Eternal Symphony

26. La Sylphide

At first, Alice believed that the universe was playing a cruel trick on her, but her heart shattered the longer they sat in disbelief at Elijah's grim news. The dining hall steeped from the unpleasant atmosphere until Miles was the first to stand and object, slamming his fist into the table, his strength threatening to break it. "Have you lost your senses?"

Disappointed by her brother's protests, Scarlett said, "Oh, don't pretend to act so surprised, brother. This union was meant to happen sooner or later if it weren't for that wench—"

"That's enough from you," Elijah sternly interrupted, his upper lip curling into a snarl like he was ready to strike her down. When he looked up to judge Alice's reaction, she had already strutted by through the doors, stuck in a daze but wanting to leave this place as soon as possible. He reached out to grab her arm, but she slipped past him. "Wait, please."

Alice ignored him and quickened her steps. Elijah darted after her, leaving the stunned party behind. Her ears drowned out the sound of his voice calling out to her, and she almost didn't realize it when Elijah hastened his pursuit and grabbed her hand.

Her eyes glossed over like a frozen lake in winter, and her throat swelled like a hand trying to squeeze the life out of her. "Let me go." Alice's voice was quiet, now broken like her smashed heart.

"No, I won't." Elijah tightened his grip when Alice tried yanking herself away.

"Is this the solution to remove my curse?" Only when Elijah didn't give up did she finally turn around to face him, her face now wet with tears. Her free hand trembled as she fought the urge to slap him. "What were you thinking? Wait, no. I don't want to know."

"Alice, please—"

"No, I don't want to hear it," she continued struggling to free herself from him, but Elijah pulled her close; even when he brought her into a hug, she pushed away until giving up and collapsing in his arms. "Nothing you say will fix this. How can you marry her when we're supposed to be already?"

Scarlett's voice boomed throughout the hall as she and the others caught up to the distraught couple: "That marriage was a sham. Besides, I remember the conditions were 'until death do us part.'" She approached with a devilish sneer, amused by Alice's torment. "Death has already taken you—eighteen times, in fact."

Alice had heard enough, and Elijah growled at Scarlett. "Leave us, now."

She frowned. "She wasn't your real wife anyway, Elijah." Scarlett reached out to grab his free hand, but he swatted her away. "Stop playing pretend because I can give you the real thing."

No longer listening, Elijah had already begun escorting Alice outside so the two could be away from her, uncaring about what else Scarlett had to say. Though overcast, he stayed in the shadows, seeking refuge underneath the terrace. Alice gave up fighting back and allowed her body to melt into the stone as they leaned against the foundation; it felt like the man who loved her covered her unbridled wings, dooming her to die the moment they fell off from his magical embrace.

Realizing that his mother had set him up to this, Alice weakly pushed against his shoulder, refusing to have her wings bound. "I want to go home."

He looked at her with a pained and dejected expression. "Do you think I wanted this? Please, if you would listen—"

"This isn't how I wanted you to break my curse. I would rather die again than see you go through with this." Alice then slipped off her wedding ring and returned it; Elijah looked as though she had slapped him when she put it in his trembling hand, his fingers reluctant to curl around the band. "Even if you're doing this to save me, it's not worth it because we can't even be together. I'm probably better off not existing."