Chapter 8
Avery POV
Once I know they've left, I let myself fall.
My knees hit the floor, and I clutch my chest like I can physically hold my heart together. It hurts.
It hurts so much.
I thought I moved on.
I really thought I did.
But you don't move on from the love of your life. Not truly.
The way he looked at me—blank, unfamiliar—like I was just another face. The lack of recognition was a punch straight to the soul.
I wanted to scream at him. To shake him.
It's me, Jace. It's me.
Your princess.
Your beloved.
But all I did was stand there. Frozen.
I blink back the tears threatening to fall, digging my nails into my palms until I remember how to breathe again.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
I sit in silence for a while longer, letting the ache settle like cold iron in my ribcage.
Eventually, I stand. Recompose. Reinforce the walls he cracked just by existing.
I never should have let Elias bring him here.
***
Jace POV
"Do you think she'll agree?" I ask, arms crossed, leaning beside Elias against the weather-worn wall outside.
He tilts his head and smirks.
"She?"
I frown. "Yeah?"
"That's a he." Elias chuckles.
I blink. "That's a—?"
"He'll be thrilled you thought otherwise. Says if he's not passing off as a girl, he's doing something wrong." Elias's grin widens.
Before I can say anything else, the door opens.
She—no, he walks out.
He's the same. And yet... not.
He walks straight toward us, unbothered.
"Avery, he thought you were a girl," Elias says to him with a teasing nudge.
Avery turns to look at me. For the briefest second, something flickers in his eyes—pain? Anger? Recognition? I can't be sure. It's gone too quickly.
"I must be doing something right then," Avery replies smoothly, lips curving into a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes.
He exhales.
"Listen, there's only one way this works," he says firmly.
"I'm not a member of your faction. You don't give me orders. If you have any concerns, you go through Eli. I'll also need to reroute the path to accommodate your people."
There's no room for argument.
"Of course," I say.
He nods. "If you'll excuse us, I need to speak to Eli in private."
I take a step back even though every cell in my body is screaming to stay.
I walk away.
Each step feels heavier than the last.
I barely make it ten paces before something massive steps in front of me.
A mana beast.
I freeze.
Black fur. Yellow eyes. Razor-sharp claws. It stares at me, studying.
My heart thuds in my chest, but the creature merely glances, then walks past as if I'm beneath its notice.
"Sparkle, there you are!" Avery's voice cuts through the air.
The beast growls low, but it's not hostile. More like... affectionate?
Avery approaches and pets it like it's a house cat instead of a nightmare incarnate.
"Hey, Sparkle," Elias says, reaching out. The beast huffs and turns away from him.
"I see you still don't like me," Elias mutters, standing a little too close for comfort.
This is the first time I've seen a domesticated mana beast.
And Sparkle? That's what he calls it?
A creature from nightmares, and he named it Sparkle.
I don't understand him. I don't understand any of this.
But I want to.
I want to know why he felt familiar the moment I laid eyes on him.
I want to know why I can't stop looking over my shoulder, like something inside me is reaching toward him.
Even if I don't know who he is.
Even if I don't know why it hurts.