Chapter 1

Golden rays of sunshine danced through the floor-length window and trickled onto a peach-haired girl, enveloping the girl in a warm cocoon. Birds chirped faintly outside and fresh dewdrops glittered over the wild array of blossoms that peeked above the windowsill. Tiny rainbows danced throughout the dewdrops, flooding the interior of the café with rays of soft color.

The pedestrians that passed through the café all wore smiles on their faces, basking in the warmth from the sun’s ray and the chime of the fluttering birds. It was a beautiful morning and could not have been a more perfect Summer day. However, inside the café the peach-haired girl felt as if she were standing in the middle of the North Pole. The blood that ran through her veins had turned ice cold and her body emitted small tremors.

“Everly, can I have my coffee, please?

Everly’s body continued to quiver, the feeling becoming more intense at merely hearing the voice of the person in front of her. A pool of darkness began to roar, filling her with hatred, regret, and anger. The negative emotions formed a whirlwind that settled in the pit of her stomach and threatened to rush out of her throat like aggressive tidal waves. Her teeth sunk into her lips, preventing herself from the outburst, and her hands balled into fists as she lowered her head. Faintly, she recognized the taste of blood from the cut that had formed on her lips.

Her eyes stayed fixed on the swirly fonts of the coffee cup in her hands.

Edward… Edward Gilderson.

Her eyes were burning. She could still feel the sharp pain that radiated from her back, a wound from long ago she had hoped to forget. It was an effort to not crawl across the counter and throttle Edward right then and there. But there he stood patiently with one hand extended, waiting for the coffee Everly still grasped tightly.

As she turned her gaze upward, Everly was met with a pair of sapphire blue eyes. His glossy blonde hair radiated in the dim indoor lighting and a gentle smile was fixed upon his face. He looked as if prince charming had appeared from a fairy tale.

But Everly knew what lay behind his seemingly gentlemanly demeanor.

When he noticed her looking at him, his lips began to curl. There was no time for words as a splash cut through the otherwise quiet conversations of the café.

The whole coffee shop turned in unison, conversations becoming silent as if someone had just hit pause. A waitress dropped her napkin and there was a collective gasp and jaw-dropping as the customers took in the scene.

Everly sucked in a deep breath, now calmly tossing away the empty coffee cup and wiping the counter clean before beaming an apologetic smile.

“I'm sorry, my hand slipped.”

Edward grabbed a napkin from the holder on the counter to wipe away the coffee from his face, feeling thankful he had ordered iced coffee instead of hot. He had not seen that coming. Being from one of the noble elf houses, blessed with powerful magic and charming looks, Edward was always popular among the girls. Everyone looked up to him and when the time came, he knew he would be heir to the Gilderson house.

He was confident that he would be able to catch Everly’s eyes. But this mishap… maybe another way of catching his attention? Interesting.

A mocking smirk flashed through Edward’s face in mere seconds, so quickly that only Everly was able to discern it. She knew exactly what he was thinking. Back then she had been so blindly in love and had assumed it was confidence. Now, she knew better. He was only as full of himself as ever.

“It's okay, don’t worry about it,” Edward said, plastering that fake smile back on his handsome face. He put his payment on the counter, the picture of grace and forgiveness, but Everly knew it was a ruse. Deep down, Edward was the type to always look his nose down at those he thought beneath himself. Which, to be honest, he considered to be everyone.

This expression he had often shown her, the one that said he was aware everything would go as he had planned. This was the same look he gave her when he took away her magic and tore her wings from her back.

“ You're such a fool,” he had snarled, ignoring her pleas and cries, ignoring the pain she would have to endure from having both her magic and wings taken away.

To this day she still recalled every single detail. How she had begged and begged them to leave her alone. The screams and cries emitted from her worn throat. Eventually, she has stopped crying, but the pain was etched there in her memory. It wormed its way into her soul, reminding her until all that was left was an ache and an emptiness for what had been. She felt like a broken doll, shattered, and cast aside, left for ruin.

She thought she had those painful memories buried deep in her mind and after so long the past would not taunt her anymore. She was wrong. She was so agonizingly wrong.

The scenes replayed in Everly’s mind hitting like water upon rock over and over. And now, she remembered who Edward was. Never again.

Everly felt a jolt in her body and her eyes began burning with the pain and hurt from long ago. Distantly, a voice in her head screamed at her to end this monster in front of her. Her eyes glimpsed the edge of a butter knife and she reached to grab it, wanting once and for all to cause Edward pain just as he did to her.

A small, warm hand grasped her wrist. “Ev-Everly—”

Everly turned, her face still twisted in anger. The girl who had called her was taken aback at the look. “Are you okay?”

Noticing her frightened expression, Everly’s eyes filled with concern. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her own reflection. Her face was pale and a sheen of sweat layered her face. But her eyes. Her eyes shown with a maniacal glint that made her shudder. Blinking, Everly noticed how quiet the shop had become and the mix of fearful and curious stares.

“Marie, I…” Everly’s voice came out broken and raspy. She sounded so fragile, lost, even to her own ears.

Concern instantly took hold of Marie and she stepped forward, her hand sliding down to capture Everly’s in hers. A gasp escaped her quivering lips, “Your hand is so cold!”

She reached to touch Everly’s forehead, searching for any sign of fever.

“You look so pale and you’re sweating so much.” Marie dropped her hand and bit her lip, wondering what on earth had occurred between her coworker and the customer to have caused such a reaction.

Everly released her grip on the knife and tried a small smile. She forced her eyes to become soft and welcoming once more as she turned toward Marie.

'Breathe Everly. It's okay, he hasn't done anything. Nothing bad has happened…yet. Stay calm.' Everly thought to herself as she tried to calm herself.

“I’m sorry Marie. I don’t feel so good,” she sighed apologetically after taking a deep breath. Unfortunately, that breath did nothing to help calm her nerves.

Nodding, Marie took the apron from Everly. “Go home and rest, I’ll tell the boss for you.”

Everly gave her another small smile and grabbed her things, running out of the coffee shop, not stopping to notice the still shocked customers following her with their eyes. She’d deal with Edward later.