Page 23 of Unseen Eye (Aetherian Chronicles #1)

“Protecting me?” I cut him off, my voice rising. “By forcing me into a marriage I never agreed to? By dragging me into your twisted idea of safety?”

Garet’s face falls, his eyes filled with regret. “After the attack, I thought bringing you here would be the best way to keep you safe. And the engagement... I thought it would keep you close, under my protection.”

Tears sting my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. “You should have talked to me, trusted me enough to let me decide what’s best for me. I’m not some fragile thing you need to shield, Garet. I’m capable of making my own damn choices.”

“You’re right,” he admits, his voice cracking. “I’ve been a fool. But you’re my best friend, Eva. I never meant to hurt you.”

“Best friend?” I echo bitterly. “Friends don’t lie, Garet. They don’t manipulate each other. You didn’t trust me, and now you expect me to believe you still care?”

He looks down, shame etched into every line of his face. “I know I’ve failed you. But I’m trying to make it right.”

I let out a hollow laugh, the sound bitter and sharp. “Trying to make it right? You’ve already done the damage. You’ve changed, Garet. The person standing in front of me isn’t the friend I grew up with. You’ve become cold, controlling. And this whole engagement? It’s the final nail in the coffin.”

He steps closer, his expression desperate. “Eva, please. I still care about you. I care more than you realize.”

“Then show it,” I snap, tears finally breaking free. “Stop controlling me. Stop deciding what’s best for me without even asking. You took away my voice, Garet. You made me feel powerless, like I’m nothing more than a pawn in your game.”

He stands there, helpless, as I wipe angrily at my tears. The silence stretches between us, heavy with unspoken words.

“I need time,” I say, my voice trembling but resolute. “Time to figure out if there’s anything left of us to salvage.”

Garet nods slowly, the weight of my words settling on his shoulders. “Take all the time you need. I’ll be here... hoping I can somehow earn back your trust.”

As I turn away, a question that’s been gnawing at me finally forces its way out. My voice is barely above a whisper. “Do Finn and Nessa know?”

Garet’s brow furrows. “Know what?”

I swallow hard, the weight of my own words making it difficult to speak. “The truth about you. Were they lying to me too?”

His face softens, and he shakes his head. “No, Eva. No one knew. I made sure of that.”

My chest tightens, but before I can process his answer, another question tumbles out, raw and urgent. “Are they okay? Did they survive? Can I go back to Pinebrook to see them?”

Garet hesitates, the silence between us growing heavier. “I... I don’t know,” he admits, regret lacing his voice. “I haven’t had contact with anyone from Pinebrook since we left.”

As I stand there, my heart twists with an overwhelming sense of guilt.

The thought of Finn and Nessa, left behind in Pinebrook, stings more than any betrayal Garet could have dealt me.

They don’t know what happened. They don’t know why I vanished, or if I’m even alive.

My stomach churns at the thought of them wondering, worrying, or worse—thinking I abandoned them.

“Do you even know what this feels like?” I whisper, my voice trembling. “To be safe while the people you love are left in the dark? I should be there with them, not hiding here.”

Garet’s expression softens, but it only fuels my anger. “Eva, you being there wouldn’t help them. It would only put them in more danger.”

“Maybe,” I shoot back, “but at least I wouldn’t feel so useless. At least I wouldn’t feel like I abandoned them.”

He looks down, guilt flickering across his face. “I wish I could tell you they’re okay, that everything’s fine. But I can’t.”

I shake my head, trying to swallow the lump forming in my throat. “This guilt is eating me alive.”

He doesn’t respond, only watches me with a quiet intensity that makes my skin crawl.

“I’ll talk to my father after the eclipse,” he says, his tone almost pleading. “He might have a way to keep them safe.”

I stare at him, feeling the ground shift beneath me. “And what am I supposed to do until then? Just sit here and hope? Hope that they’re okay, that they don’t need me right now?”

“I know it’s hard,” Garet says softly, stepping closer. His eyes search mine for a trace of the trust we once shared. “But please, Eva. Trust that this is the best way to protect them.”

I scoff, the bitter taste of betrayal burning in my throat. “Trust you?” I spit out. “After everything? Sure, Garet. I’ll just sit tight, play the obedient prisoner. Don’t worry about me.”

His face twists with guilt, but I’ve had enough. “Please leave,” I say coldly, each word slicing through the air like a blade.

Then, almost inaudibly, he speaks. “Before all of this... before I knew you were Aetherian…when I thought you were just human, I asked my father if I could court you. Bring you back here.”

My breath catches, and for a moment, I’m not sure I heard him right.

“He said no, of course,” Garet continues, still facing the door. “Said it wasn’t proper for a prince to marry a human. But... I thought you should know.”

The room seems to tilt, and I grip the edge of the bed to steady myself. Of all the things he could have said, this wasn’t what I expected.

That was then, this is now. The thought races through my mind, and I can’t suppress the bitterness that rises in my chest.

I can feel the weight of his words pressing down on me, trying to make me believe they matter now. But they don’t. Not anymore.

