Chapter 111

CLAUDIA. I stare at the carriage as it moves farther and farther away from the palace, away from me, and I realize that this is the first time in a long while Achilles and I are apart. My heart sinks, but I put on a brave face as I wave them all away. I've been smiling all morning but this is the emptiest I have ever felt. Still, I'm comforted by the fact that I'm not there, which means that Achilles would not be harmed by anything. He has nothing to protect with this life, nothing to make split-second decisions for. "Let's go inside," Kiernan says beside me as the carriage rounds a corner and finally disappears. "It's cold out here. You can't stay out for too long." To my surprise, he puts his arm around my shoulders and carefully leads me inside the palace. I suppose it's a pretty sweet gesture, but I still feel like he wouldn't have done anything like this if Achilles was present. I move away from him as soon as we're inside. I'm about to head upstairs to spend the rest of my