Page 17 of Ties of Starlight

She fixed him with a glare darker than any she'd ever given him before. “You can't.”

“Please—”

“I don't care about your excuses! Claim it was all foryour people if you want, but that doesn't change the fact that you forced me to be your wife.” Idonea dug her nails into the blankets. “You deceived me. You knew full well I thought I was marrying the love of my life and you let me. That's all I wanted. Marrying him was all I've ever wanted.”

Why hadn’t he listened?

Why had he let himself believe that had just been a lie for his sake? How foolish was he?

Idonea whispered, “I don't know why you really did this. I don’t know if this is just another way to torment me, but if you have any shred of compassion in you, you'll leave me alone. Since you've taken away the only thing I wanted, just stay away from me.”

Nyrunn stepped back, unable to tear his gaze away from hers as a sob ripped out of her throat and she curled in tighter. Anything he could say or do would make this worse. She'd only hate him more, and she already hated him more than he could imagine.

And she was right to.

In his selfish desperation to have her, he’d only ensured he would never actually have her in any way that mattered.

Maybe he was the monster she thought he was.

He was leaving his bride sobbing on the ground the night of their wedding. Of course he was.

Chapter 7

Idonea wasn't sure how long it had taken for her wretched sobs to stop, but at some point Nyrunn had listened and left. So when she looked up, the tent was empty.

Her skirts were billowed out on the ground beside her as she knelt beside the bed, half hidden by it. She took a few shaky, shuddering breaths as she reached up and used her long sleeve to wipe the tears away. Her half-human side meant she cried far more easily and far longer than the other elves. Maybe her disgusting displays of reckless, unrestrained human emotion would repulse Nyrunn enough he would have no desire to treat this night like a real wedding night.

Just the thought had her stomach turning. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. This hadneverhappened before.

She glanced up at the tent exit. Technically, neither of them were supposed to leave until morning, but that was tradition, not a requirement for the magic. Besides, he'd already left. Why couldn't she?

Why couldn't she just leave, period?

Why not run away?

Everything was ruined. Why not run away and start over?

And it was all Nyrunn's fault. It would serve him right for ruining her life.

Another weak, broken sob clawed up her throat. Her hand clenched into the fabric over her heart, the lilies on it glowing, binding her to the wrong elf.

She was so close. She'd been so close to finally getting it perfect and having a final, happy ending.

But now she had this instead.

She could sense him in the near distance. Right. Idonea closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and focusing on the bond. Nyrunn was far enough away she couldn’t make out what he was feeling. Good.

Idonea carefully pushed it away and focused on walling herself off. Being able to feel each other’s emotions was supposed to help bring two strangers closer together and make their relationship stronger so the rituals would be stronger, but there was no actual proof that the strength of their bond had anything to do with how strong the Star Elves’ magic became after the comet. While the bond was integral to the magic, it only needed to exist to carry them through the linked chain of rituals. Walling it off in the past hadn’t hurt the rituals.

Idonea didn’t need to be subjected to Nyrunn’s emotions in order to do her duty to her people. She breathed easier when she finished, despite the fact that walling herself off took a fair amount of energy.

Nyrunn would no longer be able to sense her emotions. He could feel her on his end, but nothing more than that. Her wall also meant anything that came from Nyrunnwould be dulled, small things bouncing right back off the wall and turning large, overwhelming tidal waves of emotion into distant whispers.

Once that was taken care of, she used the bed to pull herself to her feet and made her way over to the small vanity that had her things packed and set beside it. She dug through the bag and pulled out her journal and writing equipment before staggering into the chair. She directed the starlight hovering in the corner to come closer as she flipped the book open and began to write.

Today was my wedding day, the wedding of the Cometa Couple. I thought I had finally gotten ahead of everything, that this time I would do it perfectly and nothing would go wrong. I was wrong.

I'm not married to the love of my life. I'm married to the king who hates me.

---