Page 41 of A Clash of Stars

“We must start our journey to the edge of the Kingdom of Claiborne. We don’t have any horses, so it will take us much longer to get there, and we need to arrive sooner rather than later,” Griffin spoke with determination. I wondered what could be in Claiborne for us. We began our journey, and that’s when my thoughts began.

I started to ask myself questions internally and wonder about what Athiana had said to me. She said there would be more that I would come to trust in the future but that it would take time.

She also said the only person I could genuinely trust right now was the person whose stars aligned with mine. Who could she mean?

I also touched my satchel to make sure my book was still there, and luckily it was. I wondered what was inside the book that would be important to me.

My eyes wandered to the group around me, and I started to make some observations about my new acquaintance, Lettie. She was shorter than me, with long strawberry-blonde hair and bright brown eyes like the King.

She walked with steadfastness and confidence. After looking at her, my gaze moved to Evander. I wondered what their childhood was like, whathewas like. A hand brushed mine, Madok. “You look deep in thought, care to share.”

I laughed, “Nothing important, Madok. Nothing to worry about.”

He sighed, and I could sense the dread radiating off of him. This impending feeling of hopelessness. Immediately, he relaxed, and the shield of sadness fell away.

“Clara, I need to tell you something I should’ve told you long ago.”

He paused and deeply breathed, “I wasn’t candid with you about who your mate is.”

I stopped walking.

I stopped breathing.

I stared into his eyes, seeing and sensing his fear. I saw the reflection of my body glowing in his eyes as my anger grew as I heard the roots of the nearby tree rumble under the ground.

“I-I don’t know what he looks like. I only know his name.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Evander looking back at us, slowing the rest of the group down so we could finish this conversation. They all felt the ground shake and tremble with the power that pulsated off of me.

“You have known…this entire time who my mate was? And didn’t think it was noteworthy to tell me?”

He stepped towards me, “I just thought that we could try to build our relationship more if you didn’t know who it was.”

I laughed. A maddening laugh. I knew my eyes must’ve looked crazy because that’s how I felt.

Lashes of my power were flowing off my body, and that’s when I noticed the rest of the group watching this conversation intently.

The light in the sky started to dim as the darkened clouds hovered over us. My pulsating magic became uncontrollable. Evander had taken a few steps towards us, obviously trying to ensure I didn’t do something idiotic, likekillMadok.

“Who? Who is my mate, Madok?” I hissed.

He sighed, looking away from me and noticing our audience before returning his fearful eyes to me.

“His name is Eros.”

Stillness.

Completely frozen. That is what I was.

My mate was Eros. The boy in the book I was reading. The man who was devastating, yet pure. Waiting for me to find him. In a book! In a world that I didn’t even know truly existed. How is that possible? Maybe it wasn’t true. Maybe Madok doesn’t know who my mate is.

I could sense his chest tightening as he was withholding his emotions from me, awaiting my response as he started to speak again, “I was selfish and didn’t want to lose you, yet I lost you anyway.”

As lightning struck a nearby tree, I approached him, “Madok, you never lost me, but you just might have.”

I paused, taking a breath, trying to get my power under control. I asked him, “Do you remember when we were little, and you saved me from the Torque Viper? We ran so fast away from it that I thought I might run out of air. Once we were safe, you looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered—I fell in love with you that day.”

I sighed before I continued. “I don’t know who my inamoratotrulyis. I don’t know when I will meet him, but I do know that you were first supposed to be my friend, and right now, you are the furthest thing from that. A friend wouldn’t betray me this way, only for his benefit.”

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