Istare ahead as the castle I grew up in comes into view, trying my hardest to latch on to the sliver of happiness I feel at the thought of seeing my sister again. The closer I get to the castle, the more lonely I feel. I miss Felix already. I miss the palace itself and all her quirks, and then there’s Elaine.My eyes widen when I see my father’s entire court standing outside the castle, and then realization dawns. I arrived here unannounced, riding Sirocco. My father’s relief is palpable as Sirocco comes to a stop in front of him.“Arabella,” he says, a hint of surprise in his voice. I watch my father for a moment, seated atop Sirocco. It’s clear he never expected to see me again. When he sent me off, he sent me to die.My eyes instinctively trail up toward the tower Serena and I had been in when Felix first arrived here. While I can’t see her from here, I just know she’s standing there today, too. I take my time dismounting Sirocco, leaving everyone in suspense. They have no idea what brings me here, and I’m unsure what to say.“I assume you’ve missed me, Father?”He snaps out of his stupor and looks from me to the woods behind me, as though he expects Felix to appear at any second. “You’ve come alone?”I nod. “I thought it was time to visit. It’s been months since I last saw Serena. It was unfortunate that I had to miss her birthday, but I couldn’t step away from my duties.”He nods at his advisers, and they return inside. It doesn’t escape my notice that they failed to greet me properly. None of them curtsied the way they would have done for Felix.“The Shadow Emperor sent you here alone? Without any servants or protection?” I hear the disbelief in his voice, and for a moment, I wonder if he’s worried about me. “Did he send you away? What have you done? This had better not affect Althea.”Ah, there we go. “And here I thought you’d be happy to see me, Father.” I turn toward Sirocco and stroke him between his brows, easing some of his tension away. Though Sirocco has stood beside me quietly, it’s clear to me he dislikes my father. I can hardly blame him. “Do you think he’d send me away on his beloved horse?” I ask, my voice calm despite my inner turmoil.I’m well aware that our marriage is over, but I refuse to acknowledge that to my father—in part because I haven’t given up hope yet, even though Felix has.He looks at the horse, and the fear I see in his eyes brings a smile to my face. When I was younger, my father always seemed all-powerful. I was desperate for the love and approval he gave Serena. I saw the way he treated her and always knew he had kindness in him. It just took me years to realize that it would never be directed at me.Because he was so clearly capable of it, I always assumed that I must have been doing something to make me unworthy. Standing in front of him today, I can finally see what I failed to for so many years. He’s just a man who fears what he doesn’t know and cannot control. That’s what I’ve always been to him. It’s what I’ll always be.“Tell me the truth, Arabella. Did he tire of you as I expected he would?”I smile at him. “Why don’t you try asking my husband that question? I’d love to see how you fare.”I walk past him and take Sirocco to the stables. “I know,” I whisper when he neighs. “He’s always been like that. I just never realized it.” I take off Sirocco’s reins and saddle, grooming him the way Felix always has. “If you want to go back to him, you can. You know the way home, Sirocco. I might be stuck here, but you don’t have to be.”Sirocco neighs angrily, and I grin despite the tears that gather in my eyes. Sirocco brushes his nose against my shoulder, and I wrap my arms around him. “We’re going to be fine, aren’t we?” I whisper. He nudges me, and I take that as agreement.“Arabella!”For a single moment, joy overtakes the heartache I feel, and I turn toward Serena as she comes running up to me. I open my arms wide just as she crashes into me, nearly sending us both flying into the haystack behind us.“I can’t believe you’re back,” she says, her eyes filling with tears. “Oh, Fates, I was so scared I’d lost you. If not for the letters, I’d think you were gone. I missed you every single day. I can’t believe you’re truly here!”I hug her tightly, resting my head against her shoulder. “I missed you too, little one. So much.”She strokes my back, letting me hold on to her for a moment. “What’s wrong, Arabella?”I sigh and shake my head, blinking away my tears before I pull back and force a smile onto my face. “I’ve just truly missed you, Serena. I’m so sorry for missing your birthday. It was the first one we didn’t spend together, and you have no idea how lonely I was all day, how much I thought of you.”“Me too,” she murmurs, grabbing my hands. “It wasn’t the same without you at all. I always thought it was the party I enjoyed, but in truth, it’s all the preparations we did together, the time we got to spend together every year, without any other obligations.”I nod and wrap my arm around her shoulder as we walk toward the castle. It looks foreign to me now, when it was once my home.“How long will you stay? Your luggage appeared in the throne room moments before you arrived, and it looks like it’s a lot. It actually looks like it’s all of your stuff.”noveldramaI smile at her as brightly as I can. “Felix told me to stay for as long as I want. He realized how lonely I’d gotten after your birthday and told me to spend some time at home while he’s inspecting the empire. That’s the amazing thing about alchemy. He was able to send me all my things so I wouldn’t have to worry about leaving anything behind.”Serena nods in understanding. “I always hate it when I forget things, or when I can’t take everything I want.” She hesitates before looking up at me. “So he… Felix, he treats you well? Are you happy?”I pause, unsure how to answer that question. For a while, I experienced true happiness, of a kind I’ve never known before, but with it comes devastating agony. “Yes,” I tell my sister. “He treats me very well. Our marriage didn’t start off that well, considering I’d just tried to run away with another man, but we got through it, and eventually we found happiness together.” It didn’t last, but we found it.Serena pauses and bites down on her lip. “Nathaniel,” she whispers. “One day he was just released and reinstated without a word of explanation. I spoke to him, and not even he understands why.”I nod. “I asked Felix to have him released,” I admit. “Nathaniel was merely trying to help me, and I didn’t want him to suffer for his good intentions.”Serena frowns, her gaze searching. “You asked, and he just agreed?”I smile at her disbelief, reminding myself that all she’s ever seen of Felix is what he showed everyone on our wedding day. “Yes, my darling,” I tell her. “Of course he did. I’m his wife, after all.”It wasn’t quite so simple, but Serena doesn’t need to know that. I can’t justify to myself what I’m doing, pretending that everything is okay between Felix and me. At some point, the truth will come to light, and my reputation will suffer for it. Even so, I prefer that over acknowledging that Felix truly did send me away.“Oh!” Serena says. “There was a letter on top of your luggage. There’s something in it, I believe? It was heavy. I asked the staff to move your things to your old bedroom, so it’ll be there for you.”A letter? Who could have possibly sent a letter? Felix, perhaps? I’m reminded of the annulment agreement he attempted to draft, and my heart sinks.My heart races all the way to my room, scared of what I’ll find when I open that letter.