“Nox and I stopped here on our last trip to Palatos,” he answers, a bundle of clothes in his arm. “And Nox was being broody about missing Rhea, so I gave him some space and found myself invited into Abi’s.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me before turning towards the door on the other side of the room.
“She’s great. Makes for a good listening ear if you want to go speak to someone about Bahira.”
I halt opening my pack to scowl at him. “Why would I talk to her about Bahira?”
“Since Bahira’s been home, it’s obvious that you guys aren’t on good terms. And, it’s none of my business—”
“You’re right. It isn’t.”
“But you need to figure your shit out so it isn’t a distraction.”
I arch a brow. “A distraction towho?”
“You. Her. Nox and the council. Anyone within a five foot radius of you two.” He pauses under the doorframe to look back at me. “Elora.”
I turn my gaze down to my organized pack, carefully lifting my clothing until I find my sleeping pants. “I don’t know why you think she would care.”
“You’re not entirely a fucking idiot, Daje, so stop acting like one.” In the silence that follows, I swallow and lift my gaze again. “She’s a good person, and she deserves better than to be caughtup in whatever fucked up feelings you’re dealing with. I’ve seen the way she looks at you, and I’ve seen the looks you give her.”
Fucking observant bastard.
Cass smirks as if he heard my thoughts. “Just… don’t be an idiot.”
“Sound advice,” I mutter as he goes into the bathroom. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, I draw a hand down my face. Ihadnoticed the lingering glances from Elora, but I’m ashamed to admit I hadn’t given them a second thought, not with my mind so preoccupied with the shit storm that had become my life. Cass is wrong; Iama fucking idiot.
A set of knocks draws me from my thoughts. When I pull the door open, fully expecting to see Abi with our dinner, it’s Elora instead. “Hey,” I blurt out, heat rushing up my neck.
“Hi,” she says, her lips pulled into a wide smile. With Cass’s voice playing in my ear, I suddenly become very aware of how close I’m standing to her. How closeshe’sstanding tome.
I shift, folding my arms as I lean a shoulder against the doorframe. “Everything alright?”
“Yeah. Yes, of course,” she stumbles, lifting up a small book in her hand. “You mentioned on the ride here that you would be open to reading some of the books I packed, and I thought I might bring one over in case you can’t sleep. Or don’t want to sleep.” She holds the book out to me, its gold-foiled lettering shining beneath the light of the spelled flames. Its cover reads:Our Neighbors to the West: What we know about the Fae. “I’ve already read it, but it’s always good to have a second pair of eyes in case I missed something.”
I sincerely doubt that she would have. What I know of Elora is that she is as steadfast as Bahira when it comes to finding answers. Plucking the book from her hand, I tuck it into my side. “Thanks. I’ll get started right away.”
“Perfect.” She pinches her lips together, drawing my gaze to her mouth. I watch them slowly release, too much time passing before I look back up. Only to find her watching me.Godsdammit, I hate Cass. Something flickers over her expression, but she backs away and tosses a hand in the air before I have time to sort it out. “Okay, goodnight!”
I watch her walk back to her room and shut the door before banging my head against the doorframe. “I’m going to kill Cass.”
Part Four
Just because what is inside of us is dark doesn’t mean that it holds less value than something light.
Chapter Sixty-Six: Aria
Somehow,I’veacquiredadagger Myla claims was once owned by her father. It’s the weapon I found at the bottom of the sea months ago as I was beginning my journey to the Northern Island, and yet,impossibly, it belongs to the father of the very female I’m now bound to. One who looks like she’d rather drive that dagger into my chest than entertain the idea that it was random luck or divine intervention that made it end up in the hands of herenemy.
“Did you bring it?” I ask. Myla had not returned the dagger to me during our last visit, and though a small part of me recognizes that maybe she does havesomeclaim to the weapon, a bigger part wanted what I had begun to think of asmyblade back. When I had broken through the chaotic waves of the ocean, their wildness due to an impending storm, Myla had already been waiting inside the cavern. She didn’t offer me a greeting in response to my own, just tossed me a dark red tunic and stood with a bored gaze. It’s the same look she’s giving me now. “I want it back.”
“What are you willing to give me for it?”
My mouth drops as a frustrated noise rumbles from me. “It ismydagger! You stole it from me.”
“You don’t get to claim I stole something that was my family’s to begin with,” she counters, folding her arms over her chest. I drop her gaze as I chew on my bottom lip. My entire life, others have easily dismissed me as nothing but an annoyance. And I had let them. Myla’s defiance of our life debt, her clear disdain for me, bothers me, because I haven’t done anything to warrant it. Nothing beyond being a siren. If she finds it acceptable to treat me this way, then what’s to stop me from reciprocating?
“I didn’t take you for a thief,” I say as I look back to her, mirroring her stance. “And certainly not one who preys on thoseweaker.”
Her lips quirk a fraction. “And you know me so well?”
