Ezer glanced away from the flame.
Until the end of her days?
She hadn’t even started her own life yet … not truly. She’d yet to learn who she was, and now she was busy trying to survive Six – a gift, in its own strange way – but beyond that?
Kinlear had promised coin for every day she survived. Mountains of it, enough to buy herself passage anywhere she wished, to see the places she’d read about in stories. She could doanything.Fall in love, if she wanted, or perhaps decide she didn’t want a man at all. But it would beherchoice.
Her steps would be free, untethered, because there would be no laws to stop her.
A thousand of them,Ezer thought.
The weight of that reality hit her like a rock to the chest. Because all she could think of was her old chains. All she could think of was dragging a thousand of them behind her for the rest of her days.
She would rather go back to Rendegard.
She would rather die young and free than grow old beneath the weight of a thousand laws she could never keep. She would rather die powerless than watch her youth crumble in the mirror because of a gift she didn’t even want from the gods in the first place.
So why did failing make her somad?
‘Gods be damned,’ Ezer hissed beneath her breath. ‘I can’t do it.’
A few eyes glanced at her.
So she focused and tried again. But the candle refused to obey her command.
A growl, and Ezer set the candle down. ‘Just goout,you son of a?—’
Her words died as the stone in her pocket warmed.
She sighed and closed her fist over it.
Yes, Your Highness?
His shadow fell over her, and she glanced up to find his blue eyes narrowed. His scarred face twisted in carefully controlled anger.
Mind your tongue. His voice slid into her mind. She hated how good it felt, how familiar he was already becoming.There are children here.
I’m well aware, she thought, holding his gaze. Several had already invocated successfully.
His voice sighed against her, and she gave an involuntary shiver.You can’t invocate through heightened emotions, like sorrow or anger. Humanity blocks your connection to the Five.
Then show me, Ezer said.If you’re so capable.
He raised a brow at her challenge, especially after the truth he’d given earlier.
For a moment, she wondered if hewouldfail.
His stone cooled as he released it.
And then he took a breath, and stood ever so still, as if he were placing every part of himself aside.
When he opened his eyes, he practically sighed the invocation aloud. On his tongue, the words were gentle. Natural. The flame flickered … and then flared with awhoosh. Tall enough that she yelped and shoved the candle into the bowl of water.
It splashed all over the floor, and a few children broke out in laughter.
Ezer could see their eyes on her. On him.
Her face grew hot, even as he seemed surprised at his own success.
