Page 17 of The Princess of Nothing
My stomach dipped, and my breath hitched. “Uh...” I looked at Cedric, who nodded. “Where is Birch?” I whispered, afraid of the answer.
“She will be back soon.”
My chest caved forward, and I sighed. “She’s alive?” I croaked.
“Yes.”
“Daisy too?”
“Yes.”
“The attack,” I said, not fully understanding.
The woman’s eyes hazed. “They came in the night, sorcerers like you, who use ancestral magic. They attacked, but we fought back. Many of us were gravely injured.”
The corners of my eyes creased, and my eyebrows furrowed. “No one died?”
She shook her head. “Star almost died, but we used our powers of healing to bring him back from death’s grasp.”
I closed my eyes. It made sense. They had strong healing powers; all those who practiced natural magic did. Also, if they came in the night then the elves had an advantage with their ability to see better than sorcerers in the darkness. I opened them again, and tears pooled into the corners. I pressed my lips together and white-knuckled my staff. “I’m sorry so many of you were hurt, but I am so relieved to know none of you died.”
A huge weight in my chest lifted. I had been given another chance. Destiny changed the course, and I learned my lesson. Never again would I allow this to happen. Cedric wrapped his arm around my waist.
“She’ll need a minute,” he said to the elf. “What’s your name?”
“Ala.”
“Ala. Thank you.”
She smiled brightly at him, then left us alone. Once she was out of earshot, I collapsed against Cedric. He held me up. I rested my head against his chest, rubbing my cheek on his shoulder. Tears flowed down my cheeks. I sniffed as my nose blocked. I gripped his sleeves, sobbing into him. “They’re alive,” I cried. “I wanted to die whenever I thought about what I’d done.”
I expected him to counter, telling me how they still were attacked and hurt and could have died, but instead he rubbed my back, then dipped his head and kissed my forehead. “It’s okay now.”
His words melted the pain in my chest. “I’ve been spared such pain,” I whispered.
His eyes trailed up to the sky. A hint of a smile played on his lips. “I believe you learned the lesson you were meant to.”
I put several inches of distance between us and caught his gaze when he looked back down. “What is it you believe in?”
“Oneness,” he answered readily. “Most of us fae−those of us who reside in Berovia anyway−believe we are all connected, our souls that is. I don’t fully understand it. I don’t think we can fully comprehend what’s beyond this world, but we can speculate. All I know is I feel something is with me.” He touched his chest. “I feel it in here. Call it intuition or faith, but it gives me strength, and that’s all that matters.”
I nodded slowly. “I think I understand.”
His eyebrows tangled, followed by a scoff. “I’m shocked. If I’d told you this when we first met, I’m sure you would have berated me on how what I believe is wrong or something like that. You weren’t the easiest to talk to.”
“Yet you really liked me regardless of it.” It was meant as a joke, like he always did with me, but he didn’t smirk or grin like usual. Instead, he flushed pink and looked over my shoulder.
“Is that your friend?” He pointed at the space behind me. “Someone’s approaching.”
I whipped my head around, then let out all my heartache into a cry. “Birch.”
Her black hair had grown longer, reaching down to the bottom of her thighs. Her green eyes latched onto mine, her stare harder this time. Her lips set into a hard line. “Winter.” Her tone was clipped. “Why have you come here?”
I rubbed the side of my arm and cast my eyes down to the grass. “I—”
“Look at me,” she commanded. “If you have come to apologize, you can look in my eyes and explain why you betrayed us.”
I bit down on my bottom lip and shifted from one foot to the other. Words of apology swam in my mind, but none of them felt right.
