Iwake up to noise in my room and sit up in shock, only to find my clothes flying through the room, folding themselves and dropping into open suitcases. I look around, but it doesn’t appear to be Felix’s doing.noveldramaMy heart races as I lean back against the headboard, keeping still as my belongings float through the room, packing themselves. It takes me a moment to realize what’s going on.“You too, Palace?” I whisper. “You want me gone, too, huh?”Everything stops in place and my belongings slowly lower to the floor, and for a moment I could almost swear I feel the palace’s sadness. I smile when my curtains swing from the left to the right, almost as though the palace is trying to shake its head.“Then why are you packing my belongings when I haven’t even decided if I’m leaving?”I raise my hand to my heart when magic concentrates in the middle of the room, shimmering gold until a woman stands before me, her skin translucent. What is she? An apparition? I stare at her in shock, unable to look away. She’s beautiful, with long golden hair and beautiful emerald eyes, a golden dress making her look ethereal.“Who are you?” I ask, my voice trembling.She smiles at me. “You’ve always referred to me as palace, and that’s all I am. A physical manifestation of the walls that surround you. I’m packing your things because I want you to live, Arabella. I want Felix to be free of torment. If you stay here, I’ll lose you, and in time, I’ll lose Felix, too. So long as you’re alive and happy somewhere in this world, that’s enough.” She pauses as her skin becomes more translucent, almost as though she’s fighting to stay corporeal. “If you die, the curse will take Felix. It’s trying to take root in him, and if it succeeds, that will be the end of the world as we know it. Felix will be gone, and we’ll never get him back. If you stay, you’ll both die.”She fades from view, and my belongings rise back up into the air as she continues to pack my suitcases. I sink to the floor beside the bed, my heart aching. I don’t even know when my wants and needs shifted. When did going home stop being something I yearned for?The candles near the bathroom flicker on and I rise to my feet, taking the hint. I never knew the palace could take on a form, and I’m left with even more questions than I went to bed with.By the time I step out of the bath, all my belongings have been packed and a riding outfit lies on the bed, the gloves Felix gave me beside it. My heart breaks as I get dressed in Felix’s colors, the gold on my coat shifting patterns, from Eldiria’s crest to Felix’s, over and over again. I used to love watching this, but today it hurts my heart knowing I won’t belong to either once I step foot out of this palace.I’m startled out of my thoughts by knocking on my door, and the door swings open before I can even call upon my air powers. Elaine steps in, her eyes filled with the same ache I’m feeling.“You’re leaving.”I nod and she walks up to me, taking my hands in hers. “I must, Elaine.”“Felix told me what Pythia said,” she whispers. “I understand that you must go, but I’ll miss you more than you could know. I just… I truly believed love would break this curse. I believed it with all my heart.”I look down, unable to face her. “I’ll keep training, Elaine. I’m going to do everything in my power to grow stronger, to keep the fire in the lands going. I’ll keep researching as much as I can. I might be leaving, but I’m not giving up. If I can bring Raphael back to you, I will.”She inhales shakily and wraps me in her embrace, startling me. I smile and hug her back, resting my head on her shoulder. “Don’t go,” she whispers.I tighten my grip on her. “I wish I could stay.” My voice trembles, and I squeeze my eyes closed. “Every time I’m around Felix, the curse puts him through torment. If I die… I fear he’d let the curse take him, and we both know that cannot happen.”She pulls back and grabs my arms. “You write to your sister,” she says, hesitating. “Would you… would you consider writing to me every once in a while, too?”In the time I’ve been here, Elaine and I have grown closer, and though no one could ever take Serena’s place, I’ve come to love her as a sister. I’m not sure I could have gotten through the last couple of weeks without her. I smile shakily and nod. “I would love to, Elaine. You kept me together after I fell apart throughout our journey, and I’ll always be grateful to you.”She shakes her head. “Eldiria and I owe you a great gratitude of debt. Thank you… Arabella.”I grin at her. “At last you’re calling me by my name. Did you know that I used to idolize you when I was younger? You’re so much more, so much better than I expected you to be. Someone once told me to never meet my heroes because they might let me down, but you never have. I’ll miss you, Elaine.”My suitcases lift into the air, hovering by the door, and I shake my head. “That’s my cue,” I tell Elaine, and she nods, her expression sorrowful as we walk through the long corridor she once guided me through when I first arrived.She and I both pause when we find Felix standing beside Sirocco. “Don’t take a carriage,” he tells me. “I’ll see to it that your suitcases arrive to Althea before you do. Take Sirocco. He’ll keep you safe, and he’ll get you back to Althea in very little time.”“How do I return Sirocco to you?”He shakes his head. “Don’t. He’s yours to keep. I’m certain he’s grown more fond of you than he is of me.”The edges of my lips tilt up into a reluctant smile, and Felix stares at me for a moment. I’d give the world to know what he’s thinking. He leans in and wraps his arms around my waist, his hands lingering as he lifts me on top of Sirocco. That’s as close to me as he’s gotten in weeks.Just as he’s about to speak, Felix freezes and yanks his hands off me. I watch as darkness slithers into his eyes, and he takes a step away.The more I took away the curse’s effects, the more it’s started to affect him. I’m poisonous to him, to the point that he and I can’t coexist. I wrap my arms around myself for a moment, trying my hardest to keep from falling apart. “If my love for you could have broken this curse, it already would have,” I murmur.Felix looks up at me, my heartbreak reflected in his gaze. “I love you more than words can convey,” he whispers, almost like he doesn’t want me to hear it, but can’t quite keep the words in. “You are my sun, Arabella. The mere thought of you fills me with warmth on the coldest days, and forevermore, my world will revolve around you. I love you, but you must forget about me, Arabella. Build a life for yourself you can be proud of, find happiness of your own. Knowing you’re out there in the world, chasing the happiness I know I’ll never give you… that is all I could ask for.”My stomach twists painfully, and my throat tightens with unshed tears. My grief flows from my eyes, and I reach for him, wishing I could kiss him one last time, but knowing I can’t risk it. For so long, I wished I could return to Althea, and now that the time has come, I want nothing more than to stay right here with him.We thought we’d won when we realized our plan to heat our ground had worked, but in the end, the curse is demanding the ultimate price for our intervention. We might have saved our people, but we’re losing each other.