Page 150 of Threaded

CHAPTER62

Mariah ate her dinner alone that night.

She wasn’t in the mood for company, even from those closest to her. Sebastian and Ciana tried to convince her to let them stay, but she’d refused.

And Andrian was entirely the one to blame.

That look she’d seen written on his face before he’d left … it had haunted her all day. She’d needed him after the meeting with the Royals had gone so poorly. She’d held herself together just long enough to make it back to her room, had prepared to release those floodgates as soon as they were safe and alone. But then … he’d justlefther. She knew he could see the need in her eyes … but he’d left, regardless.

She’d wanted him to be the one she could always rely on. The one who would always be there to steady her when she stumbled or hold her strong when the burdens of the world threatened to bury her. But at this first true test, this first moment when no one else would’ve been able to catch her, he’d vanished and left her to fall.

So, Mariah had let her sobs break free and had let Sebastian and Ciana comfort her the best they could. But they both knew that while she deeply appreciated them both … it wasn’t them she needed.

When Mikael arrived a few hours later to ready her dinner, he’d worked in silence as Mariah had sat in one of the chairs facing the Attlehon Mountains. She felt nothing, not even when he’d set food down before her, asking her if she wished to dine alone.

She’d answered with a quiet, “yes,” and he’d left her with sadness on his kind face but no further words.

Mariah still sat there, an hour later, her food untouched. She’d watched the sun set, the rays refracting off the mountains. Dusk was fast approaching, and with it came the fear of what the night and her future would bring.

Whatever was next for her, she would have to face it on her own.

And … she wasn’t sure she’d be able to withstand it.

A loud bang from behind sent her shooting to her feet, her hand instantly wrapping around her grandfather’s dagger on her thigh. There were low footsteps moving through her foyer, and then the last person she’d expected to see in her chambers that night emerged from the entryway.

Andrian, his onyx hair windswept and tanzanite eyes blazing, stood beneath the arch, and lightning lanced through the air.

He’d come back. She knew she should be furious with him for leaving, should snarl and scream for abandoning her to go do Goddess-knows what. But in that moment, seeing him again … she forgot her anger. All she could think was that it was Andrian, and she was Mariah, and she needed him so desperately she could hardly breathe.

It was a fact that would never change, no matter the trials they would face in their futures.

Mariah felt her face crumple just as Andrian surged across the room, gripping her in his arms. He held her so tightly, so frantically, his heart beating wildly in his chest against her ear.

If she hadn’t already shed so many tears that day, she would’ve wept. As it were, all Mariah could do was loose a few shuddering breaths and inhale his scent, trying desperately to mesh it with the very fibers of her own being. Finally, after what could’ve been a few seconds or a few hours, she pulled back from him, lifting her head so it rested against his strong, solid shoulder.

“Where did you go?”

He exhaled heavily. “I had to get out. Clear my head. I should’ve stayed with you; I’m sorry. But … I was too worked up and just needed to let off some steam.”

Mariah drew her eyebrows together. “The guards told me they saw you riding into the city like you were being chased by an army of demons.”

“Yeah. That’s what I did to clear my head. I took a ride.”

Mariah didn’t pester him further. She understood that feeling better than anyone else, that driving need to just escape on horseback at a pace where no one could catch you.

“I’m glad you’re back.”

Instead of responding to her, he leaned back, tilting her chin up so he could meet her gaze. Mariah stared into those tanzanite depths and thought she caught a glimpse of something almostmanicgleaming back at her. She studied him closely, her magic prickling beneath her skin as she held his stare.

“Mariah, we need to talk.” His fingers gripped her chin as his eyes burned even brighter. Warning bells began to clamor in her head, her power threading through her veins—

“I’m tired of waiting,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “There’s no point to it anymore. The lords won’t help us, and you need to assume your full power in their absence. Let’s bond.Tonight.”

Mariah could only blink at him in shock, the warnings in her head suddenly silenced. Her magic guttered out in her veins.

No wonder he appeared manic, if this was the question he’d wanted to ask.

“Are you drunk?”

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