When I get to the great hall, I search the ballroom for the light hair and violet eyes I know and love.

But I don’t see her. Tehya’s nowhere to be found either.

“Where’s my mate?” Silas growls quietly, on my heels as we head outside. “If Zella did anything to her—”

“Would you just shut up?” I snap. “You’re being ridiculous.”

Taking off my suit jacket, I let my wings out. It’ll be easier to find her from above. I can tell she’s near from the tingling in my body, and I’ll follow the sensation until it grows stronger.

Silas is right behind me as we soar over the gardens.

The stars cast a silver glow over everything, and my heart gives a happy thump when I see the top of a light-haired head in the center of the maze. I swoop down to the cobblestone clearing.

Zella and Tehya are sitting on a bench by a large fountain. Although they’re side by side, they don’t appear to be speaking to each other.

At first, I think they simply went exploring, but then I see the tears on my mate’s cheeks.

“What happened?” I ask as my feet touch the ground.

Zella looks up at me, her eyes shimmering with remorse. And somehow, I just know she knows. I can see the guilt. A silent apology and an urgent question.

“Who told you?” Anger simmers in my veins. Someone did this to hurt her. “Tell me who it is and I’ll—”

“It was me,” Tehya bursts out, before I can issue any dire threats.

My eyes narrow. “You’re trying to turn my mate against me?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “It slipped.”

“Slipped?” I roar. “How does that come out in casual conversation?”

Silas steps in front of me, blocking my view of Tehya. “Don’t you dare yell at her. She’s only telling Zella the truth. Which, apparently, you decided not to do.”

He’s right, and I hate that.

I look to my mate. “Zella, I—”

“Were you ever planning to tell me?” she cuts me off.

“No,” I admit quietly.

It was foolish of me to think she wouldn’t find out. Although the facts were never released to the public, the rumors were enough. If Tehya hadn’t told her, someone else would’ve.

I just wanted to avoid what’s happening now. I can practically see the wheels turning in Zella’s pretty little head. She’s rethinking every moment she had growing up. Viewing her parents in a different light. Seeing them for who they really were.

“This doesn’t change anything,” I tell her passionately, slashing my hand through the air. “Not with the way you loved them. You can still love their memory.”

“Can I?” Her voice is shaky as she stands. “They’re strangers. I never even knew them.”

“That’s not true.”