A Curse of Shadows

I start to move past him, politely declining. “It’s okay. I think I’ve got it.”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “By going the wrong direction?” His hand goes back to his side as he nods toward another hallway. “Come on. The royal dining hall is this way.”

Damn it. I was supposed to take another left, not a right at this hallway. Maybe a little help wouldn’t be so bad.

As we walk side by side, Noen casts several glances at me before he speaks. “How have you been?”

The words sound forced and I’m a little glad because it seems like I’m not the only one who feels awkward.

“Fine.” I shrug, unsure how much Asher has told him. “I’ve spent a lot of time reading.”

He feigns shock. “You, reading? I would have never guessed.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“You never were one for school and books before,” he explains with a grin. “You preferred to learn by doing things yourself, instead of having them told to you.”

Huh. That doesn’t really sound like the person I am now, but I also know how stubborn I can be sometimes, so I’m not terribly surprised by that revelation, either.

“Well, things change,” I say with a shrug.

“They sure do.” Noen’s voice is tinged with a sadness that hits me right in the chest.

I reach for him, lightly touching his forearm. “I know that we used?—”

I blink several times, then start to kneel toward the ground. The signs of an incoming memory are getting easier to read and I no longer take them standing up after a few of them have made my legs give out.

I’m in the back yard of my parents’ house and fourteen years old. The flowers need watering and that’s one of my chores, something I do every day and usually with my mother. She and Dad aren’t home today, though, so I’m by myself.

I don’t know where Estee is, but I glance to my right at my neighbors’ house. That’s where Noen lives. He’s been my best friend for years and my heart instantly aches. I can hear his dad yelling and I want to go save my friend, but the last time I intervened, things only got worse for him.

Instead, I wait and wait for the yelling to stop. Only then do I go to the fence and peek over.

Noen is leaning against the side of his house, fists clenched, eyes closed, and jaw tight.

“Noen,” I whisper, staying in our yard.

He looks up at me and shakes his head. “You heard.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him. “Do you want to come over?”

His head shakes. “I have chores to do over again because apparently, the first time I did them wasn’t correct.”

I lied. It’s not okay. The entire situation with him and his father is terrible and everyone knows it. Yet Asher’s dad—the king—does nothing about it. I don’t understand why they let Noen be treated like this.

I’ve tried to bring it up to Asher, but my two best friends don’t exactly get along. Though that doesn’t change my feelings for either of them.

“I can help you,” I tell Noen as he comes to the fence.

He grabs my hands, rubbing his thumbs over my fingers and staring down. “You already do. More than you know.” He leans in closer, kisses the top of my head, and releases me. “I’ll see you later, Isobella.”

I return to the real world, my heart racing and no longer confused why things were awkward with Noen and Asher before. How could I have not seen that for what it was before?

Noen loved me and not just as my best friend. That boy loved me.

Blinking up at the man kneeling before me, I try to decide if maybe he still does and that’s why Asher hasn’t spoken of Noen since the latter returned.

Noen shakes my shoulders when I don’t respond. “Issie, talk to me, please.”