The dagger was cold in my hand as I pulled it from my thigh. It slipped from my shaking fingers, blade clattering against marble, sliding down the stairs with shattering echoes.
Right there, in front of everyone, I sank to my knees, wrapped my arms around myself, and sobbed.
My temper was still simmeringhours later. Unable to settle in my rooms, I wandered the many wide corridors of the palace instead.
He would not want that, they’d decided.
He’d want you safe, they’d insisted.
I hated that they were right. Leaving him to Kakias…it felt wrong. Allowing him to suffer went against every bone-deep instinct. To be her prisoner.
Spirits, the things she could be doing to him. Chains, blades…I shivered, his screams echoing in my ears. I clenched my eyes against the image of his face contorted in pain, the blood dripping down his body. I couldn’t?—
“Ophelia!” A gentle hand shook my shoulder.
I hadn’t even realized I’d fallen to my knees, still gripping the railing. Jezebel slipped a hand beneath my shoulder, hoisting me up.
“Are you all right?” she asked, worry creasing her brow.
“I’m fine.” My shaking voice betrayed me, but I turned away, staring out at the dark night sky.
“Mm-hmm,” she hummed, crossing her arms.
“What?” I hissed.
Jezebel’s eyes swept over me, tucking away details before I could hide them. But I was surprised when she said, “Nothing.”
I looked her over, searching for any conversation to grasp on to. Eyes landing on her crescent and amethyst necklace, the symbol seemed somehow familiar.
“The necklace is from Erista, isn’t it?” It was an exact replica ofthe tattoo around her arm, coupled with a classic Soulguider gem.
“She sent it to me when we decided to keep the secret. It’s a family heirloom—one her family didn’t care for enough to notice it was gone.” Jezebel brushed a hand over the emblem.
“That’s—wow, that’s commitment, Jez.” Warriors didn’t part with artifacts easily, and Erista had told us how seriously the Soulguiders handled theirs.
She brushed me off, but I caught her blush.
“So this isn’t a new tryst, then?”
She shook her head.
“Tell me how it began.” I looped my arm through hers. We strolled down the moonlit corridor, and I pretended I was okay.
“The last summer before the war.” When she’d attended a summer exchange in the Soulguider Territory. Before the war, Tol, Cyph, Malakai, and I had visited each minor clan for our own exchanges. Combining groups of young warriors was always unpredictable debauchery, and the Soulguiders were a welcome host.
“You hid it for that long?”
“We hadn’t intended to. But once the war began, politics wound their way into our relationship. We didn’t know how anyone would react to an inter-clan commitment.”
“It’s never been an issue before.” I thought of our own maternal grandparents—a Soulguider and a Mystique.
“But with such unrest…I don’t know, it felt easier to keep it to ourselves.”
A piece of me envied her for having that option. For her relationship not being on display for every warrior to discuss—and use to their advantage. A larger piece of me was grateful they were not subjected to the pain that publicity caused.
But I supposed the distance was a different kind of pain; the secrets causing their own wounds. It couldn’t have been easy. For the thousandth time in my life, I was impressed with my younger sister’s strength.
“And you’ve stayed together all these years?”
