“Someone missed me,” I say playfully when he pulls away.
His gaze darts from my eyes to my lips and back up. “Well, you left me alone in bed. I woke uphungry, but you weren’t there.”
A shiver goes through me at his words. I lick my lips. He squeezes my hip tighter.
“Sorry, baby. Had a lot on my mind,” I say.
Instantly, all the humor and desire vanishes. Dread settles in its place.
Daegel notices the shift in my mood. He frowns. “What’s up?”
I glance over his shoulder to the cadets gathering their stuff after the lecture.
“I need to speak to you,” I say. “You have a moment?”
He nods and takes me hand. We walk outside, where we can have a little more privacy.
“Tell me. What’s on your mind, princess?”
My throat is dry. I swallow. Hard.
“Have you thought more about the trials? About what your father said?”
“Yes. I already signed up this morning.”
My stomach sours. I avert my gaze and nod.
I don’t know how to tell him.
I don’t know if I can.
“Phoenix?” Daegel’s voice is full of worry.
I step away from him. When he tries to close the gap between us, I lift a palm and shake my head.
“Phoenix? What’s going on?”
“So, your father told you to jump, and immediately you asked him how high?” My voice is shaking. “You’re ready to follow his orders so blindly?”
His lips part. He blinks at me, completely at a loss. His surprise at my words, the sheer cluelessness in his face, ignites anger inside me.
“I—” Words die in his throat. He shakes his head.
I cut him off. “Tell me, are you doing this because you want to, or because your father asked you?”
“Both,” Daegel says, defensively. “I told you I have high ambitions when I offered to be your mentor. I never hid it from you. I’d climbed the ranks of Ezkai before I met you, and I always aimed to reach the top. I didn’t know the opportunity wouldpresent itself so soon, but it was always my plan. Also, I have a duty to my family.”
Unbelievable.
“By choosing to fulfill your father’s wishes, you’re choosing your family over me,” I say. “And you promised you would distance yourself from them, remember? You told me that you don’t want your ties to Caligos to jeopardize my future in the Order?—”
This time, he cuts me off. “That was before the General was assassinated! Now, nobody stands in our way. I don’t see why I need to choose between yourormy legacy.”
I’m still as a statue. “What did you just say?Assassinated?The General was assassinated? When I shared my suspicions with you, you told me not to waste my time on conspiracy theories.”
Daegel blinks. Then frowns and shakes his head. “What? No. I don’t know. He died from a heart attack. That’s the official cause of death.”
I step closer to him. “You know something I don’t?”
