Ibreathe a sigh of relief when I recognize the handwriting on the parchment, and I smile as I run my finger over it. Elaine.I’m impatient as I tear it open, eager for a piece of home even though I’ve only just left. Much to my surprise, a sharp, jagged piece of glass slips out alongside the letter. I hold it up, my eyes widening. It’s a piece of a mirror. If I’m correct, it’s not just any piece… it’s a shard of the Mirror of Pythia.My hands tremble as I unfold Elaine’s letter, my thoughts racing. Why would she send me a piece of the mirror? Could it show me Felix?Dear Arabella,This letter won’t reach you until you arrive at Althea, but as I’m writing this, you’ve only just left. It has been a mere few minutes, and the entire palace already mourns your loss—though none more so than Theon. I stood beside him as he watched you ride off on Sirocco, the two of us staring into the distance until you disappeared from sight.Before you entered our lives, I was certain that the only human part of Theon was lost alongside Raphael. I watched as you thawed his heart, and I sat back as he became fascinated by you, watching you when he thought no one was looking. Slowly but surely, you won him over, stealing parts of a heart he was certain he didn’t possess. Watching you two together was one of the most glorious things I’ve ever had the honor to witness, and I’m certain this is not where your story ends—just as I’m certain that my story with Raphael is far from over.Enclosed you’ll find a piece of the Mirror of Pythia. It’s Theon’s, and he’s unaware that I took it from him, but I’ll gladly bear his wrath. It’s near impossible to make her appear at will as she answers only to Theon, but I have a feeling she’d come to you if you call for her. I refuse to believe that your fate is to separate from Theon, and I hope that the future will shift. I hope that one day, Pythia’s answer changes, and you’ll return to us.In the meantime, I’ve instructed the staff to keep all parchment away from Theon unless I’m present. Interestingly enough, they informed me that the palace has already seen to that. It appears that I’m not the only one who wants to keep him from creating an annulment agreement. Perhaps it is a touch childish, but I do not regret my behavior, and I will see this through till the end. This is not how your story ends, Arabella. I know it.With all my love,
ElaineI clutch the letter to my chest, my heart aching so terribly that the pain spreads through the rest of my body. I miss Felix and Elaine, and I even miss the palace. Had I been home right now, I’m certain my clothes would have already unpacked themselves, making me feel welcome without a word.My hands tremble as I place the letter on my bed and pick up the mirror instead. “Pythia,” I murmur.The mirror mists over, and I tense when she appears. “Your Excellency,” she says.“Has our future changed?”She pauses for a moment before speaking. “If you remain where you are now, you’ll live a long life, filled with glory.”“I don’t want glory,” I whisper. “Will Felix be able to get the curse under control while I’m away? Will I be able to return to him?”“In the future I see before me, you cannot return to Eldiria. In every version of your future that has been shown to me, returning to Eldiria results in your death, and the subsequent absence of your magic combined with the Shadow Emperor’s loss of control fully unleashes the curse. That is as far as I can see, Your Excellency. My inability to see beyond the moment the curse is let loose is an omen that should not be ignored.”It’s clear. I cannot ever return to Eldiria. “Can you show me Felix?”Pythia disappears, the small shard filling with Felix’s face instead. I watch him as he sits on our bed, his hand brushing over my pillow. I see the sorrow in his eyes, and it matches my own. Before I’ve had a chance to truly commit his image to memory, he disappears, the mirror becoming ordinary once more.“Pythia!” I call, but she doesn’t return, no matter how many times I repeat her name. I bite down on my lip harshly as I place the mirror on top of Elaine’s letter, my eyes burning from unshed tears. I gave my all in an effort to save Eldiria, and in return I lost the person I love most.I glance around the room I grew up in, finding not a single memento. The room looks untouched, as though it was never mine. It could’ve easily passed as a guest room. That’s how much of an impact I made while I lived here. Just like I used to be, this room is unassuming and quiet, wary of standing out. Felix never once made me feel the way I felt while I lived here. Even when we were at odds with each other, I never felt unwelcome or insignificant. I never felt silenced.The room I shared with Felix is so unlike the one I’m in right now, and it makes me miss home even more. There were memories all over Felix’s room. They were in the small burn marks on the curtain from a fire I accidentally started, and the damaged bedpost from when Felix took me against it, neither of us aware of our strength. I miss the tattered rug by the fireplace, where Felix once laid me down and undressed me, and I miss the way the palace laid out outfits for me and supplied me with my favorite meals, the way I imagined a mother would.Our room in Eldiria holds so many memories, though I’ve spent so very little time there compared with this one. I inhale shakily as I walk over to the desk in my room, finding an untouched quill in the drawer. It looks as though everything I’ve ever used has been replaced.I let my eyes fall closed for a moment before I pull myself together to write a letter to Elaine. Felix always used to collect my letters from Serena from the audience room at four in the afternoon exactly, giving me thirty minutes to pen a reply.Dear Elaine,noveldramaI wish I could adequately convey how grateful I was to find your letter waiting for me when I arrived. It’s strange, since this is where I grew up, but I’m terribly homesick already. Though it shouldn’t be, it’s a consolation to hear the palace mourns me. This morning, as I prepared to leave, she turned corporeal. You’ve never told me that the palace could take on a form, nor did I know that she’s so incredibly beautiful. It was an honor to be sent off that way.I’m equally grateful for the mirror you sent me. It won’t come as a surprise to you that I’ve asked already, but the future hasn’t changed. If I return to Eldiria, I’ll be walking into certain death. You are right to say that the future shifts, and I will keep asking, hoping for a better answer. In the meantime, I too will continue to find a way.I refuse to let our stories end this way, both yours and mine. We came so close, and I’m still hopeful we’ll be able to defeat the curse someday, somehow. I won’t stop until I find a way to return to Eldiria. Until I do, please keep an eye on Felix. The curse is affecting him more than it ever has before, and I’m endlessly worried.As for the annulment, I have not informed anyone of the state of our marriage. I have every intention of returning to Eldiria, to Felix. I’ll fight to make it happen every second of every day.All my love,
ArabellaP.S. I failed to mention that I set all his parchment on fire when he first mentioned the annulment, and you have my full permission to do the same should he mention it again. I’ll happily take the blame.Though the heartache isn’t gone, writing a letter to Elaine soothes my restless spirit. I find myself smiling as I fold the parchment, filled with renewed motivation to return to Eldiria. There must be a way, and I’m intent on finding it.