“Who?”
“The Withered. The ones who look at me and see something monstrous.”
Keres arched a brow. “Youaremonstrous. All great leaders are. The difference is what you do with it.”
I laughed under my breath. “Comforting.”
“You won’t get comfort from me, but if that’s what you seek, I have an idea where you can get it.” She smirked.
I scowled. “Shut up.”
She snickered.
The warmth seeped into my bones, loosening the ache in my chest that hadn’t eased since that moment I’d scorched Duron to dust. When I knew the rest of the realm would hear of it and know exactly what I was.
The steam shimmered between us, turning gold in the torchlight.
I leaned my head back against the stone. “You know, I never really had any real friends growing up. This is nice.”
“Just don’t start braiding my hair or talking about feelings, and we’ll be fine.”
“Is that why you chose all those males to be friends with?”
“I wish. You’d be surprised how many feelings they have.”
I laughed at that.
For a moment, it almost felt normal—two women soaking sore muscles, trading stories, pretending the world outside didn’t exist. The laughter faded, but the quiet that followed wasn’t heavy.
It was… easy.
Keres pushed out of the water first, steam rolling off her as she reached for her cloak. “We should get back. Rydian gets cranky when he worries.”
I nodded, standing and wading out after her. The air bit colder on my wet skin, but it felt good. Alive.
We dressed quickly.
Keres strapped her daggers back into place, watching me with that measuring look of hers. “You know they’ll keep whispering about you,” she said.
“I know.”
“Let them. They’ll see soon enough what you are.”
“And what’s that?”
Her smirk turned wolfish. “The thingof Heliconia’s nightmares.”
I didn’t have an answer for that, but the fire inside me stirred at her words. It wanted to prove them right.
When we stepped back into the tunnels, my chest felt lighter. For the first time in a long while, I wasn’t just fighting for the realm or for prophecy. I was fighting alongside someone who saw me—not the curse, not the chosen one—justme.Rydian had made me feel seen too, but he’d always wanted something in return. Keres didn’t want anything from me except equal treatment as friends.And gods help anyone who’d try to take that from either of us.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Aurelia
The tunnels widened the farther north we went. The walls that had once felt close enough to suffocate now arched high above our heads, forming a vast corridor of black stone veined with white and green. Every sound—the scrape of boots, the soft hiss of torches—echoed like the mountain was listening.
We’d been marching for hours already today, each turn and descent taking us deeper. I wasn’t sure how far we’d come anymore. Time lost meaning down here. There was no sun, no wind, no scent of open air. Only the steady rhythm of our steps and the whisper of magic in the rock around us.
