Page 91 of Façade

The priest ordered us to face one another. I tried to lift my gaze to meet Ryland’s but couldn’t lift it higher than his lips, a visual that forced me to remember the kiss that had once filled me with joy but which now only left regret, one casualty among many with all that we were about to lose.

It was a struggle to push through my swell of thoughts to concentrate on the priest’s solemn words until he finally reached the dreaded culmination of the ceremony: “Do you, Prince Ryland of Brimoire, willingly choose to sever yourself from Princess Evelyn of Estoria, breaking all the vows you made upon your marriage to relinquish your sacred bond?”

Ryland hesitated, and for a foolish moment I wondered if he’d call it off. My heart lifted with the hope that refused to die…before it was once more dashed as he clenched his jaw and determinedly pushed all uncertainty away. “I sever our union.”

Though I’d expected the words, they still slashed across my heart, leaving it bleeding.

The head priest turned to me. “Do you, Princess Evelyn of Estoria, willingly choose to sever yourself from Prince Ryland of Kingdom, breaking all the vows you made upon your marriage to relinquish your sacred bond?”

I opened my mouth to say the condemning words…yet they wouldn’t come, blocked by my lingering uncertainty that refused to leave. Despite sense having guided me to this point, the longings of my heart seeped into my throat to curl around my words, preventing me from speaking what deep down I didn’t want to say.

My escalating doubt stoked the resistance that threatened to grow too powerful. I fought desperately to suppress it before it got the better of me, yet it continued to build, build, build…

A flash of light suddenly burst free before I could prevent it. The priest’s gasp dashed any hope that my magic hadn’t gone unnoticed, which meant that after all this time, Ryland would finally discover my greatest secret: that I was the princess he sought, a victory for my subconscious that wanted to keep Ryland, even at the cost of exposure.

Yet my warring sense that remained desperate to keep my identity secret managed to quench the magic before it could grow. The glittering light faded, leaving the priest searching the room for its source. His gaze settled on me. “Princess Evelyn, did you—“

“It’s nothing!” Fear shook my voice even as I scrambled for an excuse to explain what had just transpired. There was no way Ryland hadn’t seen my largest burst of magic yet…but to my surprise, he was looking determinedly away.

Puzzlement furrowed the brow of one of the accompanying witnesses as he looked around for the source before turning his shock on my husband. “Prince Ryland, surelyyousaw—“

“I saw nothing,” he said stiffly.

I blinked. What did he mean he sawnothing?Was the man blind?

“But that magical burst. Surely you noticed—“

“I saw nothing,” he repeated more firmly. “And if you’re certain it’s magic you saw, such an occurrence seems commonplace within a magical monastery during an enchanted ceremony, does it not?” Ryland evenly met the priest’s gaze, brow lifted in silent challenge.

The head priest considered the matter before slowly nodding. “It’s not entirely outside the realm of possibility, giving me reason to believe the bond between you two is stronger than I initially suspected. Are you truly certain you want to break something so precious?”

“I already gave my vow to do so,” Ryland said stiffly, still not looking at me. “I want to sever our marriage.”

“But—“

At the priest’s continued hesitation, Ryland lost hold of whatever willpower kept him from looking at me. His stolen glance could almost pass for terror, but it was nothing to the longing filling his gaze as it connected with my own.

But it vanished in an instant, eclipsed by his hardened determination. His attention immediately snapped back to the priest. “Just sever our marriage!”

I flinched at his harsh shout even as his frantic desperation cracked my heart, and with it the last of my resistance.

Not that I was continuing to fight it. My heart still pounded frantically from the close call brought from my magical burst, an imperative reminder of the dangers of our union and the necessity to break it before it was too late. Him choosing me for my powers was a cost far more painful than what would come from losing him and living a life without him…which finally gave me the strength needed to let him go.

“I sever our union.”

Ryland stiffened at my words even as he reached for me, as if despite his insistence, deep down he was reluctant to part from me.

But it was too late. My declaration concluded the ceremony. Magic different from my own surrounded us, similar to the power that had bound us when we married. That one had felt like a warm embrace; in contrast, this frigid sensation made me feel as if I’d stepped into a winter night, leaving icy prickles against my skin. This sinister force shrouded us like a shadow…until I suddenly felt an invisiblesnap, and in that moment I knew our marriage had been broken.

I hadn’t fully noticed the invisible thread connecting me to Ryland—one I’d grown so accustomed to throughout our time together that I’d forgotten it was even there—until I no longer felt it. In its absence, panic swelled. I fumbled for his hand, desperate to maintain this connection…but he gently, albeit firmly, unwound his from mine. His touch fell away, and with it our last connection.

It was over.

It took me several breathless moments to summon enough bravery to peek sideways at my former husband. I expected him to look triumphant or at the very least pleased to being one step closer to his goal…but his stoic mask had vanished, revealing the devastation it’d previously hidden. His eyes squeezed shut and his breaths were almost ragged, as if he maintained only a fragile hold over his composure.

With a wavering breath he finally managed to meet my gaze. “It is done.” And with those final words, he stepped completely away.

In a moment of weakness I almost reached for him, unprepared for this necessary distance when I remained desperate to keep even a semblance of the connection that’d been between us until moments before. In a feeble effort to resist the impulse, I clenched my fists so forcefully my nails dug into my palms. But though I managed to fight it, I was still left heartbroken.

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