I get to my feet, and Tiernon pins me with a stern look. “Tell me what happened six years ago, Arvelle.”
I tense. But deep down, I knew this was coming. Tiernon isn’t going to let it go. And some small part of me wants him to understand my hurt and rage.
Slowly, I lower myself to my seat once more. “Kassia and I were getting ready for our final fight in the Sands. We’d each won two solo fights and chose to fight the last round as a team.” I swallow thickly and meet his eyes. “My brothers wanted to go see the mine.”
“What are you thinking about?” Kassia asks, her delicate brow furrowed as she pulls her white-blond hair back into a braid.
“Death and money.”
“Ah. The usual then.” Tying off her braid with a piece of twine, she slings her arm around my shoulders. “Would you like me to distract you with plans for our future in the north?”
“Yes.”
She squeezes me tight. “Beaches and salt-tinged breeze, all the seafood we can eat, better schooling for the twins.”
There were no downsides for me. But for her …
“You’ll really leave your father?”
Her gaze drops to the ground. “He keeps insisting he wants me to get out and explore the world. When we win this money, it’s going to change our lives, and he told me I better not do anything stupid like stay behind for him.”
I don’t like the idea of leaving Leon here alone either. “We’ll convince him to come with us at some point. The twins will help with that.”
“We’ll help with what?” Evren appears, his brother by his side.
I glower down at them. “How did you get here?”
“Everyone was coming to the Sands. We hid in the back of a supply cart.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. Of course they did.
“You’re supposed to be with Mother.” I don’t want them anywhere near the fighting, and they know that.
“If you won’t let us stay, can we go to the mine? Everyone else is going,” Ger blurts out. “Can we—”
I shake my head. “The mine is incredibly dangerous.”
Just a few years ago, one of the emperor’s sons sent his scouts to search the mine for magical resources. They promptly found a vein of fulminar crystal. The incandescent crystal is legendary for its beauty, with some insisting the crystal is remnants of fallen stars.
It’s also highly explosive. And the emperor directs all of it to the front.
Ev heaves a sigh, as if he expected this from me, and yet he can’t contain his disappointment.
Ger scowls. “But—”
“I’m sorry, but you can’t go. We’ll take you to pick berries in a few days.” Once the fighting is over.
“Berries,” Gerith sneers, showcasing the gap where he recently lost a tooth. I fight to hide a smile.
“Yes, berries. Didn’t you ask for pie?”
“But—”
“Repeat after me,” I say. “We can’t go near the mine.”
“But why?” Ev asks. “Everyone else we know is going.”
“No, they’re not. And if they are, they’re risking their lives.” I stare down at their stubborn little faces. There’s only one solution to this.
