Chapter 44

Eleanor's feet found their way away from the chambers, and down the largest door out of the palace. The garden wasn't so hard to find, and she made her way till she came behind the hut, her eyes falling on Conaan. He was standing with his back to her, his fingers clasped behind him.

She swallowed, feeling a huge lump rise up her chest. She had done so much, but it had never quite been enough to have Conaan want to give up on her. The look in his eyes had been terrifying, his words even more so, and when she'd cried, she cried more for those words than all of the years she shared with Alexander.

"Conaan?"

He turned only slightly. She could see his profile, but the facade was off. He looked just as broken as his words had indicated he felt, just as broken as she knew she was capable of leaving him. It wasn't a proud feeling, it just made her feel more out of place, more undeserving of the man Conaan was.

"I..."

"You do not have to come, Eleanor." His voice shook