Page 113 of A Clash of Stars

His eyes darkened as he pressed a soft kiss on my forehead.

“Do you remember in our history classes at Sefida, there were chunks of time and history that seemed to be left out? You found the missing pieces in the book of Darthium.”

I tilted my head as he continued, “I’m the one who placed it in the library that day. Sophia knew that you needed to know the most important parts of our history to complete the curse, but mostly it’s just one piece in the big picture.”

Sophia? My lady’s maid. Did she write it? That brought up a plethora of other questions.

“All right, I must go,” he said.

I watched Luke walk to the door leading outside to the forest, and I called out to him.

“Please be careful, Luke...and thank you.”

He smiled, and I felt the cinnamon creep into my skin for what felt like the last time.

“Always, princess.” He winked at me then he was gone.

I heard hooves trotting around outside, and I quietly walked to the window to peer out to who it might be. I hoped it was Griffin, but I couldn’t always be sure due to my extenuating circumstances.

I saw the two royal horses tied up but no Griffin when I looked outside. Panic started to heat my body like an oven.

Where could he be? Then I heard the soft tap of the door, and I slowly walked to open it. I was stunned.

Evander was a complete mess. His dark hair was tousled and wet, his green eyes were ambient and grief-stricken, and he was wearing complete black, but I could see the markings of blood on his body, making my eyes go wide with concern for him.

He didn’t care.

With such a powerful force, he pushed his way into the shack, grabbed my hips, and wrapped my legs around his waist.

His right hand grabbed my chin, and I lowered my gaze to his.

I could feel his emotions shooting through me.

Great sadness, longing, and love. I felt all of it at once, and I began to cry. He gently leaned his head into mine, touching our foreheads together.

“I thought I lost you today, Clara. I watched— I saw your mother holding onto your father with every ounce of her being. It crushed me. I didn’t know where you were, if you were safe, who you were with.”

His voice was full of despair as a small tear fell down his cheek.

“I’m okay, Evander. I’m okay. Look at me.”

I grabbed his head in my hands and forced him to look into my eyes.

“Ev, I love you. That is the only thing that is holding me together. You. You are the only thing that is keeping me alive.”

I moved my hands to rest on his shoulders as he pulled his head back to look at me. He studied every inch of my face like he needed to remember everything about me. When he spoke, I thought my heart would melt right into him.

“I’ve loved you since your sixteenth birthday party. I have been waiting for the day that you loved me back.”

Then he kissed me as if he thirsted for them. Desired to touch me at all times. Our kiss became frantic, and he surprised me by pulling away and placing my feet back on the ground.

“We have to go. You are to go to Rhysette to get Lettie and Bethany, then you need to meet someone in Sefida, but there are Asterian guards all over the place, so we need to get through as quickly as possible.”

I stared into his emerald eyes, “I want to see my mother. My father just died in front of me today. I can’t just leave my home.”

He sighed and glanced out the window with a tight lip, withholding what he wanted to say.

“You can’t go back there, Clara. Something else happened after your father was returned to the castle, but we can’t discuss it here. You have to go.”

---