“Another thing I’ve failed at,” he grumbles under his breath.
“That isn’t what I mean.”
“But it’s true, isn’t it? I didn’t prepare you properly. I don’t think I’ve fully convinced them of what I said happened in the Mortal Kingdom. I couldn’t save you from more pain caused by your uncle—”
“Nox,” I cut in, moving until I’m right in front of him, my hands grabbing his. “You arenota failure. You cannot hold yourself to these impossible standards.”
“Nothing should be impossible when it comes to keeping you safe,” he counters, his voice gravelly. “Ican’tfail at that.”
“Iamsafe.” At my words, his body softens against mine and he wraps his arms around me. “Do you think we should tell the council the truth?”
He sighs but shakes his head. “I’ve thought about it, but you saw how they treated you just thinking you were from a small town here in our kingdom.” Noting the puzzled look on my face, he adds, “My father told me what they said to you andaboutyou.” The last two words are growled from between his clenched teeth. My thumbs rub his cheeks as he exhales slowly. “They won’t understand. Even knowing that your bloodismage, all they’ll hear is that you’re from the Mortal Kingdom, and they will think even worse about you under theguiseof safety for the kingdom.”
I nod my head though my heart sinks into my already aching stomach. Maybe before today, I might have pushed harder to tell them, but the council already has a person in mind for who they want to be their future queen, and it isn’t me. “Then what do we do?”
“I don’t know. I hate lying as much as you do, but I think it’s our only answer right now. The less people that know the truth, the safer you will be.”
Worrying my lower lip, I think about how Nox doesn’t know that I have told someone. But Elora is my friend, and she has already proven that she is trustworthy. She could have gone to the council at any moment once she realized I was lying about where I was from, but she hadn’t. Even though the logic is sound, the words are still rushed when I say them. “I told Elora.”
Nox looks confused before the statement begins to sink in and his lips flatten into a straight line. “Told her what, exactly?”
“Everything. Well, not what my magic can do and nothing about the Middle. But everything else.”
“Why?” he whispers, not in tenderness but in barely tempered frustration. “I amlyingthrough my teeth every day to a council who—” He stops abruptly and squeezes his eyes shut as he shakes his head. “Why would you risk it?”
Stepping back, I create space between us and intertwine my fingers together in front of me. “You told Cassius.”
He exhales a short breath while drawing a single brow up. “Cass has been my friend for my entire life. I trust him implicitly.”
“Elora ismyfriend. She won’t say anything.”
Nox moves from the door, his hands braced on his hips as his steps rattle the floor with his pacing. “You don’t know her well enough yet to know what her intentions are, Sunshine. You’ve never experienced someone being polite to your face and then plunging a dagger into your back the moment you turn around.”
“She wouldn’t do that.” I scowl, nervously clutching the dragon pendant as I challenge Nox. “Itrust her.”
His hands run down his face as he chuckles without levity. “Gods, what if she says something to the council? I need to speak with her and make sure—”
“Like youspoketo Daje?” I snap. Both halves of my magic stir to life within me. The dark shadows peek in curiosity from beneath the restraint I have on them, but with a deep breath, I settle both the dark and the light magic back down. The small stone in my grasp seems to hum against my skin.
Eyes stunned wide at first, Nox recovers quickly and splays his arms out at his sides. “Yes! I will say it as often as I need to; I will dowhateverit takes to make sure you are safe.”
“By threatening our friends?I don’t want that!” My chest heaves with my own conviction, but tears crest my eyelids while we stare at each other.
The hard lines of his expression dissipate as he holds his hands out in front of him. “I will not threaten Elora, but I would like to talk with her.”
“Why?”
Magic thickens in the air around us, hisandmine. His answer is spoken gently despite the harshness of it. “Because you don’tknowher—”
“Just because she hasn’t been a lifelong friend doesn’t mean she’s an enemy!” The room around me begins to blur, my throat growing too narrow.
“And just becauseyouthink that doesn’t make it true.” Softly, it’s spokensosoftly. As if coaxing a wild animal into a cage.
I gasp as a thundering understanding pounds into my heart, nearly making me stumble backward. “This has nothing to do with how long I’ve known her,” I murmur, my tears breaking free. “I don’t care that you told Cass, not because he’s been your friend for a long time but because I trustyou.”
Nox shakes his head, a muscle in his jaw ticking. “That isn’t a fair comparison, and you know it.”
“What Iknowis that you don’t trust my judgment! And that means that you don’t trust me.”
