Page 26 of A Clash of Embers

"You know, there are times that I feel like parts of my life are an illusion. After you showed me what happened in the curse, it made me question things. Things that I had never questioned before." He paused, pressing his hand through his hair, and leaning onto his back. I followed suit and laid beside him staring at the star-filled sky.

"Sometimes I think I might be crazy. My mother tells me it is just that so much has happened in my life, but I don't think that's it," he spoke softly.

"What do you feel you are missing?" I asked curiously.

He sighed, "When I saw you, something clicked inside of me. A piece of the puzzle settled in. I knew that I needed to stay close to you—I wasdrawnto you. Whenever I saw the mark on your neck, my stomach twisted into knots because I realized there was no way for me to truly have you."

I turned my head to face him and he did the same. There was an unspoken understanding between us that part of us longed for the other whether it was under the curse or even now. Never the right time, but maybe there never would be a right time.

My eyes lingered on his lips before returning my eyesight to his amber eyes as I spoke the most heartfelt, honest thing I think I'd ever said out loud to anyone.

"It would have been you. It was always you. Whether you were Madok or who you are now. I never knew I had a mate growing up and even when I wanted to be with Evander, I was always uncertain. It was so fast that I didn't even have time to think about it." I paused, taking a breath before continuing. "You don't know this, but I told you under the curse that I fell in love with you when we were older, but that was a lie. I loved you the day you saved me by the creek, and in a way, you have always saved me. Even now, I don't know what I will do when I see Evanderand I don't know what will happen, but I am no longer going to live for anyone else but myself. I will live forme."

Leo's eyes were softened and he reached out to brush the hair off of my face. "I would never want to keep you as a prize. I would never want you to stop living for you. Who I am here is the truth. Everything I am, even the part of me that was just Madok under the curse, is still part of me. If you'll give me a chance, I'd like you to get to know me again."

I smiled at him and whispered, "I'd like that."

Chapter 11

Ifelt the wetness of dew on my cheeks and the coldness of my hair as I started to stir. My head swiveled around to the other side of me as I watched the beaming rays of orange and yellow through the trees.

Sunrise.

I felt the soft warmth touch my face and I closed my eyes taking it in. The smell of the morning was fresh and new and the birds chirping brought me back to Carondelet. It brought me back to Sefida Castle.

What I wouldn't give to go back to that place. A place of pure ignorance.

"We gotta get a move on if we want to make it to Lacassine before sundown," Callan announced. He didn't even look at me; he just helped the group pack up as we prepared our final stretch of the trip.

In stride with the others, I stepped up my pace to walk next to Cal. He tensed slightly when he realized I was there.

"What do you want?" he bit out at me.

I scoffed, "Is that any way to talk to a goddess?"

He shook his head, "Who you are or aren't doesn't matter to me. What does matter is youliedto me."

That was a dagger to the heart because I hated to disappoint anyone, especially someone I care about. "I'm sorry, Callan. I truly am. I wish there was a good excuse to give you, and I could certainly try, but it wouldn't change anything."

We had been traveling for what felt like forever. I knew we must be getting close to Lacassine because the mountains were starting to become more pronounced the further we traveled.

"I'll get over it eventually." He turned his head towards me and smirked.

I smiled back as we continued to walk quietly to our destination. I didn’t know how long it would take, but I knew he would. There was an undeniable feeling that he trusted me, even though I hurt him.

I heard a cough behind us once. Then twice. When I turned my head around, I noticed one of the Fae soldiers was very pale with purple bruising around his eyes.

My steps halted as I turned to face this young Fae. He stood at attention the best he could staring at me.

"What’s your name? I asked him.

He glanced at me. "I'm Riley."

I smiled softly. "Riley, nice to meet you. Um... are you feeling alright?"

His eyes widened as if acknowledging that I was exactly right. I knew he wasn't doing well. He was sick. I asked him a few questions about when he started feeling this way and why he hadn't told anyone. He simply didn't want to be an inconvenience. I made him lie down on the ground and I sat on my knees next to him. He was scared.

"It's okay Riley. I'm not going to hurt you. Ipromise."

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