Page 65 of Song of the Heart Scale
Still no rain.
Somewhere behind us, the sounds of clinking silverware and low conversation drifted from the dining room. The rest of the estate’s staff were already seated, trying to pretend everything was normal while the empire teetered on the edge of who-the-hell-knew.
“Please,” Maeve said softly. “At least come sit with us. You don’t have to eat much. Just… be with people.”
She had a point. Stewing in my gloom wouldn’t make the storm come any faster.
I sighed and let her tug me away from the window.
The dining room was warm, lit with dozens of short candles perched in gold sconces along the walls. The long table was covered by a pale blue cloth with silver embroidery, and the smell of freshly baked bread and herbs wrapped around me like a hug. A few of the mansion’s permanent staff—guards, cooks, and steward-types—glanced up when I entered and quickly looked back down again.
I slid into a seat near the end of the table and Maeve sat beside me. Someone passed me a cup of water and I held it, not drinking, just needing something to do with my hands.
“Anything from Dragon Valley?” I asked the room at large.
The staff shook their heads. One of the footmen spoke up, a lean guy with graying hair and a scar across his jaw. “Nothing official, my lady. Only that the ceremony was scheduled at sundown. Might still be underway.”
I stared into my water. Sundown had long passed.
“What if something’s happened?” I murmured.
Maeve leaned closer. “If something had, we would have heard by now.”
Would we, though? This place was a fortress of secrets.
I picked at the edge of my napkin. My stomach still felt like a knotted rope. Something was wrong—I could feel it like a splinter in my spine. A tension. A shift.
And still no Damien.
The moment the thought crossed my mind, a gust of wind slammed against the windows.
Everyone jumped. The candles flickered. One blew out.
Maeve gripped my arm.
Then—nothing. The wind faded. The silence that followed was thicker than before.
I stood and pushed back from the table. “I need some air.”
Maeve stood, too. “I’ll come with—”
“No,” I said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Stay. I just need a minute.”
She reluctantly nodded.
I left the dining hall and made my way back to the window in the sitting room, the one that looked out over the eastern gardens. The sky was glittered with twinkling stars and a glowing full moon. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and stared up at the wide expanse.
“Damien,” I whispered. “Where the hell are you?”
The storm answered with more thunder.
But still… no rain.
No storm.
No escape.
Just then, the front doors burst open with a bang loud enough to make my heart drop into my stomach.
