Emerald Darkness Prequel, Part 3: Lea

Today I’m sharing Part 3 of my prequel scenes! These scenes are glimpses into the main characters of Emerald Darkness just before the novel begins. I hope you’re enjoying them! And I hope you’re as excited as I am about the release of Emerald Darkness. THREE MORE DAYS!!!!

Missed the previous scenes? Click here for Harper and Jackson’s prequel scenes.

 LEA

I closed the door of my bedroom, and the mask I’d been wearing all night fell away.

My shoulders slumped, and I closed my eyes, letting my head fall into my hands.

I will not cry.

For a hundred years, I have held onto the hope that someday, Jackson would come back to me. Ever since the day of our engagement over a hundred years ago, I had felt him slipping away from me. First, he was consumed with thoughts of rescuing his brother. It was all he could talk about. All he could dream about. He sacrificed everything–including me–to save Aerden.

I had learned to be strong.

I held my head high, standing there beside him for years as we searched for his brother. His fight became my fight. His fears and worries were mine. What he sacrificed, I sacrificed.

But somewhere along the way, I lost him.

I still don’t even know how it happened. Had I done something wrong? Had I not been enough?

Or did he ever truly love me at all?

But he had to have loved me. I saw it inside his heart stone a hundred years ago–a light so incredibly bright that it could have rivaled the sun.

If that love existed once, where did it go?

I moved toward my bed and sat down, a headache pounding at my temples.

It went to her. Harper was all he wanted now. I didn’t blame him. She was beautiful and smart and a great hero. And she had done the one thing I never could.

She had given his brother back to him.

I shook my head and stood up.

Screw this. I couldn’t live this way. What was I doing, sitting in my room whining about my life?

Yes, Jackson had gotten engaged to someone else. He loved her. But it wasn’t like this was news to me. I’d felt him slipping away from me long before he ever even came to the human world. I couldn’t blame Harper for stealing him away, because by the time he’d met her, he wasn’t mine anymore.

In my brain, I knew that was the rational way to think. It was the truth. But my heart was a lot more stubborn. My heart wanted to hate her for taking him away. Like a child throwing a temper tantrum, I wanted to stomp and bite and growl, angry that something that belonged to me was now cherished by someone else.

But I wasn’t a child anymore. It was time to grow up and realize that he was never coming back.

And that meant looking to the future and figuring out where I belonged. I couldn’t stay here and live with them for the rest of my life, watching their happy lives play out right before my eyes. But I couldn’t leave either. Right now, they needed me. I needed them, too.

I sighed and changed into a pair of black leather pants and a black t-shirt.

It was already after midnight, and I was exhausted from the party, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep. Instead, I crouched on the floor and peered under my bed. I reached underneath and pulled out my bow.

I couldn’t stomp and cry and throw a fit, but I could still take out my frustrations in another way.

I strapped the bow to my back and carefully opened the door to my room.

Looking out to make sure no one was there, I tiptoed down the steps, through the hallway, and out the back door in the kitchen. I wanted to be alone for a little while. I wanted to get lost in the woods and push my muscles to their limit.

I wanted to lose my breath and feel the flush of aggression on my cheeks.

And, just for a little while, I wanted to forget what it meant to lose the only man I’d ever loved.

Part 4: Aerden coming tomorrow!

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