Eris waited, but Evren never told him what she had wanted to talk about. In fact, she'd rarely said a word to him since they left the village three days ago. She'd slept in his room that night and in her own the nights after. She hadn't let him touch her. She hadn't attended the third night of festivities with him.

Try as he might, he couldn't figure out what had happened. Things had been going so well. Had he done something to make her feel threatened? Did someone else scare her? He asked, but she refused to answer. She took the names of her targets, killed them, and ignored him.

Eris tried to persuade her to play the piano or dance with him. She wouldn't. She took her meals in her room and he wasn't convinced she was eating them. She hadn't laughed or smiled since coming home. He'd asked if she wanted to invite Keitha over. She just left the room.

He was growing more worried by the hour. He wanted to follow her and make sure she was all right, but he didn't want to overwhelm her. He didn't want to scare her. Mother above, if he had scared her and she was acting this way because of it, he would do anything to make things right. Eris felt her absence as sharply as a knife digging into his chest. What was going on?

Eris slammed his desk drawer shut and dropped his face into his hands. He rubbed his forehead wearily. Soft footsteps echoed outside the door. It creaked open and Evren entered.

"Both targets are dead," she reported.

Eris stood and moved in front of his desk. "Were there any complications?"

"No."

"Were you hurt?"

"No." Evren faced the door.

Without thinking, Eris grabbed her arm. "Talk to me, please. What's going on?"

"Let go of me." Evren stared at his hand.

"What happened? Why do you sleep in your own room? Why do you ignore me? Why won't you speak to me?"

"Let go of me," she repeated. Her sea green eyes shone with a small amount of fear. He released her with a sharp breath. She rubbed her arm, backing towards the door.

"Are you afraid of me? Did I do something that made you feel threatened?" He asked.

"No."

"Then what is going on?"

"I'm just...I'm trying to figure some things out."

"What things?" Evren didn't answer. He took a step closer. "Evren, what things? Let me help. Please."

"You can't help. I don't want your help."

"Evren..."

"Leave me alone!" She snapped.

Eris jumped back as though she'd swiped at him with one of her blades. Evren breezed out the door without another word. He could feel her confusion and pain drifting over the threads that were pulled taut in his chest.

Mother above, what had he done? He had to have done something. What had he done to upset her to this point? What had he done? What had he done? What had he done?

Eris gripped the sides of his head and paced the length of the room. How could he fix things if he didn't know what was wrong in the first place? Why was she afraid of him? What had he done?

He blinked rapidly, thoughts and instincts at war in his mind. Half of him wanted to go after her and demand answers. The other half told him to leave her alone before he made things worse. Eris dropped to the floor, pressing his back against the desk.

He had promised that she would never feel unsafe again, but she had looked at him with fear in her eyes. Eris had made her afraid. He rubbed his fingers over the scars on his wrists. He had made her afraid. She was scared...because of him. Eris stood and opened his desk. He pulled out a slender weighty object.

Eris dug the tip of the blade into one of his scars. He closed his eyes at the burst of pain. Evren had been scared of him. Not even his pain, his blood, could atone for that.

•~ ❘ ۞ ❘ ~•

Evren sat out on her balcony, letting the evening wind calm her racing heart. The past few days had been awful. She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to believe Celosia, but the female was right.

What was she thinking, giving herself to the son of the male who had murdered her parents? She had forgotten why she'd come to the Autumn Court. She'd come to avenge her parents and then die. Why had she let Eris change that?

Because you were both monsters, broken and cruel and alone, her thoughts told her. And your broken pieces completed each other. Like calls to like.

Evren shoved the thoughts aside. "How could I have let this happen?" She whispered. "How could I let myself care for him? Celosia is right. He's High Fae. I'm Human. He would grow bored of me after I became old and useless. He is 542 years old. I'm twenty-six. Suppose I die in my sixties? He'll never even remember me."

Her eyes burned and she blinked rapidly. She'd never asked him about the possibility of them being mates. What would it matter? It wouldn't change her mortality. It didn't matter how many times he told her he cared for her or how much he desired her. All of that was bound to change.

