Title: tattered heart
Fandom: Hidden Legacy Series - Ilona Andrews (Books)
Character: Catalina Baylor
Length: 241 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: No major warnings apply - but is angsty and heartbroken.
Notes: Set between Sapphire Flames and Emerald Blaze this contains spoilers for Sapphire Flames.
Summary: Catalina has to pick up the pieces of her tattered heart and move on.



Catalina made her way into the makeshift kitchen on legs that felt simultaneously too heavy to move and too weak to hold her up. She pulled her hair back, turned on the hot plate, and set the dented pan on top. Gathering the onions, peppers, and mushrooms, she grabbed her knife and started chopping.

It hurt. It felt as if Alessandro had ripped her heart out of her chest, shredded it with one of her own knives, and stamped up and down on the tattered remains. Now Catalina had to try to weave the pieces of her tattered heart back together, stuff it back in her chest, and move on. It felt impossible. She had to do it anyway.

Catalina tossed the chopped vegetables in the pan with a sigh. She'd let herself have a tiny smidgen of hope and look where it had gotten her.

It didn't help that her room was gone, her home was gone, and of course, now Alessandro was gone too, and he wasn't coming back. He couldn't even give her that tiny sliver of hope. Instead, he'd told her he wouldn't lie to her. She supposed that was something.

Catalina put the knife down and took a deep breath in. All was not lost. She still had her family. Runa and Ragnar had gotten their sister back. The job was done, they'd survived. It wasn't the end of the world. It just felt that way.