Then he was gone, striding away with his back straight and his fists clenched at his sides. Thalia watched him go because she couldn't help herself, couldn't stop tracking his movements even though it hurt to look at him.
Sylvia moved to follow him but he stopped without turning around, and when he spoke his voice broke on the last word, cracking down the middle to reveal the raw grief underneath. "I want to be alone."
Sylvia stopped with her expression conflicted, but after a moment she nodded but followed him anyway, keeping her distance but clearly not willing to leave him completely alone. She felt a spike of something bitter in her chest that might have been jealousy if she had any right to feel jealous about anything anymore.
Thalia was left with Jordan and the stable boys who wer
