‘Saph–’ The name died on Ashes’ tongue as her focus cut away, looking at the witches that now circled them. The coven watched them closely and Ashes’ gaze was almost panicked, her eyes roaming frantically until they found Ryvinika. Sapphire watched as Ryvinika gave the smallest tilt of her head and Ashes’ hardness immediately returned. Rigid and cruel, the witch tried to smile as she delivered her next blow. ‘I always told you I was your enemy, did I not?’

‘You were never my enemy. I thought –’ It gutted Sapphire that Ashes’ face showed no remorse. She offered no look that only they could understand, no explanation. ‘I never wanted you to be my enemy.’

‘Nothing could’ve changed that fate.’ The witch’s voice was hardly a whisper.

Ashes had once told her that fate was a cruel and ruthless mistress. Maybe she had been right.

‘What have I done?’ Sapphire’s voice was barely a whisper.

She stared at the witch. Her chin quivered but she held it high because she was not the scared little girl Ashes had once known.

Still, something inside Sapphire shattered. Maybe it was the hope she had been clinging to, or maybe the belief in a better world, or perhaps the anger she had been choking on for much too long. Or maybe it was none of those things.

Maybe it was something bigger. Something more permanent. Something she had not expected.

Her heart.

She had assumed heartbreak would be quick and ruthless. A rush of emotions that would drown her instantly. The type of pain that made you drop to your knees and beg the Gods for relief, for answers.

But heartbreak was no such thing.

It was a slow, agonizing process of small, jagged cracks splintering her core. A new, raw version of herself was clawing its way out.

It was mourning. Mourning for a lost love, lies told, and the person she had once been.

There was no cry of anguish, no coming undone. She did not choke back tears or collapse into an inconsolable heap. No, this feeling, this heartbreak, was simple.

She remained upright, her hands by her side. The world around her continued to exist. Her heart continued to beat, and she stared into the unwavering eyes of the one person who she thought would never betray her.

But she had. Sapphire blinked a few times, trying to process it all.

Betrayal, she decided, smelled like fresh soil and a storm on the horizon. Heartbreak smelled like honey and ash. And both were beautiful, deadly, deceptive things with haunting eyes and a wicked smile. All those nights, all those memories, all those promises …

Oh.

Her witch had never been hers at all.