Tiernon’s eyes widen slightly. Likely, he’s surprised my words weren’t dripping in sarcasm or bitterness. After a moment of hesitation, he swallows. “Will you dance with me?”
I nod, no longer caring what the other novices think. I’ll be out of here in a matter of days, one way or another. Which means this may be the last time I truly talk to Tiernon.
He pulls me into his arms, effortlessly leading me in the complicatedfootwork. When I step on his foot, he laughs. “Clearly all those lessons I gave you didn’t help.”
“It has been years since we danced,” I hiss. “I’m out of practice.”
I’d never been sure why Ti had insisted on teaching me to dance. I was twelve years old when our lessons started. And he bribed me by telling me every hour I spent learning to dance would equal an hour he’d teach me to fight.
By then, I was deep in my training with Kassia and Leon, and I’d known Tiernon could teach me things Leon couldn’t.
I’d been right. Those lessons had kept me alive, while Kassia had died.
“What are you thinking about?” he murmurs.
I tell him. Sorrow fills his eyes, but he lifts his head, pulling me closer. “I know you’re still mourning, Arvelle, but choosing rage over grief will only work for so long.”
I wish I could argue but I know he’s right. Kassia’s death is a wound that refuses to heal. It festers and fevers and spreads infection throughout the rest of me.
“What do you want, Tiernon?”
He pulls me closer. “I want the old Velle. The one who threw her head back and laughed like this world was an endless source of joy and amusement. I want the woman who was relentlessly, furiously alive. And I won’t stop until I find her again.”
I look him square in the eye. “That woman is dead.”
“We’ll see about that.” He raises his hand to my forehead, his fingers stroking my sigil, and I know he’s noticed the tiny growth.
When he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, I sigh, nestling my face into his hand.
“I’m still not happy you’re here,” he says. “I’d carry you to the city walls and throw you out myself if I could.”
“We both know how that worked out.”
“Yes. I’ve been asking around. Finding out which vampires have been seen near the Thorn.”
“Ti—”
“I know you need to be here to protect your brothers, but I’m going to find out who sent you and why. And I’ll make sure you can leave.” He leans closer. “Even though you can only be here for incredibly dangerous reasons … I’m glad I got to see you, Velle.”
My eyes sting and I pull away, staring up at his breathtakinglyhandsome face. So familiar, and yet so different. Hunger flickers in his eyes, and my toes curl at the way he looks at me with such …need.
I raise my hand, stroking over the scruff of his jaw. “Are you ever going to tell me why you left?”
The music stops, and silence claims the room.
As one, everyone lowers their heads, and Tiernon backs away from me like I’m suddenly poisonous. I bow, canting my head to watch the emperor enter. His gaze finds Tiernon, who instantly strolls toward the front of the room.
Rorrik skulks to the emperor’s other side, his black tunic eating the light, while ornate silver buttons reflect it. Not many vampires would actuallywearsilver. Even brushing their hand against one of those buttons would cause them pain.
The emperor begins to speak, his voice a low drone in my ears. I tune it out, until his gaze flickers over the crowd, pausing briefly on me before moving on. My heart slams against my ribs.
Finally, the music begins to play again, and I wander back toward the edge of the room, drawn to the mural. Tiernon was close to telling me why he left. I know he was.
“Interested in the forbidden?” Rorrik purrs the wordforbiddenlike it’s something filthy.
A chill ripples through me and I stare at the emperor’s son. He appeared without warning, my senses failing me. He directs a single glance at the novices trailing after him, and they melt away into the crowd.
Rorrik takes my hand and my stomach sags with dread. What if I accidentally … mindpath to him again? Could he use that link to getinsidemy mind? I didn’t ask him if it was possible, and I don’t trust him to tell me the truth.
