~Elara~
Caspian’s reaction to my rejection is everything I hoped it would be.
First, he blinks at me slowly, his brain trying to make sense of my words while gasps and whispers swim around the room, growing into a din that threatens to drown everything in its path.
He can’t do it. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t make it make sense, and eventually, he has to ask me to repeat myself. “What did you say?”
“I said: I will not be your mate, Caspian. Not now, and not ever.”
The whispers grow louder, everyone exclaiming to each other as Caspian’s eyes dart frantically back and forth, looking between me and the crowd as if he can’t decide which is worse: my rejection or the fact that everyone who matters is here to see it.
In his panic and shock, I can see a little of how I felt on th
