Page 134 of Until the Stars Fall

I called for Connor, but he wasn’t here.

Grabbing Honey’s reins, I climbed into the saddle and took off down the trail in search of him. He had to be here somewhere. I blinked and found myself back on the main road. When I spun Honey around in a circle, my grief slammed into me. Evan, Willem, and their horses lay dead on the road in pools of blood.

“Connor!” I called out again, but my voice sounded muffled and distant, like I was screaming through water.

Honey continued turning, and the forest spun around me, making me dizzy. Then I saw him, and I pulled Honey to a stop. I couldn’t move. There in the middle of the road, Rosie was on the ground, suffering as her blood seeped into the dirt. Connor lay beneath her, trapped. Not moving. Not breathing.

No, no, no!

This wasn’t how it had happened.

Sliding out of my saddle, I hit the ground and ran to him. My fingers fumbled around for a pulse but found none. My vision blurred with tears, and sobs violently wracked my body.

“We warned you,” a voice said, slicing through the air. I didn’t need to turn to know it was Anna. “We told you what would happen if you failed.”

“No!” I screamed, jolting up. I found myself back in my dark and empty bedroom. My heart thundered as I wiped the tears away from my cheeks and looked around the room. I was alone. He wasn’t coming this time.

CHAPTER 68

Lieke

The door to my room opened, and someone walked quietly through the living area before appearing in the bedroom.

“Good morning!” Gretchen said, her voice as cheerful as the sunshine pouring in through the curtains. She headed for the wardrobe and yanked the doors open, flipping through my clothes. “We are running a little late this morning, so I’m afraid there’s no time for me to draw up a bath for you.” After pulling out a light blue dress, she closed the doors and hung the garment on the dressing screen in the corner.

Stepping out of bed, I stretched my arms overhead and padded my way across the room.

Her nose wrinkled briefly, but she offered me another smile, though it was a bit tighter this time. “Perhaps the royal family wouldn’t mind waiting a bit longer.” Then she waved her hand in the air, and the steaming bath appeared. No matter how many times I’d seen her do this, I never got used to it.

Placing my hands on my hips, I angled my head at my maid. “Gretchen, are you trying to tell me something? Should I be offended?”

The poor girl pulled one corner of her mouth down as she cringed apologetically. “Well, it’s just that ever since you came back, you’ve kind of…smelled?”

The comment might have mortified me if I hadn’t been certain Gretchen was imagining it. Lifting my shoulder, I sniffed my skin. I couldn’t detect anything different or unusual. I lifted the front of my nightshirt to my nose and took a deep breath, but all I caught was a faint hint of Connor’s damned cologne. It seemed ridiculous to argue with the girl and let a perfectly good bath go to waste, so I shrugged and stepped behind the screen to undress.

I had just lowered myself into the water when someone knocked at the door. Gretchen ran to answer it. Pulling my hair away from my face, I twisted it up and leaned back against the tub to hold it in place while I listened for any hint as to who had stopped by. Hope made my heart thump faster. Maybe Connor had finally gotten over whatever had kept him away. Maybe he was finally ready to talk to me. But I couldn’t make out any voices, let alone any words.

A few moments later, Gretchen stuck her head around the doorframe. “Lieke, the prince is here to escort you to breakfast. He’s waiting in the living room.”

My heart leaped into my throat, and I tried to contain my smile. “Can you tell Connor I’ll be out in a moment?”

Sheepishly, Gretchen lowered her eyes to the floor and opened her mouth to respond, but another voice called out from the other room first: “Not that prince.”

Brennan.

I wanted to sink down under the water and hide, but since I didn’t particularly feel like drowning, I cleared my throat and said, “Sorry, Bren! I’ll hurry.”

Swearing under my breath, I hurriedly scrubbed the soap over my skin and lathered it into my hair. Gretchen held a towel out for me, and I shared an embarrassed look with her as I dried off and she helped me dress.

When I stepped into the living room, Brennan was already standing with his arm held out, waiting for me to take it. I slipped my hand under his elbow, and he leaned close and whispered, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell my brother that you confused me for him.”

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “Not sure he’d even care at this point.”

“Well, we’re about to find out,” Brennan said, pulling open my door and leading me into the hallway. “The king’s forcing him to dine with us this morning. And since Connor isn’t me, we all know he’ll dutifully comply.”

I stumbled like I had tripped on a loose tile—as if the palace would ever have such a thing—earning me a laugh from my friend. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right there with you the whole time.”

“I can handle your brother,” I said.

---