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“Ignisia.”The candle on the dresser lit, and Juniper silently stripped out of her sweater, her eyes adapting to the shadows. Toeing off her shoes, she turned and?—
“Adriel?”
Panic spiked her heart rate, and her stomach plummeted. The bed was empty, not a single pillow disturbed. “Fuck!”
She raced to the bathroom but it was also empty. Rushing upstairs, she prayed Adriel was in her bed sound asleep, but as soon as she opened the door, she knew. The air held no trace of her scent and the room was as silent as a tomb.
“Dane!” She sprinted down the steps andburst into Dane’s room, shaking him awake. “Dane, get up!”
“What?” He jackknifed out of bed. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t find Adriel! She’s gone!”
He scrambled to his feet. “What do you mean gone?”
“I don’t know! She’s not here!”
They tore the house apart, searching every room, but she was nowhere to be found. “There’s no sign of a struggle. Are we sure she didn’t just go somewhere?”
“She would have told us. She never leaves without saying something.”
“Check the basement. I’ll check her room again.”
Juniper rushed to the cellar, checking every closet and crawlspace along the way. She was gone. She woke Ruth, but she hadn’t seen her. There was no indication of where she might have gone.
“She’s not here,” Dane said when Juniper returned to Adriel’s empty room.
“Someone doesn’t just vanish into thin air?—”
“She didn’t.” He held out a small piece of paper. “Here. I think this is for you. I found it on the pillow.”
Her heart stopped. Nothing inside of her wanted to read what that letter said. Her head shook, refusing to take it from his hand.
“Read it, Juniper.”
The way he said that made her fear it all themore. That cold little letter could only mean one thing. She was leaving her.
“I don’t want to.”
He grabbed her hand and stuffed the note into her palm. “You have to.”
Snatching her arm back, she growled at him. He was right, of course, but that didn’t make this any easier.
Her fingers shook as she uncrumpled the paper. Sorrow morphed into anger, as the words blurred across the page.
June,
Please do not hate me.My heart simply could not bear the thought of anything happening to you or Dane.
You askedme to have faith in you, and I do. I have faith that you will recover from this and forget me. I have faith that you will one day love again. I have faith that you will find true happiness because that is everything you deserve.
You showedme what love means, and I love you enough to let you go. It’s my turn to protect you. My turn to love you the way you deserve. If you love me back, as you say, you must do the same and let me go.Do not try to locate me. I do not wish to be found. You need to make a beautiful life for yourself. I’m sorry I could not give it to you. Do not waste your heart on someone like me.
With all of my love,
Adriel
The letter flutteredto the floor, and Juniper’s heart crumbled with it. She was gone.