I scoff, shaking my head. “You’re telling me this now? After everything? What, are you rejoicing now that you’ve finally got your father’s permission to marry me? Oh, Garet, I bet you’re just bursting at the seams with happiness. You got what you wanted, after all.”

His silence is the only response. But that’s all I need.

I think back to the kiss we shared, the lack of spark, the hollow feeling that washed over me. How could I ever have wanted this? How could I have believed, even for a second, that it could mean something real?

I turn away, unwilling to meet his eyes. I don’t want to see whatever he’s hoping to project onto me.

***

After Garet leaves, I sink onto the edge of my bed, my mind reeling from the confrontation. I barely have a moment to breathe when there’s another soft knock. My heart skips—please, not Garet again—but I call out, “Come in.”

The door opens, and Emmet steps in, his usual calm confidence looking a little shaken. His red hair is slightly mussed, and his glasses sit a little askew, giving him a familiar, slightly dorky appearance that somehow steadies me. “Hi, Miss Eva. I wanted to check on you. Are you... okay?”

I try to smile. “Emmet, you don’t have to call me ‘Miss Eva.’ Just Eva is fine, really.”

A small grin tugs at the corner of his mouth as he shuts the door, his hands fidgeting with his sleeves—a rare, vulnerable gesture that seems out of place on him. “All right, Eva. I just... wanted to make sure you’re okay. Things sounded... heated.”

I nod, managing a weak laugh. “Yeah. Heated would be an understatement.” The relief I feel at seeing him here, offering something genuine without strings attached, settles over me like a weightlifting. “I don’t know, it’s just... it’s been a lot, all at once.”

Emmet’s hand finds its way to the back of his neck as he nods. His gaze unfocused, like he’s wrestling with something unsaid.

There’s a brief silence as he pulls up a chair beside me.

He looks down at his hands, like he’s searching for something lost, something he can’t quite find.

“You remind me of someone I knew once,” he says quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Someone who... didn’t let others make choices for her.

She fought back every chance she got. I didn’t understand her back then.

.. I thought she was just... being difficult.

” He lets out a small, self-deprecating laugh.

“Maybe that’s why I’m here now. Maybe I don’t want to make the same mistake twice. ”

His words hang in the air, filling the silence with a bittersweet ache. I can see the shadow of something in his eyes—regret, maybe, mixed with a tenderness that catches me off guard. It’s as though he’s talking to someone long gone, someone who left an inerasable mark on him.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, shaking his head as if to clear the memory away. “That’s... probably more than you wanted to hear.” He glances over at me, a hint of vulnerability lingering in his gaze. “But you’re not alone, Eva. Not with this.”

I reach out, placing my hand on his arm. “Thank you, Emmet. That means more than you know.” There’s an honesty in his words that feels different, a quiet sincerity I hadn’t realized I’d been craving.

The warmth in his words softens the storm of emotions left in Garet’s wake. For a moment, it’s just the two of us, bound by the unspoken pain of lives touched by choices and regrets. But there’s also hope here, fragile as it may be.

Breaking the silence, I ask, “So... what’s your affinity?”

Emmet’s face brightens a little, clearly relieved by the change in topic. “Earth affinity. I can connect with the land, plants—nothing too flashy, but I like it. Keeps me grounded.”

I smile, genuinely intrigued. “That sounds amazing. Can you... talk to plants or something?”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Not quite like that. But I can sense them, understand them in a way, help them grow sometimes. It’s not as impressive as what some others can do, but it’s reliable.” There’s a quiet pride in his tone, as though he’s found peace in his own quiet strength.

“Reliable is exactly what I need right now,” I say, meeting his gaze. And for a moment, the weight of everything eases just a little.

Then, a thought occurs to me, one that I can’t ignore. “What about Garet?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper, not sure if I want to hear the answer. “What’s his affinity?”

Emmet’s smile fades, his expression hardening. “From what I’ve heard the guards talk about, it’s something to do with... controlling emotions. Or influencing them, at least.”

A cold weight settles in my stomach. “Controlling emotions?” I whisper.

The candlelight flickers, casting long, spindly shadows across the room as my mind races through the memories of my moments with Garet.

That spark when he looked at me, the way he always seemed to know what to say, how to draw me in.

Were any of those moments real? Or was he always pulling the strings?

I bite my lip, feeling a queasy blend of fear and anger bubbling up inside me.

Emmet’s gaze softens as he sees my reaction. “Be careful, Eva,” he advises, his voice low, almost pleading. “If what the guards say is true, that kind of power... it can be a dangerous thing.”

I feel the weight of his words pressing down, like the walls are closing in. I meet his gaze, feeling a surge of gratitude. “Thank you, Emmet. For everything. I appreciate your honesty more than you know.”

He offers a reassuring smile, his expression both protective and gentle. “Anytime you need anything, or if you just need to talk, I’ll be right outside.”

He pauses, holding my gaze for a beat longer, and I feel a small spark of hope, like a light in the darkness. And then he’s gone, his red hair catching the dim light as he closes the door softly behind him, leaving me alone with too many questions and a heart that feels just a little less heavy.