Chapter 2

The black market's sulfur stench still clung to my cloak when the morning sun hit the Mage Tower. Day One of the countdown. Six days until the ritual severed my soul from his. I needed to see exactly what I was leaving behind. I needed to carve the reality of his betrayal into my bones so I would never look back.

I pushed open the heavy mahogany door to Kaelen’s study. He sat behind his desk, surrounded by glowing floating scrolls.

"I want to go to the Sky Garden," I said, stepping into the room. "Just like our first date."

He didn't even look up. His quill continued scratching aggressively across parchment. "Now? Elara, I have a dozen council matters to approve."

"Please." I stepped closer and placed my hand over his moving wrist. The contact sent a sharp jolt through my chest. "Just for a little while."

He sighed, a harsh, abrasive sound that scraped against my nerves. He dropped the quill, his jaw tightening. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

The Sky Garden bloomed with eternal spring, but the air between us felt like dead winter. I forced myself to wrap my hands tightly around his arm. His muscles were stiff. He dragged his feet across the pristine white cobblestones.

"Do you remember the wish we made by the fountain?" I asked. I looked up at his sharp profile, searching for any trace of the boy who once promised me the world.

"Of course," he muttered. He didn't look at the crystal water. His eyes flicked downward.

A low hum vibrated from his coat pocket. He pulled out his magical communicator. I caught a flash of silver elven runes darting across the crystal screen. Lyra.

Kaelen’s rigid posture instantly melted. A genuine, soft smile touched his lips as he read her words. My stomach violently turned, acidic and heavy.

"Sorry, Elara," he said, already pulling his arm out of my grip. "Council emergency. I need to head back early."

He didn't wait for my answer. He turned and strode away, leaving me standing alone among the blooming roses. I dug my fingernails into my palms until the skin broke. The physical pain grounded me.

That same sickening hollow feeling followed me into the dining hall hours later. I arranged the silver plates on the long mahogany table myself. Roasted manticore meat. Sweet elven berry wine. His favorites. The irony tasted like ash in my mouth.

Kaelen finally sat down, but his attention remained glued to the crystal communicator resting right beside his fork. His fingers tapped the glass rapidly. He didn't touch the food. He didn't even look at me.

I stared at the ruby-red wine splashing in my goblet. "If we weren't together anymore, would you miss me?"

Kaelen stopped tapping. He looked up, his brow furrowing in deep, exasperated annoyance. "Why do you always ask these strange questions? Women just love to overthink everything."

A sudden draft swept through the sealed dining hall. Three magical candles on the silver chandelier flickered violently and died. Shadows instantly swallowed half the table.

A terrible omen.

I picked up a match. My hand shook uncontrollably, but I struck it against the box and forced a smile, relighting the wicks. "Maybe the wind is just too strong tonight."

He scoffed, picking up his communicator again. "There is no wind in the Tower, Elara. You're being dramatic."

The oppressive silence stretched into the night.

Kaelen breathed heavily next to me in the dark bedroom. He was fast asleep. I lay rigid, staring at the stone ceiling. The faint blue glow of his communicator pulsed rhythmically on the nightstand.

I slid out from under the heavy silk covers. My bare feet made no sound on the rug. I picked up the crystal.

The security ward accepted my magical signature—he never bothered to block me, utterly confident in my blind trust. The message thread with Lyra opened instantly. The glowing words burned into my retinas.

Lyra: "You have to drag her to the academy banquet tomorrow? So annoying."

Kaelen: "Bear with it. The soul contract has two years left. I have to keep up appearances until I figure out a loophole."

I scrolled down. The screen blurred. My chest heaved as I fought for air in the suffocating room.

Kaelen: "She’s been so terribly clingy lately. She wants me to do this and that with her. It's suffocating. When will I finally be free?"

A hot tear broke loose. It dropped onto the glass screen, distorting his cruel words. I clutched the crystal to my chest, biting down hard on my own arm to stop the scream tearing up my throat.

I gave him my magic core. I gave him my future. And to him, I was just a suffocating burden he couldn't wait to discard.

Kaelen shifted on the bed. He rolled over, burying his face into my empty pillow.

"Lyra..." he mumbled in his sleep, a soft, desperately loving whisper. "My baby..."

I stood in the dark, the crystal digging painfully into my palm. The agonizing heartbreak in my chest suddenly crystallized into something sharp, cold, and utterly lethal.