"Reverie Asherdoe," she replied as she took the drink. "These two call me Rev or woman. Though, I'm not entirely sure I'm calling them friends yet."
"What—“
"Fuck off, Rev," Dorian smirked. "You love us."
Reverie glanced between the two, coy smile on her lips, and she looked back to Bala.
"Never let them know you like them," Bala muttered.
"I made the mistake of telling that one already," Reverie said, pointing to Dorian.
"Oh no," Bala mocked. "You're stuck with him now. That’s good for me, though. And Corbin. He needed the help taking care of this one."
"Are you two done?" Dorian asked, and the two women smiled mockingly at him.
"Not hardly," Reverie said. "I've loads more to talk to her about."
"Is it making you uncomfortable?" Bala mocked. "Fuck, I can't wait to bring her to the Umber to meet Lex and your sister. We'll have a Dorian roasting party."
"Speaking of the Umber," Dorian cut in as he let the chair legs back on the ground. "I need to go."
"Sit down," Bala told him. "You're not going anywhere tonight. It's nearly dark. And it's the middle of the Deads. Unless you wish to die. The Aviteth and Aberd will have you before you know they're there. You can walk at first light. I'll have a guard lead you. I have some supplies to take with us when we go, and I could use a couple extra hands," she said, glancing between Corbin and Reverie. "We'll be a few hours behind. But I know how eager you are to get there."
Dorian's hand tightened around his cup, the thought of another night away from his sister making his insides squirm.
"She's okay, Dorian," Bala said again. "Really."
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
NYSSA DIDN’T KNOW she was pacing.
She didn’t know how she was on the beach.
But the cold damp of the sand meshed between her toes. The swirling wind whipped her hair off her face.
Alone.
Numbness filled her insides where her burning core should have been. Her cheeks stiffened with the dry of previous tears she didn’t know had evacuated her insides. She gripped the roots of her wild hair.
Back and forth.
One foot sinking into the crisp, wet ground after the other.
Shae's laugh in her ears. The grin of the Infi as he collapsed on that blade.
Stop it,she begged.
The wind whipped her bare back. It grazed over the streak of a healed lashing, but her muscle flinched at the memory of it.
Please.
The slop of mouths chewing food and slurping broth. The clank of silverware against wooden bowls. Her nails scratching on the wood as she was dragged into the other room. Blood pooling beneath her feet. The crack of her arm as it broke.
Water rushing over her face.
Nadir beside her.
His pinky wrapping around hers.
