Page 18 of Blackheart

“She’s gone,” he said at last.

My heart dropped, poison swirling inside of me. “What?”

“She left the ‘Wards.”

“What?” I repeated, snapping my head to the gate. It was once again shut and guarded.

“I confronted her in the woods myself. She wouldn’t come back. She’s gone.”

It was as though an arrow had struck me through the chest.

She was the closest thing to family I’d ever had. I didn’t think she’d truly leave.

She was a coward.

“She’ll be hunted out there,” I whispered, more to myself than him. The walls were too high to climb. Too difficult to break through. Many had tried.

Riven shook his head, jaw tensing. “I asked if she wanted to know whether or not you’d survived. She told me to fuck off. Let her face the fate she chose. It’s not for you to worry about now.”

My poison was on the edge ofboiling. If Luna didn’t care about me, then no one did.

My heart cracked.

Two miserable days passed.

I lay curled up on the wood floor of Widow's Way, tucked behind the bar where there were no windows. Thieves were everywhere. If someone broke in, I wanted to see them first.

Mister Archwindle had agreed to let me stay in the tavern for a few nights, but it was no permanent solution. I didn’t need long anyway, just enough time to find a way outside of the walls.

Two dish towels were folded and pillowed under my head while I hugged myself for warmth. Thank Fate that the floors behind the bar weren’t soaked in ale, especially after an exceptionally busy shift. Everyone had needed a beverage to numb their mind after the Sapphire attack.

I forced my eyes shut, but my thoughts were unyielding.

Where was Luna sleeping? Was she alive? What about my mother or brothers? Were they all dead? Did they wonder if I was alive? Did anyone in the entire world care about me? Did I even care about myself?

“Stop,”I whispered, flinching.

The world wasn’t ending, not yet anyway. The midwinter celebration would be in two days, which meant I could at least look forward to watching the annual game of Orb Hazy.

Luna always loved watching, even when it got gory. I hadn't wanted to go last year, feeling insecure about my appearance. I recalled getting ready in my room, just an hour before the game would begin.

“You’re so pretty,” Luna said.

She gave compliments like gifts, wrapped in soothing tones and always right when you needed them. I sat in front of our cracked and rusted mirror. I never looked at my reflection, but that day, something had willed me to look, and I did, as if answering an order.

“Help me with my hair before Riven leaves and goes to the celebration by himself,” Luna joked.

I sat behind her on the floor, brushing through her pin-straight hair, bravely glancing up at the mirror every so often. Luna’s warm caramel skin practically glowed. Her hair fell just below her shoulders, making it quick work to braid.

While I appreciated her compliment, she was the pretty one. My skin was fair and lacked her radiance.

She had soft brown tresses, while mine was a devouring black. My face was longer and narrower. We both had brown eyes, but mine seemed like a void, while hers were inviting like chocolate. My cheekbones were more prominent, but her lips were fuller.

She always looked happy, while my face sat in a natural state of misery.

“Stop comparing yourself to me,” she snapped.

I met her gaze in the circular mirror. “I’m not,” I lied.