Chapter 21: hearing

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Of course Leo had heard. Leo heard everything. It was getting harder to pretend she didn't hear. The scratching of insects' legs against tender leaves kept her up at night. The silent voice whispering inside her mind was nearly enough to drive her mad. The sound of her own heart beating echoed so loudly that it made her head pound, too. Everything was too loud. The only thing that soothed the pain was Wren, but he did not come to her anymore. He did not ease the violence behind her eyes. He didn't silence the noise that made her so sick she rarely left her chambers anymore.

"Arthur?" The girl might as well have screamed it into Leo's ear.

Leo had frozen when she heard the name. Arthur. But only surreptitiously. Only someone who knew her well would have noticed a difference. And there was no one here who knew her. Especially not the boy she was scheduled to marry. This sweet, adoring boy.

"He became a bandit," the girl said next.

Her betrothed looked at her. Leo looked at Wren. Wren looked for Leo. But only for a moment. And only with his eyes. And then his attention turned back to her. To Eileen.

Leo's hands tightened into fists. Her chest burned. She wanted to rip Eileen to pieces. She wanted to reclaim what was rightfully hers. The blood rushing through her veins was so loud. It was too loud. She wanted to press her hands to her ears and scream. But she knew it wouldn't help. It never helped. It would just get louder and louder until she couldn't stand it anymore. Until everything went black. And then she would wake up somewhere strange. She would not know what she'd done. The people she passed would look at her oddly.

Leo was terrified. So terrified. Her heart pounded louder. Her head pounded, too. She felt the sickness rising up in her belly. Sweat dripped down her back. She had to escape. She couldn't be here a moment longer.

Leo turned serenely and walked from the garden. Her cloth slippers were gentle against the earth and the stone floor as her head exploded and her vision went to blackness. And then there was nothing but pain. And then there was nothing at all.

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