed hard.

“Please open your eyes,” I whispered. “I do not like this dream. Wake me up.”

Holden perked up like he heard something. He was looking behind me, but I did not care who or what it was.

“Holden?” I heard Sara yell.

“Haden!” Penelope and Henry were calling out.

Holden stood up and raced to his family, but I didn’t leave Haden.?

“What happened? You guys were supposed to show up for dinner.” Henry’s voice sounded like Haden’s, and it shot pain through me.

“We got attacked by these cloaked fae.” Holden was struggling to speak. “Della saved me, but...” he started crying loudly.

“But what?” Penelope asked frantically. He couldn’t compose himself enough to speak. "What happened?" she yelled, her voice full of fear.

“Where is Haden?” Henry asked frantically. “Haden!” He called out.

“Della!” Penelope called out to me, but I did not have the energy to call out to her. “Please, Holden, tell us!” She cried out. "Where is Haden!"

“Haden is dead,” he said between sobs.

“No, he can’t be,” Henry said, his voice coming out angry from the fear. I heard them walking toward us frantically. Then their footsteps stopped, and I could hear one of them breathing heavily as they processed what they were seeing.

“What happened!” Penelope screamed, her shock not letting her process what was happening.

I closed my eyes tightly, knowing that their hearts were being ripped out of them too.

“No!” Penelope’s scream tore from her as she and Henry fell to their knees next to us. They grabbed his hand and immediately realized that he had been gone for a while. Henry pulledPenelope into his chest as she cried out for Haden to open his eyes. She looked down at me and cried, “What happened?”

“I tried to save them both, but I couldn’t,” I sobbed out. “I was too late to save him.”

Penelope looked at me, holding onto Haden like a lifeboat in a stormy sea. She rubbed the wet hair from my face as I sobbed louder. Henry reached down and gripped my hand in his.?Both of them watched Haden’s face for a moment before looking at me.

“We should get you out of the rain,” he said softly. But I shook my head. “Ardella, I know you don’t want to let go of him, but you have to.”?

I knew I needed to. But this was the last time I would feel him against me. I wish I had the gift of time so I could go back and stop this. Sitting up, I looked at his handsome face. He looked as if he were sleeping. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his forehead, recoiling from how cold his skin was. My fingers traced over his face, trying to remember the way he felt against my fingertips. I pushed his soft hair from his forehead, trying to memorize the way it slipped through my fingers.

My gaze drifted to the ring he gave me today, and I started crying again. Emotions crashed into me, suffocating the sobs that wanted to come up. He was alive this morning. He proposed this morning. I stared at him. How could he be dead? I could feel his family watching me. They could leave me out here until I rotted away.

“I love you,” I whispered. My broken mind waited for a moment to make sure he wasn’t going to say it back. Slowly, I released my grip on him, wanting to pull away from Henry and Penelope so I could curl back against him, missing the way he felt. I realized I would crave that feeling of him for the rest of my existence.

I noticed there were others in the field with us. I did not know when they arrived, but they all stared at me with pity. Theymoved toward Haden to retrieve his body. I took a step toward him, not wanting to let him go, but a hand reached out and gripped me. Holden was staring at me, and it was a gut punch. He looked so much like Haden but so different.

Holden was staring at me, and he was a reminder that Haden had to die because I had a stupid bond with him. “Let them take him,” he said gently.

I nodded and watched the love of my life being hauled away. I didn’t know what to do. It was as if time itself had frozen because it knew the realm should not move on without Haden in it. Holden gripped my hand in his to keep me from collapsing.

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