When vengeance strikes in the form of a bullet out for the princess's blood, Princess Aleia VonAuclair must flee the heart of her country in order to protect the people she loves and take back the pieces of her soul she'd lost to the girl she once l...
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I stared out the window of the palace's royal jet and watched another cloud float by. I could almost reach out and touch it. Maybe I could. Maybe if I-
"Your Highness, are you even listening?"
Aaron's voice shattered my thoughts, and I turned away from the window to face him with hazy eyes.
"I'm sorry, what?'
Aaron's lips pinched ever so slightly but when he went to repeat whatever it was he had said in my trance, my mom cut in from her seat beside me.
"Could you give us a moment, Aaron?"
Aaron nodded and stood to move in the direction of the main lounge, away from the private seating area we were in at the back of the jet. I hugged my knees into my chest and looked out the window.
Maybe it was because I was nursing a broken heart, or maybe because the events of the day had worn me down but nothing the guards had briefed to me about the situation in Asrea registered into my brain. They either flew over my head or whizzed out an ear.
They never stayed.
Much like the people in my life, apparently.
My face turned sour at the thought.
"Do you want to talk about it, honey?"
I shook my head.
"Not really."
Everything felt numb. Empty. I'd tried pinching myself like I always did after Isabella's execution and while it had worked for her, it didn't work for Edrian. I had an inkling that if someone kicked me in the guts right now, I wouldn't feel it. Even moving felt like an effort.
My mother sighed and I heard a rustle of fabric as she twisted to face me. Her eyes seared into my cheeks, but I didn't feel it. I only felt the loneliness of being trapped in the dark with nothing to do but to feel numb.
"I'm proud of you, you know," she said, running a hand over my hair. "For everything. For surviving through Isabella, and then the shooter on your birthday. I'm proud of you for taking the protection program in stride when Aaron proposed it and I'm especially proud of you-"
She paused and her hand fell over mine where it hugged my knees to my chest.
"For letting yourself fall in love - that you found the heart in someone again. I'm proud of you, honey. You are strong. And you are brave. And there's nothing scarier than falling in love."
My lips trembled but I didn't look away from the mindless clouds floating beyond the jet's window. I was afraid if I did, I would start crying again and I was sure I'd already cried out most of the water weight in my body. My eyes were swollen and puffy and my throat felt dry.
"I never told you, but your father and I went through something like this."
I snapped over to face her. Compassion and what I could only describe as a mother's love shone in her eyes.
