Page 57 of Healed By the Grumpy Elf

"The summons is nonnegotiable," she continues, each word falling like a stone. "You would be stripped of your title without remediation if you dared disobey."

I wait for Lorian to refuse, to fight, to stay. To say anything at all. To choose me, like he said he would. The seconds stretch into an eternity of silence.

The duchess gathers her gloves and an expensive shawl from the back of the chair, her movements elegant and unhurried.

"You may say your goodbyes to your human friend," she says without looking at me. "I'm sure she'll get over you soon enough. Humans are such fickle creatures."

The casual cruelty of her words steals my breath. I stand frozen, eyes fixed on Lorian, waiting for him to look at me, to speak to me, to contradict her.

The duchess moves toward the door, clearly expecting Lorian to follow. He remains still for one heartbeat, then two.

"I will explain everything to you as soon as I can."

His voice is formal, distant. Not the voice of the lover I shared a bed with, not the voice of the man who claimed me as his True Mate. He doesn't meet my eyes as he turns to follow the duchess, who already sits in the back of her luxury car.

"Lorian, wait." The words escape me before I can stop them. "You can't just leave."

He pauses in the doorway, his back to me, shoulders tense beneath his crisp shirt.

Lorian finally turns to face me, and for a brief moment, I glimpse something raw and agonized in his eyes. Then it's gone.

"I'm sorry, Maeve."

He follows the duchess without another word. I hear his footsteps in the hallway, then the front door opening and closing with a soft click that somehow sounds more final than a slam would have.

I stand alone in my kitchen, surrounded by the warmth and color of my home, now feeling cold and hollow. My pulse rings in my ears as reality crashes down around me.

He's gone. Just like that. No fight, no explanation, no real goodbye.

My hand finds the edge of the table for support as my knees weaken. The pain builds in my chest, a physical ache that threatens to overwhelm me. My fingers curl around the edge of the table until my knuckles turn white, as if holding on tight enough might somehow ground me in this new, broken reality.

A single tear slides down my cheek, then another. Outside, birds continue to sing in the garden as if nothing has changed. The late afternoon sunlight still streams through the windows, catching dust motes in its golden glow. The clock on the wall ticks steadily onward.

And inside my chest, my heart shatters into a million pieces.

"You said I was your True Mate," I whisper to the empty room.

The words hang in the silence, unanswered.

Chapter 18

Lorian

Idon'tlookback.I can't. If I see her standing there, watching me leave, I'll break.

I spread my fingers on the cool leather seat as Karanda's luxury vehicle pulls away from Maeve's cottage. I have no choice. This is something I have to do. This is the only way I can be the man Maeve deserves. I ran long enough from my past. It’s time I stood up, even if it means hurting the duchess.

Only then will I be able to come back with a cleanconscience.

My hands clench into fists on my lap, knuckles white with tension. The summons scroll in my inner pocket feels heavier than it actually is, like rocks lining the fabric of my suit.

Beside me, Duchess Karanda sits with the perfect posture drilled into all noble elven children from birth. Her face remains unreadable, eyes fixed forward as the driver navigates the sleepy roads of Saltford Bay. Silence hangs between us, broken only by the soft hum of the engine and the occasional creak of leather as I shift my weight.

The hollow feeling in my chest expands with each minute that the car drives away from Maeve. It's as if something vital has been torn out of my chest, leaving an emptiness that aches with every breath. Maeve's face flashes in my memory, her green eyes wide with hurt and confusion as I turned away from her.

The pain in those eyes hurt like a hot iron, furrowing in my gut. That pain is because of me.

I mentally calculate how quickly I can return to Saltford Bay after responding to the summons. Three days minimum, if I push for an immediate audience with the empress. Perhaps a week if protocol is strictly observed. Too long, either way. Too long to leave Maeve believing I abandoned her without explanation.