“What?” Came the muffled reply, voice hoarse from overuse.
“Safira? Can I come in?” I asked, hesitantly, my hand on the doorknob.
“Fine,” She replied, low and monotone.
I opened the door to see the room had been trashed. Things had been thrown every which way, with paintings ripped and thrown on the floor, cushions punctured and scattered. It was an absolute disaster.
I’d certainly done this myself once or twice. When everything had gotten to be too much, I let it out on some shitty space we’d managed to find. Since Safira was sitting on the floor with her back to the now cushion-less sofa, I slid down next to her.
“Are you okay?” I asked quietly, getting a rough chuckle in return.
“Why do you care? I know my friend tried to kill you, and we’ve been competing against one another.” She threw her hands up in the air slightly. “Congratulations, you’ve beaten me.”
“I’m not sure Zumra was ever anyone’s friend, to be honest,” I said, watching her eyes close in pain, telling me everything I needed to know. Their dynamic was a forced one based on proximity, and Zumra had to have taken her nastiness out on Safira more than once.
“And it seemed like your father was pretty mad. I thought maybe you could use someone to talk to,” I admitted with a shrug.
Cobalt blue eyes found mine, and I swore I could see the mask crumple and fall off her face as she burst into tears.
“No one’s ever offered to talk to me before.” She sniffled, and my heart about broke for her. For all my struggles, at least I’d had Ula to talk to when I needed it. I debated what to do for a moment, but this whole experiencehad ripped away my armor, leaving bare the bleeding soul beneath who knew what having support meant to those of us who’d lived without it for so long.
“Well, you can have me now,” I offered sheepishly, watching her tears fall faster as she threw her arms around my shoulders in a tight hug.
“I’m sorry I let Zumra talk to you that way,” she said softly. “I’ve always just followed her lead. My father said if we wanted to keep our place in society, we had to make connections, so I didn’t know what else to do. If I walked away, he’d be so mad. Our parents are good friends, after all. But now he’s embarrassed because of what she did, and even if she was awful,” Safira nearly choked on her tears, and I ran a hand down her back comfortingly. “She was the only friend I had.”
“You can definitely do better than that,” I promised her. “I may not be much, but Amatista is a lord’s daughter too, and Faiza, while the daughter of an earl, is friends with the High King himself. Plus, both of them are so kind and just…good. It’s a rare thing to find.”
Safira chuckled, pulling back slightly and wiping the tears from her eyes. “You think you’re not much? You might be the daughter of the lord’s cousin or whoever, but you’ve been the talk of the court.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised. I thought I’d had a fairly good handle on the gossip raging across the court, but perhaps everything about me personally was kept well out of my hearing.
“Of course!” She smiled, but it was tinged with a delicate sadness. “It’s clear the king favors you, and everyone wants to know everything about you.” She giggled, shaking her head. “Even the peasants love you. They cheer for you in the streets. I’ve gone out and seen signs around the city. People who are following the competition have all made them for their favorite competitors. There’s more supporting you to win than anyone else.”
I blinked in surprise, not realizing that I was such a favorite. Or that others had realized that Azurill favored me himself.
That bit of hope stretched and grew within me, taking up yet more space.
“I can see it, you know,” Safira whispered, alarming me when I looked over to see her sapphire eyes were swirling, the blue forming layers that seemed to continue into infinity. “You’re on a precipice right now. One from which you could fall or fly. Your next steps will determine the course of the rest of your life. Yourruinor yourrise—and you’ll bring all of Gemaria with you.”
I shivered, knowing a prophecy when I heard one. I had known that Safira was adept at them, but I’d yet to truly see it in action. It meant one thing for sure: the time for delay was over.
It was time for me to confess everything.
And hope that Azurill didn’t kill the hope struggling to break free.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Jacinth
Iended up spending most of the rest of the afternoon with Safira, much to my surprise. But stripped away of Zumra and the competition, I’d found a very sad, lonely lady in desperate need of friends, andErodite, could I relate.
It also had the added benefit of wiling away the hours until night fell around us, which meant that fewer people would be populating the hallways now that I’d finally got up my nerve to speak to Azurill. The last thing I needed was witnesses seeing me going to his rooms.
Safira’s prophecy had given me the last push I needed. If my next steps were to determine everything, they needed to be the right ones.
Alfrikr led me there, looking curious all the while, but he dutifully announced me. After Azurill called for me to enter, I took a deep breath, my shoulders rising and falling as I contemplated the mess I was in. Alfrikr’s hand fell on my shoulder, and I looked up, catching his amethyst gaze. He nodded once, calming me slightly, before opening the door.
I walked in, feeling like I was marching to the hangman’s noose. Azurill was standing before a long kyanite blue sofa, its circular shape seeming to surround him from where he stood before its center. He looked momentarily surprised, but his eyes turned considering when he took me in. I was sure my nervous expression had clued him in to why I was here.
