Page 65 of Glass Hearts

The mage lives quite a way from here, on the outskirts of Harsekeep, so I will have to run.

And so I run.

* * *

My frantic run falters into a stagger, each step more labored than the last. The fire of my lashings burns down my back, the fabricof my clothes scraping against broken skin like sandpaper. The adrenaline that once numbed the agony fades, and with it, every breath becomes harder to take.

I stop. For the fifth time.

And like a fool, I glance back at the castle that stands in the distance. Serene and golden, glittering like nothing cruel has ever happened within its walls.

“Arabelly! What in the skies are you doing?!” Petra’s frantic voice pierces through the fog of pain. She flaps toward me, feathers wild, eyes worried.

“I damned myself.” My voice is raw. “Thinking I could ever be loved by four princes.”

My knees buckle as tears fall down my cheeks, knees meeting the cold dirt ground. I clench my fists, steady myself, my back screaming in protest.

Petra lands at my side, nuzzling her head against my thigh. A silent comfort I don’t deserve.

“Oh, Arabelly,” she murmurs, her voice softer now. “What happens now?”

“I find the mage. Break this damned curse and I leave this wretched city behind me.” My voice cracks with the weight of it. “Not that it matters where I go. North, south, sky or sea. Everywhere I turn will remind me ofthem.”

A bitter, humorless laugh rips out of me. I sound unhinged. Maybe I am.

But I don’t stop. Ican’tstop.

I tighten my ponytail with trembling hands and force my body forward, Petra’s wings beating in time with my labored breath. I walk through the night without pause. Pain and heartbreak driving me harder than fear ever could.

By dawn, my legs are jelly, my wounds crusted with dried blood, my heart numb. But I find the dilapidated cottage swallowed by shadows. The mage’s supposed home.

I knock, but no answer.

I should turn back. Ishould. But instead, I reach for the door, and it creaks open like it’s been expecting me.

“Hello?” My voice echoes into the dark. “Is someone here? Mage? I inquired about a curse-breaking—”

Two shapes materialize from the gloom. My gut screamsrun, but before I can even reach for my blade, cold hands seize me from behind.

“Let go!” I thrash, my ribs aching, my lashes splitting open again, but the arms are thick and practiced. I manage one sharp kick before I’m overpowered, my limbs yanked behind me and tied with brutal efficiency.

“My, my, Arabella,” a familiar voice purrs. “So predictable. So foolish. Did you really think this would end in freedom?”

The voice.Hervoice.

I barely register the cloth pressing over my mouth until the chemical sting fills my nose. My vision blurs, my head swims.

And just before the darkness claims me, I see her.My stepmother. Smiling like she’s won.

One last tear escapes as I fall into the void.

II

Part Two

Interlude- Elora

Watching my best friend try to deny she is falling in love is pretty cute of her. I can see the way her whole body lights up when any of the princes are around, that she is lying to me and herself. They all seem to be magnetized to each other, as if their bond was always inevitable.