Chapter 16: Goodbye.
Pacing, Stella felt like a caged animal, her restlessness a physical ache. She was on house arrest, and no one was letting her out of her room any time soon. Frustrated, she stood naked before her closet. Her mind was a frantic whirlwind of thoughts. Her father wanted to keep her here because if she didn't marry Holden, everything would unravel. If she left, she considered that her aunt might try to poison her again, a chilling thought.
Feeling tense, she yanked on her silk robe, the fabric a slick caress. If she ran, what would happen to Abdiel and Danielle? Would there be a war?
She couldn't let that happen.
Stella strode to her four-poster bed and plopped onto the foot. A faint tapping had her jerking her head up. She rose and walked to the far side of her room,
