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By the time the music faded and the last crumbs of cake were gone, Macey was still buzzing like she could power the whole pack house with her excitement alone. Her tiara was crooked, her cheeks sticky with frosting, but her smile hadn’t dimmed once.
When we finally made it back to the Underworld, her hand was clutched tight in Envy’s, her little feet practically skipping across the black stone floor. I trudged behind, Elias yawning at my side, but my eyes never left her.
“This way, Princess,” Levi said, his voice warm, as he opened a door with a little flourish.
Macey darted inside and then gasped so loudly it echoed down the hall.
I peeked over her shoulder, and even I had to admit, it was… perfect.
Her room looked like it had leapt right out of a fairytale. Creamy walls washed in a soft glow, a lavender bedspread spilling over a bed big enough for her to sprawl across, shelves stacked with books and toys, and a wardrobe bursting with dresses that glittered in the light. A vanity sparkled in the corner, tiaras scattered across it like treasure.
She spun in a circle, giggling. “It’s mine! All mine!” She ran to the wardrobe, then to the vanity, then leapt onto the bed, bouncing up and down with so much joy I thought the mattress might break.
Everyone laughed, their faces soft, proud, relieved. Envy caught her mid–bounce and pulled her into her arms, hugging her close. “Do you love it?” she asked.
“I LOVE IT!” Macey squealed, throwing her arms wide. “It’s the best room in the whole entire world!”
The others melted into her happiness, soaking it up like sunlight. I smiled too, because how could I not? She deserved this. She deserved everything.
But underneath the joy, a hollow ache tugged at me. This meant she now had her own room. Her own bed.
No more sneaking into mine, curling up against me under the blankets. No more small, warm weight tucked against. my side while I drifted off. No more waking in the middle of the night just to squeeze her hand and remind myself she was still here, still safe. I’d grown used to it, more than I should’ve. I liked it. I liked being the one she clung to, the one who made her feel secure when the shadows crept in. Knowing she trusted me like that made me feel like I had a purpose, like I was more than just another boy in a castle full of warriors.
And now… now she wouldn’t need that anymore,
I tried to smother the disappointment, tried to bury it under the smile I plastered across my face. Because this was right, she deserved her own space, her own place to belong. But as she flopped back onto her new bed, tiara still crooked, curls bouncing around her face as she laughed, I couldn’t help the selfish thought that whispered through me. I was happy for her. Overjoyed, even. But part of me already missed the sound of her soft breathing beside me in the dark. Just when Macey thought it couldn’t get any better, Noah cleared his throat, drawing her attention from where she’d been trying on a pair of glittery shoes she’d found at the bottom of the wardrobe.
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13:32 Wed, Sep 24
Chapter 182
“There’s one more thing,” he said, that calm smile tugging at his lips.
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Levi strode over to the far wall and pressed his hand against the stone. With a soft ripple of magic, the rock folded in on itself, revealing a door.
Macey gasped so loudly that she nearly toppled right off her shoes. “A secret door!”
Envy laughed, scooping her up before she hurt herself. “Not just any door. This one connects to Elliot and Elias’s
room.”
Her wide eyes swung to me, then to Elias, and back again. “Really?”
“Really,” Levi confirmed.
Macey wiggled in Envy’s arms until she was set back down, then bolted across the room, tiny fingers wrapping around the handle. She flung the door open and squealed when it led straight into our room.
“It’s like we’re neighbours,” she giggled, dashing back and forth between her room and ours through the new doorway. “Neighbours forever!”
A chorus of groans followed, but none of us dared argue. We shuffled down the hall, grabbing our pyjamas from the drawers that had already been filled, brushing our teeth side by side at the long bathroom sink. Macey hummed around her toothbrush, splattering minty foam across her chin, while Elias made faces at me in the mirror until I
Soon enough, we were back in our rooms, soft pyjamas on, the buzz of the day still lingering but slowly giving way to the heaviness of sleep.
And me? I sat on the edge of my mattress, staring at the door left open between us, listening to Macey’s muffled giggles drift across. But as I slid under my own blankets, I couldn’t shake the hollow ache in my chest.
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