Page 37 of Until the Stars Fall

I reread the note several more times. Millie still sat at her desk, showing no sign of turning in anytime soon. If I left now, she’d be suspicious. Unless…

Standing up, I stretched my arms high overhead and yawned. She didn’t seem to notice until I walked across the room and opened the door.

Without turning around, she said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“I’m just heading to the privy, Millie,” I lied. “Or would you rather I need to go in the middle of the night and bother you while you’re asleep?”

At that, she groaned and waved a hand over her shoulder, shooing me away.

Before she could change her mind and question me further, I left, shutting the door quietly behind me. I rushed down the servants’ hallway on light feet.

My heartbeat was an erratic mess as I quickly made my way through the dimly lit hallways of the palace and up the stairs. As soon as I stepped into the queen’s personal wing, the air turned cold. Our spot wasn’t too far from me now, but it was impossible to be in this hallway without thinking of the queen.

Keeva Durand had been a kind ruler and a loving mother, a friend to everyone, including my mother. She had been the one to ensure the humans on the staff were protected and cared for. When she died, some of the humans had worried about their future and expected to be sent away, but my mother had always believed the surviving Durands would uphold the queen’s wishes, even after she was gone. While my mother had been right, and King Nevan had continued to protect his mortal staff, that didn’t mean that nothing had changed.

The palace—once a happy home full of love and warmth—seemed to have died along with the queen.

As I neared the door to the parlor, I slowed my pace, and all the grief my thoughts had conjured stuck in my throat. For the first time since Millie had handed me the note, I wondered what Brennan could possibly want from me. My heart hammered in my chest as my nerves flared.

It’s just Brennan. Your friend.

Yeah, the friend I dreamed of marrying one day.

Your friend who is to marry someone else soon.

He’s still your friend. Just talk to him.

My fingertips had barely touched the doorknob when it turned and the door opened, revealing the face I’d dreamed of for most of my life.

“Brennan.” His name fell from my lips on a whisper. I didn’t realize I’d said it until the corner of his mouth pulled back in a cocky smirk.

“I got tired of waiting for you to find the courage to come in,” he said, his green eyes teasing me like they had so often when we were younger. Before I could respond, he grabbed my hand and guided me inside.

A shiver ran up my arm at his touch, and I winced, knowing he could hear the change in my pulse and my breathing. Thankfully, he didn’t comment on it as he led me past the furniture draped in white cloths. By the moonlight shining in from the far window, I recognized the shapes of the chaise and the grand piano. Sorrow threatened to resurface, but I drew in a deep breath and forced myself to focus on the prince holding my hand.

He led me to the bay window—which was tucked between two large bookcases—where a wide, cushioned bench awaited us. Brennan sat first and tugged lightly on my hand until I sat facing him, releasing my hand when I did. I tried not to frown at his retreat, instinctively pulling my legs up and crossing them in front of me.

For a couple of breaths, he stared at me in silence, searching my face as if he were trying to commit it to memory.

Was he waiting for me to say something? He was the one who had summoned me.

I opened my mouth, but he lifted a finger between us and closed his eyes.

“I owe you an apology, Lieke,” he said.

“What? Why?” I asked, genuinely confused. This was the last thing I’d expected him to say. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. The last thing was a heartfelt declaration of love, but an apology was a close second.

When he finally looked at me, all his earlier teasing had vanished.

“I left you,” he said. “You were my closest friend, and I abandoned you.”

I leaned forward and took his hand in both of mine. “Your mother died, Bren. I never blamed you for needing space.”

He didn’t pull away, though he did turn to look out the window at the moonlit grounds below. “Is it too late?”

I knew he didn’t mean it the way I wanted him to. I knew I shouldn’t get my hopes up. But something Raven had said the day they sent me back home came to mind.

Don’t give up on him, Lieke.

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