He was a mistake from the beginning. It should have been love at first sight, lifelong romance a glance and a swoon away. The rebel boy was arrogant, standoffish, and just plain rude…but then there was kindness in his eyes, amber eyes that stayed fixed on her all the way back to Earth. From the moment she saw him he lived in her mind and chipped away at her walls.
If only she had not make the mistake of him. If only she had stayed away. If only she had kept her guard up. If only.
Finally, Cornelia drops to her knees in front of the castle. A sob rips through her chest. He is gone, and she barely notices when her friends wrap their arms around her, holding her hands and stroking her hair.
A flash of light, and he falls from the tear and lands mere steps away. She is on her feet before she can even register the movement. There is no one else in the infinite dimensions but them when she springs into his arms. She feels his grimace and the tension in his shoulders but his warmth, his smell, his everything is real.
When his name passes her lips, she knows it is enough to just be Cornelia.
