Page 61 of Until the Stars Fall

Mrs. Bishop huffed out a breath and dropped her own hands hard on the table. “Marin, don’t push her. She doesn’t have—”

“What?” Marin asked innocently. “If she’s truly fine, as you both claim, a quick jaunt around the palace is no big deal.”

The old fae began to protest, but I held up my hand. “And we’ll be back in our rooms before the guests arrive?”

Marin’s smile grew, and she nodded once. “Promise.”

Slowly, I drew in a breath and shrugged. “Fine.”

I shouldn’t have come.

I shouldn’t have been so intent on proving I was okay with Brennan’s engagement, because I was far from it. I didn’t want to be here, pretending to be excited about the obnoxiously fragrant flowers gracing every table with their perfect velvety petals. I didn’t want to touch the thick gold curtains that adorned each window, taking the place of the more than adequate navy drapes that usually hung there.

And Ididn’twant to be walking into the ballroom, having to fake a smile as I stared at Brennan’s and Calla’s names irritatingly written in impeccable script on a single place card in the middle of the main table, as if they were already married and not simply engaged.

Engaged. I hated the word almost as much as I hated this room and those curtains and the flowers and the ridiculous predicament I’d allowed my heart to fall into.

“Incredible, isn’t it?” Marin whispered to me, poking my ribs with her elbow.

Grinding my teeth, I hummed in response.

“You okay?”

Angry tears threatened to surface, creeping toward the edges of my eyes, but I blinked them away. Still, I could only nod; I didn’t trust my voice not to betray the stars-damned bitterness burrowing under my skin. Whether she believed me or not, I didn’t know, and I didn’t rightly care at this point. I simply wanted to get out of this room.

As if Marin could sense my discomfort, she wove her hand under the crook of my arm and led me out into the hallway without a word. We should have left sooner. No, we should never have come here, because then I wouldn’t have ended up standing here at this moment, staring down the long corridor straight into the eyes of the fae prince I’d sworn my heart to.

Brennan.

His name was vinegar and honey, leaving a trail of sweet acidity as it ran through my mind. On his arm, a gorgeous fae wearing a purple gown clung to his elbow. A delicate crown was nestled in the dark waves of her hair. Princess Calla. She seemed pleasant enough, but she held onto Brennan’s arm with an air of indifferent possessiveness, as if she couldn’t be bothered to care that she held a claim to him but wasn’t about to let anyone else strip her of that claim either.

His eyes locked onto mine, and I was lost, tumbling down into those starry pools of green. He didn’t smile, didn’t even acknowledge my presence except to stare into my soul.

But then something in his gaze shifted.

Sadness. Regret. Apprehension. Yearning.

No.You’re only seeing what you want to see.

Was I though?

He was my best friend, and nothing—not years apart, nor death, nor marriage—could break the connection we had. I knew him as well as he knew me. Without thinking, I inched my foot forward, but the princess shifted too, pivoting on her toe and pulling Brennan away from the hallway and from me. Brennan’s eyes glazed over, finally dropping from mine as he followed his fiancée. Just before they disappeared around the corner, he glanced at me one last time over his shoulder.

My breath rushed from my lungs once they were gone, but I couldn’t move.

“I’m so sorry,” Marin whispered. “I didn’t think they’d be here. I swear.”

For a long moment, she and I stood there in silence.

“Are you okay?” she repeated. “And don’t say you’re fine, because I can tell you’re not.”

Slowly, I turned toward her, scrunching my brow. “Then why ask?”

She shrugged. “To be nice? But really, are you going to be okay?”

I nodded, slowly redirecting my attention to where they’d retreated.

“He’s backing out of the wedding,” I whispered.

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