Page 7 of Empire of Light

“I know, I know. When you are weak, act strong. When you are strong, act weak. I know. You’ve told me a hundred times. When I learned it the second time you told me.” She gave me a slight grin and it made my chest squeeze hard. Damn, I was going to miss her something fierce.

“Good.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “I trust you.”

“Do you?”

“You know I do.”

Her body heaved up and down and I knew she couldn’t get words out with the tears welling in her eyes.

I clasped her face in my hands, my voice a cracking whisper. “Can you do this?”

Tears spilled over her lower lashes. She nodded.

“Exactly. I know you can. I believe it with everything I am.” I gasped in a breath that couldn’t make it past the lump in my throat. “I love you. Always remember that. I love you and I will always be here for you, whenever you need it.”

Lifting myself on my toes, I kissed her forehead, then dropped my hands, stepping away from her before I called this whole thing off.

Quick into the driver’s seat of the truck, I waved at her, still rooted to the spot, still watching me with tears streaming down her face.

I had to be the one to leave, I knew that.

One last wave to her and I set the truck in gear and started down the gravel drive. Checking the rearview mirror, I saw her turn toward Triaten and they both walked under theSUPERSTES VICTORIA ESTsign and onto Academy grounds.

Safe.

At least for now.

I looked to the road, then glanced back one more time.

Venetia had looked back over her shoulder at me, her feet moving her forward while her eyes and her heart were still aimed in my direction.

Foreward.

As long as her feet took her forward, I wouldn’t turn around. Each step she took away from me, part of my heart went missing from my body, to beat elsewhere for her, until we saw each other again.

I had to disappear.

Chapter4

{ Ada }

Major League Baseball team refuses emotional support alligator entrance into ballpark.

A chuckle on my lips, I looked up from theOdditiessection of the news feed I was reading on my phone, ready to share it with Venetia.

It took me a full second to comprehend she wasn’t sitting across from me. Wasn’t just in the bathroom.

She was gone.

Exactly where she needed to be at this moment in time.

But still…gone.

I couldn’t quite take my stare off the top rung of the empty red chair across the table, my heart a loud thud echoing in my ears. It’d been three months since I’d left her at the Academy and I still looked for her in the spot where she should be sitting across from me. A painful bur in my chest that I could never quite rid myself of.

My life for the last four years reduced to an empty table and a funny news article I had no one to share with.

She would have liked the dude with the emotional support alligator. Probably would want one for herself.

---