Serafina stiffened, all but confirming it.
“Your dosage was off last time,” Araya said, pulling her hand away. “Because I saw him last night.”
“That was more likely a reaction to your pain and fear than an issue with my dosage,” Serafina said. This time, she was the one who couldn’t meet Araya’s eyes.
Araya pushed herself upright—and instantly regretted it. White-hot pain flared through her joints, radiating like fire with every breath. Her vision swam, black spots creeping in at the edges, but she clenched her jaw and forced herself to focus.
“I want to know what the two of you are hiding from me,” she said. “I deserve to know instead of being forced to blunder around in the dark.”
Serafina’s shoulders tensed, but she said nothing, her expression hardening into an unreadable mask.
“Jaxon is already digging,” Araya pushed. “Loren might think I can distract him, but youknowJaxon, Serafina. He never lets go of a puzzle. Give me the chance to figure it out first so I can control the damage—please.”
Serafina bit her lip, staring at Araya for a long moment.
"You're right." She sighed, her hands twisting in her lap. “You do deserve to know—but I’m not the one who should tell you.” She stood, smoothing her robes. “Can you walk?”
“Walk?” Araya blinked, frowning. “To go where? The guard?—”
“They’re watching the front and back,” Serafina confirmed. “But we forced them to wait outside—they won’t even know you’regone.” She held Araya’s gaze. “If you’re willing to take the risk...I can get you your answers.”
Araya hesitated. If Jaxon found out she left, Gods only knew what he’d do to her. Were answers worth risking that?
“I need to be back before they check,” Araya said finally, swinging her legs over the edge of the cot. Her head swam as she pushed to her feet with more determination than caution, but Serafina steadied her, gripping her hand until it passed. “If they realize?—”
“My apprentices can handle them,” Serafina said, with a faint, knowing smile. “It’s not the first time.”
Before Araya could question whatthatmeant, Serafina shoved the cot aside, dropping to her knees. She ran her hands over the floor, pressing her fingers into a rune Araya would never have seen. Magic flared at her fingertips, the hidden trap door springing open to reveal a dark, narrow passage. Cool air wafted up from it, carrying the stale scent of damp stone.
"We don’t have much time," Serafina said, swinging her legs over the edge of the door. She glanced back at Araya, a spark of challenge burning in her green eyes. “Are you coming?”
Araya stared at her best friend, her heart twisting in her chest. How much of her life had Serafina hidden behind a steady voice and kind hands?
But she straightened, lifting her chin. Whatever secrets Serafina had kept, however much this felt like stepping off a ledge blindfolded—Araya couldn’t turn back now. Not when this might be her only chance to understand what kept pulling her toward Loren.
“Then let’s go.”
Chapter
Twenty-Six
She had forgotten her place.
Loren’s vision narrowed, his pulse pounding as rage flared hot in his veins, burning away the deep, numbing cold that had settled in his bones over the years he’d rotted in this hateful place. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the bruise on Araya’s skin. The gash on her forehead. The stiff, painful way she moved.
Jaxon Shaw had done that to her. Because she hadforgotten her place.
Loren would kill him. Jaxon would pay for every mark he had left on her. Every bruise, every scrape, every cut—Loren would tear him apart with his bare hands for daring to claim something so precious, only to shatter it. Just imagining it filled Loren with a savage, burning energy.
Except he couldn’t kill Jaxon Shaw. He’d kept Araya safe—made her happy, even. Loren wanted that for her again, even if it felt like a knife in his gut. His only consolation was that she didn’t know about the bond. It would only bring her pain to know what the Arcanum had stolen from them. Better that he bear the knowledge for both of them—it was the least he could do.
Then, footsteps—two sets.
Loren swore under his breath, swallowing back his rage as he strained his ears to hear through the heavy iron. That female just didn’tlisten.
“I’m not supposed to let anyone in without Master Jaxon—” the guard said.
“Have you not been here every other day Jaxon has dragged me down those million steps?” the Healer snapped. “If this prisoner he’s so worried about dies onyourwatch?—”
