Page 65 of Until the Stars Fall

What if mates are real and Calla is his? Would I stand in the way of such a bond?

No, I wouldn’t. The mating bond might be a mystery to me, but I didn’t need to know how it worked to understand its significance.Mother had always called my father her soulmate. I’d thought it was a mere term of endearment, but I wasn’t so sure anymore. What if someone else had loved my mother? What if he had tried to come between my parents, to steal her away from him?

Dejected, I dropped my forehead onto my knees. Brennan had said he wanted to marry Calla. No matter how sure I was he had lied, I owed it to him—and to myself—to take him at his word.

A growl rose from somewhere deep in my soul, filling the music room with my bitter frustration. Why did love have to make us so stupid?

My knees whined in protest from being in this position for so long. Sitting up, I moved to stretch out my legs but then stopped. The sun had fully set now, leaving the sky to the west illuminated with soft lilac and lavender hues.

I had stayed too long. Getting back to my room now would be even riskier with so many fae in the palace, but I couldn’t stay here any longer either. Millie would happily report me to the king’s guard for breaking the rules.

My hand reached under my skirts until I found the knife at my thigh. Gripping the smooth handle, I began to pull it free from its sheath but then hesitated. Being caught after curfew would be bad enough. If I were caught outside of my room with a weapon in hand…

Reluctantly I slid the knife back in place and smoothed my skirt, standing up. I could pull it out easily if needed. I only hoped I could do it fast enough.

Quietly, I tiptoed toward the door. Holding my breath, I inched it open and checked the hallway. Empty. I stepped out and shut the door silently behind me. The fastest way back to my room was down the main staircase, but that was obviously not an option right now. Instead, I turned left and moved further into the queen’s wing toward the servants’ stairs.

I’d only made it halfway down the hallway when panic sliced through my heart. Footsteps approached me from behind, slow and steady. I willed my feet to keep moving, pushing them faster.

“Where are you going, Goldie?” a male taunted me.Griffin.His voice—the voice that had haunted my dreams for years—shot a chill up my spine, and I froze. My instincts told me to keep moving, but I’d never be fast enough to outrun him unless I injured him first.

With my back to him, I slowly lifted my skirt, inching my hand toward the knife. My heart continued its thundering even as I wrapped my fingers around the handle and slid it free.

Within seconds, he was upon me, standing so close behind me that the heat of his body warmed my back. His breath snaked over my ear as he whispered, “Remember me?”

I didn’t nod, didn’t move, didn’t breathe. My eyes closed as I envisioned my move, imagined my knife cutting across his chest. I didn’t need to kill him—if that were even possible—I merely needed to wound him badly enough to give me a chance to get away.

“Your mutt isn’t here to save you this time,” he said.

“I don’t need saving,” I hissed. Spinning myself around, I aimed my blade at his ribs.

If I had surprised him at all, it didn’t give me enough of an advantage over his innate speed. He glided to the side, and my knife met nothing but air. Raven had used that tactic enough in our sparring, though, that I was able to react to it instinctively, planting my right foot on the floor quickly and lunging for him again almost immediately.

This time, he flung himself backwards, out of my reach. A smirk pulled at his lips. Venom filled his eyes.

“Learned some new tricks, I see,” he said, backing away from me and the knife I held up between us.

“Just a few,” I said.

“Won’t be enough against me, though, Goldie.” He winked, and then he rushed me, moving so fast I had no hope of reacting in time. His arm slammed into mine, knocking the knife from my grasp. It hadn’t even hit the floor when his fingers closed around my throat, crushing my airway. He lifted me off the ground and slammed me down hard on my back, never releasing my neck.

I kicked wildly and grabbed his wrist with both hands, trying desperately to get free, but it was hopeless. Panic spread through me, infecting my thoughts with doom and dismay, as he knelt on top of me, straddling my torso.

“If I’d known it was so easy to get you on your back…” he said, flashing me a wicked grin.

Raven’s voice echoed from some faint memory.

Never give up, Lieke. Never stop trying.

Relaxing my arms, I let them fall to my sides. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to focus on what I could do here.

Nothing.

I was too small, too weak, too…tired.

Never give up!I screamed at myself.

“Giving up already, Goldie?” Griffin asked, loosening his fingers slightly.

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