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"He’d better marry her off tonight then. Two whores in the same family, he must be devastated," muttered Circe.

Maribel nodded her agreement. "That’s what happens with the mother dead and buried. Rest her soul."

I gasped, and I was moments from tossing my cloak aside to defend myself against such slander.

Forrest grasped my hand and led me away. "Come," he said in a voice so soft only I could hear it.

I shook my head in protest, but I didn't pull my hand away.

He tugged me past dancers and onlookers and up the curved rail and stairs. My breath was coming hard and fast. I didn’t know whether I would cry or scream. Both seemed equally likely.

I knew Circe and Maribel. By the end of the night, more than half of the ballroom would know of my disappearance with a fae. By the next ball, there would be embellishment. By the third ball, my chances of even visiting my kingdom would be crushed.

I thought by leaving I was protecting Maggie. I thought she would be spared from a terrible marriage to a fae. Instead, I had ruined all of her prospects. I had brought ruin on the entire family. Father would have no alliance. Would our little kingdom survive without it? I couldn’t be certain.

A hand rested on my back, stroking small, steady circles.

I stared down at the carpet, heaving in breath after breath. "Nothing will ever be the same."

"No," he agreed quietly.

I barely realized I had spoken the words aloud.

I wasn’t crying because people were gossiping about me. I wasn’t crying because I wouldn’t be able to marry a human nobleman. I was crying because my hopes and dreams were built on lies–ones I had lovingly told myself.

It was time to release them.

I knew in that moment that I would never be able to return to my old life. Even if the curse broke, even if Forrest didn’t want me, I wouldn’t be welcome.

I thought of how we had entered the party tonight unseen by everyone around us. I would forever be a ghost or a shadow in my own kingdom. I was no longer a part of this world.

I had been holding on to this dream that I could return, if I wanted.

Tonight, that dream had fractured.

I had been living under the delusion that somehow time would rewind. I had believed that one day Briar, Magnolia, and I would be together again–that we would dine at our father’s table, escape balls, laugh and carry on across the familiar sandy soil, and scream up at the night sky.

But we couldn’t go back.

I couldn’t go back.

Suddenly, everything had changed, and I wasn’t ready.

I sunk onto the floor, my gown pooling around me. The room was empty, and the door was closed, but it wouldn’t have mattered if it weren’t. Tears were already racing down my cheeks.

Forrest was quiet. He sat down on the ground beside me and pulled me against his chest. I was too heartbroken to feel embarrassed. I cried and cried until his shirt was soaked through. He traced circles on my back and let me.

"You humans even lie to yourselves," he said sadly. His words could have been construed as taunting, but I knew better. The truth was, he was right.

Forrest didn’t steal my happiness from me. It had already flown away long ago, and I was simply too stubborn to accept it. Mother was dead. She was never coming home. Even if Briar miraculously returned, things would never be the same. Briar was ruined. She would never be accepted at society events. Father might not have the heart to turn her away from our home, but she would be hidden.

I wasn’t fifteen anymore. Magnolia wasn’t a little girl anymore.

Time had passed. Our childhoods were over. Mine had been gone for a long time, but somehow, I hadn’t been willing to see it.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"Of a perfect memory," I answered, swiping a hand across my swollen red eyes.