Page 44 of Celestial Bodies

Julen’s heart accelerated. He tried to tame the shock on his face. “Yes.” He didn’t know why he said that. He’d been caught off guard. He could have confessed right then and there.

She cocked a brow at him. “Hmm. Just to the archives, then? Nowhere else?”

Julen froze as he debated how to answer the question.This is it:“I also visit my friend.”Fuck, this is hard to get out. Just say it, Julen.

His throat closed again. Queen Lauta rapped her fingernails along the arm of the chair. The clicking sound made the hairs on Julen’s body stand on end. “Ah. Souzie, yes? You know your father considers her a traitor.”

“She didn’t do any—”

“And hesparedher. At your behest.”

The blood in his body flowed like a current seeping into every corner of his being. He grew hot, and his hands clenched at his sides.

Julen couldn’t imagine this going more poorly.

Despair consumed him like quicksand, but he didn’t give up. “Please, Mother.Pleaseunderstand. I don’t love her. She hates me. I can’t live a life with her as my spouse. Not when I love someone—”

“STOP!”

Her voice echoed off the walls, and Julen thought his heart stopped. She closed her eyes, and a single tear fell. Her head tilted back as she took a deep breath and said, “I won’t hear about that.”

His breathing became erratic. Sweat soaked through his clothing. “You don’t even want to hear about who I love?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “Julen, a loving marriage is not guaranteed. It’s fortunate when the two overlap, but they rarely do.”

She opened her eyes. The pupils had expanded, overpowering her green irises. “You will marry Glacia. She comes from a good family.”

Julen’s hands shook with fury. His face boiled, and his vision became blurry. Julen felt like he was having an out-of-body experience. His mind twisted with anger, making him feel like this wasn’t real life. She didn’t want to hear about whoever he loved. Because she knew—she knew—and she wouldn’t hear of it.

He tried to steady his voice through deep breaths. “She comes from a good family? What does that mean? And why does it matter after what she did at ourengagement party?Her lowly actions should negate whateverstatus she holds because of her family!”

Lauta rose to her feet, her voice a haunting whisper. “Your father beds every whore with a pulse, and he isking!Infidelity does not negate nobility. I know that more than anyone.”

The room spun as Julen’s chest closed in on him. He couldn’t remember the last time he took a breath. It was as if his body stopped functioning.

She crept towards Julen. “You think you deserve a happy marriage? Don’t be naive. We do things that we must because duty calls for them. We are the royal family of Lapistra. Some expectations must be met, and youwillmeet them, Julen.”

Julen’s head pounded as the truth settled in. The mother he knew was gone, and that yearning to be loved and accepted evaporated.

It didn’t feel like a relief, though. It felt lonely. Untethered to the past, yet terrified of the future. It felt like plummeting off a cliff, not knowing when or if he’d ever hit the ground. Life would forever be different.

Julen said nothing more. He turned to leave his parents’ bedchamber, knowing it was the last time he’d ever see it.

He had to tell Dacias. He would tell him everything. Come clean about it all, and tell him he’d rather give up everything he’s ever known than be forced to marry someone else. He just hoped Dacias would understand.

As he walked along the corridor, each candle blew out.

16

Chapter 15

Julen

Julen’s body rocked with emotions, a crash of hope and fear splashing in his belly and rippling about his limbs as he reached the end of the tunnel to Cupidor and found Dacias at his usual spot.

It was still daylight, and the sun shimmered about Dacias’s frame, mixing with the red crystals to create an orange glow outlining his body. His back leaned against the lamppost as he fidgeted, his hands resting over his bent knees. Julen smiled as he closed the distance between them.

Julen’s approach startled Dacias, who whipped around to face him with a ghastly expression.

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