Glancing back at the rock wall, I wonder if Kirian’s okay or if he’s freaking out because I’m still in here.
“Now, then. It’s time for your questions.” The teacup lands in front of me with a soft clatter, and Astrid pours hot liquid into it. “Ginger tea. It will help settle your stomach. Quite the fiasco you went through recently.”
“You know about that,” I say, surprised.
“I know everything.”
“So, you’ll tell me?”
“Everything? Oh, no. There’s not enough time for that.”
“No, I mean about Kirian. To help him. I don’t really need to tell you why I’m here, do I?”
“Your blood pumps so fast,” Astrid observes, avoiding my question as she peers at my pulse point. “Are you scared?”
“Yes,” I answer honestly.
“Of me?”
“Of what you’ll tell me.”
“Ah. You’re afraid to lose the king.”
“Well, coming here was my idea in the first place.” I sip at the tea. It’s actually pretty good; sweetened with honey, just how I like it. “I sort of pushed him into it. I thought I was doing the right thing by helping him find his mate. I want the curse to be broken.”
“Such a selfless act. You must care for him greatly.”
I nod. “I’d do anything for him.”
Astrid hums. “You know, I’m much more interested in you. In your world, people don’t understand you.”
“It feels that way, yeah.”
“You’ve always been different. Sort of off. Like you can’t relate to your fellow humans.”
“Yes.”
“They rejected you, over and over again, no matter how hard you tried to fit in.”
Man, she’s really nailing it. At least there’s no pity in her voice. It’d be worse if she felt sorry for me. “Until Kirian came along, I really didn’t have anyone but my parents.”
Astrid squints at my face. “Tell me… what was your first impression of the young prince?”
“Well, he was kind of rude.” I laugh, remembering how snooty Kirian had been. “But he was also really beautiful. My poor twelve-year-old heart could barely stand it.”
She smiles. “Quite taken with him, were you?”
“Yeah.” I blush. “And after we talked for a little while, I knew he wasn’t mean. He was sad.”
“And how did that make you feel?”
“Sad.” I shrug. “Sad for him.”
“Empathy is an emotion I lack. You can’t have love without empathy.”
I tilt my head to the side. “You’ve never loved anyone?”
We’re getting off track, but I feel for the lady. She’s obviously lived a long time and she’s all alone. In the Shadowlands, no less.
She doesn’t answer me. Instead, she reaches into her pocket, then drops a few strands of my hair into the empty bowl before adding some tea. I scrunch up my face because I think she might drink it, but then she sprinkles something on top. The powdery substance is white and a little sparkly. It looks like stardust.
A dim light glows from inside the container, and Astrid motions me forward. “Take a peek in here.”
I do as she says, and as I hover over the bowl, I see the sky in the liquid, stars and all.
“Recognize this?” she asks. “This is the solar system of the Night Realm.”
“Of course. I’ve been staring at it for the past six days.”
She cackles. “Oh, you’ve been staring at it for a lot longer than that.”
“Huh?” Glancing up at Astrid, I watch as she picks up the mirror again. She puts it in my right hand and begins manipulating my arm. “Hold it out, like so. Angle it this way. Yes, just like that. Don’t move.”
I’m in an awkward position, bent over the table with the mirror over my head. I look from my reflection to Astrid. “Okay?”
“Keep looking at your face.”
Lights coming from the concoction dance over my cheeks. Not wanting to piss Astrid off, I stay focused on the mirror as she rotates the bowl and tilts it slightly upward. She rolls it to the right. Then to the left. Round and round the constellations go, reminding me of a night light I had when I was a kit.
Then Astrid starts to slow. “Yes, here it is. Almost there.”
My heart thunders as I watch the glittery lights come to a stop.
When the pattern shifts into place, I gasp so hard I almost choke on my own tonsils.
Every single star in the sky lines up perfectly to my freckles. All the dots on my cheeks. The cluster under my left eye. The blob over the bridge of my nose. A few spots on my chin.
The full moon fits into my right iris, the smaller crescent moon outlines the left side of my nose, and a half moon sits on the curve of my bottom lip.
“She is marked by the sky at night,” Astrid sings in an eerie tune.
I almost drop the mirror. Grappling with the bone handle, I manage to catch it right before it hits the ground.
Straightening, I slump back in my chair and whisper, “It’s me. It’s me?”
Chuckling, Astrid does a funny jig with her feet as she finishes her song. “You’ll know her by love at first sight.”
Panting from excitement, I shake my head. “But it wasn’t. He’s never seen me.”
“But you saw him.”
“Oh my God!” I exclaim, shooting up from my chair. Raking a hand through my hair, I pace from one end of the room to the other. “I did. I loved him right away.”
The curse never specified who it would be love at first sight for. Those tricky witches. Kirian’s fated mate has been under his nose this entire time.
And it’s me. I’m his soul mate.
Coming to a stop, I lean against the counter in the kitchen for support. Because I might pass out from hyperventilation. “No wonder he got so pissy when he didn’t get to see me for a long time. He couldn’t help it.”
Astrid nods. “I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did. When you were a child, the pull wasn’t as strong. But after you became an