A tear dripped down Evren's cheek. "And suppose I did stay and he grew bored of me before I even died? I'd be left alone again." That was something she couldn't bear. To rely on someone the way she'd started to rely on him and then be left behind?

She'd been left behind before and it had only caused her grief and pain. How much more pain would being abandoned by Eris cause? Her shoulders shook with sobs. She didn't want to be alone again. She didn't want to be left behind. She wanted to go to him and beg him to hold her and tell her that her fears were unfounded. She couldn't.

A knock sounded at the door. "Evren?" Eris called. She didn't answer. She tried to quiet the sound of her sobs. Evren wiped tears from her cheeks, but more fell in their place. "Evren, talk to me. Please." She hated the desperation in his voice. The concern.

Evren entered her room and closed the balcony doors. She made sure her bedroom door was locked, knowing that Eris still stood outside it. She crawled onto her bed and pulled her knees up to her chest.

•~ ❘ ۞ ❘ ~•

In her dreams, she found serenity. Her surroundings were so calm. She was walking through the forest, watching the burning leaves rustle overhead. She knew where she was going. She knew what she was going to do. She was calm.

There would be no more pain. There would be no more confusion. The High Lord she left behind would mourn her and then forget. She had wanted no one to mourn her, but as long as he forgot, she didn't mind.

She reached the spot. Beneath her feet, her parents had become dirt. Soon, so would she. She drew her blade. No more pain. No more confusion. No more fear of being left behind. She closed her eyes.

•~ ❘ ۞ ❘ ~•

Evren woke, carrying with her the calmness of her dream. She slid out of bed and pulled on the clothes she'd arrived in. The moon was bright outside her window. Evren started towards the door, then paused.

She couldn't just leave without leaving something behind for Eris. Not after what he had given her, and what she had given him. He deserved something. She picked up a piece of paper and began to write. She kept the note as brief as she could and left it on her pillow, where someone was certain to find it.

Evren crept out of the room and silently made her way down the stairs. The night was chilly and frost crunched beneath her boots. Evren entered the stables and found Asper.

She haltered him and led him out of the stables, not bothering to saddle him. She swung onto his back and dug her heels into his sides. As soon as she was past the wards, Mortem and Vita were at her hips. Her silver bracelet glimmered around her wrist.

Evren's heart clenched with momentary pain, but she pushed past it and rode on. Her pain would be gone soon. She had killed enough of Beron's followers to avenge her parents.

It was time to enact the final part of her plan. It was time to relieve her own suffering. It was time to free herself and Eris from the bondage of whatever it was that stood between them. She didn't look back as she rode away from the Forest House.

•~ ❘ ۞ ❘ ~•

Eris woke to the sound of hooves on the ground outside. He rolled out of bed in time to see a figure ride away atop a dark horse. Eris' heart faltered. He stumbled out of his room and burst into Evren's.

Her bed was empty. He sparked a flame to life in his palm and cast the light around the room. He caught sight of something on her pillow. Eris lifted the note. Horror filled his mind as he read it.

Eris,

I hope you will find this after I'm out of reach. I'm sorry for the past few days. I'm sorry I let things get this far between us. I never should have given myself to you. I never should have given my heart to you.

It's too late to take it back now. For me, anyway, but not for you. Mourn me as I know you will, but then, please, forget about me. I don't want my death to cause more pain than necessary.

Death has followed me for so long. It's time I answered it's call. Now, before anything else happens between us. Eris, I love you, but I fear being left alone, and my love cannot prevent that. I'm sorry.

~ Evren

Eris dropped the note and ran from the room. She loved him. Evren loved him and she was going to kill herself. Where was she going? Was she already there? Was she already dead?

Panic flooded Eris' thoughts. Not her. Not now. Not her. She loved him. Where was she going? Her parents' grave. That was where she had always planned to return and die. It was on the border of the Spring and Autumn Courts. He didn't know where, exactly, but he would find it. He had to find it.

Eris passed his wards and winnowed to the border. He kept running, scanning the forest for any sign of Evren or Asper. "Evren!" He called. "Evren!" She loved him. She loved him and she might already be dead. Eris blinked back the panicked tears that filled his eyes. "Evren!" He screamed again. Eris kept running, searching for her, his mate.