Norin laughs, full-onlaughsin my face, clutching his stomach as if I’d somehow said the funniest thing in the world, and per usual, I see red.
“Norin,” Char grits out, his eyes bouncing between Norin and me.
“Killed him?” Norin finally says, the grin on his face way too wide. “What exactly do you think happened that night?”
I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out.What does he—
“We found Char not long after our little…altercation in the alley. I didn’t even have to ask. He blurted out your location the moment weapproached him,” he says, and my whole world spins as the air is sucked straight from my lungs.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t breathe, and I can’tthink.
That’s…no…no…no, that’s not right. That’s not what—
“We didn’t touch him, didn’t threaten him, and still he told useverything.He described where you were hiding, where we’d be able to find you. Under the bridge where you used to play as kids,” he mocks, his smile only growing as he watches me fall to pieces right in front of him.
My vision blurs, my heart shatters, and I stillcan’t breathe.
“And what do you know? He was right,” Norin continues. “Part of me thought he might be lying. I thought maybe he was trying to mislead us to keep you safe, to buy you time. Imagine my surprise when you wereexactlywhere he said you’d be.”
I look at Char, and he looks just about as horrified as I feel. His blue eyes are huge, his brows nearly touching his hairline. He holds up his hands, taking a step toward me.
“You…You…” I can’t speak. I can’t form words. I don’t want to form words.
Char…my best friend. Char…this can’t be true. I need to hear him say thisisn’ttrue.
“I’m so sorry,” he says, and they arenotthe words I was looking for. He’ssorry.Which means he did somethingwrong. No, not wrong, something unforgivable, and my veinsburn. “So sorry, Fi, please, you have to understand. And I thought you did…in your letter…you said youforgaveme.” The words pour out of him, each one a further admission of his guilt, his betrayal, and I think I’m going to be sick.
“Forgave you?” My hands threaten to catch fire, but I hold the flames back.
“If you don’t burn him, I surely will,”Nyxa growls.
“I thought they had beaten it out of you. I thought they hadhurtyou. I forgave you because I thought you had no other choice!” My voice rises, and everything hurts so damn much.
My eyes find Ryjax, and I can see his nostrils flare as he stands from his chair. I know he can’t hear us, but he knows something’s happened, and he looks like he wants to tear Char’s head off.
I shake my head at him ever so slightly, and he sits back down, but his eyes are still pinned on where we stand.
“And I thought you hadliedto me,” Char throws out, stepping toward me again, but I take two steps back. “I thought you knew you were an Essentari this whole time, and you wanted to take away the one thing I always wanted. You know how much becoming mayor means to me.”
He cannot be fucking serious.
“So you were going to let themkillme?” I scream, and Norin chuckles. This is exactly what he wanted. Char and I to turn against each other.
And it’s worked. So beautifully because I willnevertrust this man again. I willneverconsider him my friend.
Not after what he’s done.
“No! Of course not! I was just so angry. So angry I could barely think straight, and it just slipped out, but I regretted it the moment I told them!” Tears form in his eyes.Real, genuine tears, but I don’t care. I don’t care becauseI want to kill him, and if he even tries to move toward me again, I very well might. “I ran to the bridge, but you were already gone. I…I…could only hope that you were still alive. That yousurvived.And when I got your letter, and you said you forgave me, gods, Fi, Iloveyou. I will always love you. I will always take care of—”
“I don’t fucking need”—the words drip like venom from my lips, a poison that marks the ruin of our relationship as the fire I tried sohard to contain finally breaks free, spilling from my hands— “you to take care of me.”
The horn sounds again, only this time, it’s to signal the start of the competition.
The third trial is about to begin.
Chapter 37
