It's been a month since my wedding. Rune didn't show up, and the treaty between our races is broken.
In the early days, I would often find myself gazing out the window, subjecting myself to the torture of waiting and hoping to catch a glimpse of him. I would imagine him galloping across my father's lawn, his pale hair dancing around his exquisite face. Sometimes, I pictured him bursting through my bedroom door, whisking me away like a thief in the night.
But the pain became unbearable, and I had to stop.
Now, I spend my days holed up in my father's vast libraries, devouring books of any kind, since I can no longer go to school. At night, I scrub my body raw, tearing at my skin to inflict wounds on Rune's mark that can keep it hidden.
Nothing works. It stands out so starkly, I can no lo
