Chapter 45
The echo of footsteps in the cold stone corridor did little to calm Princess Ariana's nerves. She paced before the tall window of the western tower, fingers twisted together, lips pale. Morning light filtered through stained glass and painted the floor in fractured colors—shards of ruby, sapphire, emerald. None of it reached her eyes.
She could still hear Odi's voice ringing in her head. Brave. Defiant. Loyal.
And she had let her go.
"She is a bad luck," Ariana muttered aloud, as if saying it made it truer. "She's a witch. What can I do to remain by the king's side?."
But it didn't sit right. Not with the maps locked away in her chamber, not with the sealed letter from Heath hidden beneath her pillow, warning her that no one who chased the Heart Stone returned whole.
She shouldn't have gone after Odi, Odi would have died anyway during her journey.
She stopped at the window and leaned her forehead against the cool glass. "What have I done?"
***
