The next time I came to the castle, Serco and his fiancée were already gone.
The only thing he left me was a text:"Bye."No context. No goodbye in person. Nothing else.
He knows me well enough to realize I'd want more—but clearly, he doesn't care. He's just gone. Still, that text had come through just a minute ago when I suddenly heard a voice behind me.
"Crescent... what are you doing here?"
I froze. It sounded just like him.
But it wasn't Serco—it was Smoke, his full-blooded brother.
"Serco already left," he added gently.
Hearing it aloud shattered something in me. I started crying before I could stop myself. I didn't care how pathetic I looked. Smoke didn't say anything—he just reached for my hand, warm and steady, and guided me away from the corridor. We ended up on the edge of a bed—probably his—and he rubbed my back as I cried.
"He didn't even talk to me," I choked out. "Just sent me that stupid message."
