‘Somehow I don’t think Zara and I are going to come out of this thing best buddies,’ I reply weakly. ‘But I’ll deal with that later. Right now, I’m starving.’
I would have thought that seeing that much death in one day would have destroyed my appetite, but apparently not. I eat more than ever before. Since moving into the barracks, my body has regained the ability to eat decent-sized meals, which means I’m actually putting on muscle. A very good sign. It’s only when we finish with the savoury and the sweets are brought out that Jonas joins us. He slides onto the bench on the other side of me, though he speaks to Benny first.
‘Sorry about being a little antsy earlier,’ he says. ‘Pain from the leg.’
‘No problem.’ Benny shrugs. ‘It was a shit day.’
‘Not all of it was shit.’ Jonas throws a glance at me, and I know he’sless than subtly mentioning our kiss. Nervousness pulses through me. I wish he’d keep whatever’s going on with us to himself, but it’s not like the rest of them don’t suspect already.
‘I just hope we get a decent amount of time to train before the next trial,’ I say, trying to steer the conversation. ‘And I hope it doesn’t involve things that want to kill us.’
‘Yeah, good luck with that.’ Llinos laughs.
‘What are everyone’s plans for later?’ Jonas continues. ‘I was going to finish up here and head to the battle yard if anyone wants to join me.’
‘Seriously?’ My eyebrows arch.
‘I need to stretch out a bit. Fancy coming?’
I don’t even hesitate with my answer. ‘Not a chance. I’m getting as much sleep as possible. Big day tomorrow.’
For the first time since I appeared downstairs, Llinos’s face lights up. ‘Oh my Gods, you’re right. The ball. Will we get to meet Kay?’
‘I’d assume so,’ Jonas answers. ‘I probably shouldn’t admit this, but my father managed to smuggle some information to me. He said he’ll be attending the ball with his wards, and I’m pretty sure that includes Acacia now.’
‘Truly?’ Tears prick my eyes at the reality of what Jonas’s news means, and before I can think, I throw my arms around him. ‘You have no idea how grateful I am. Honestly.’
As we break away from the hug, Jonas’s grin is almost as big as mine. It would be great if I had the power or influence to get letters in and out myself, but having a friend who can has to be the next best thing.
‘Just glad we could help.’
With my heart hammering, I sit back down, but I can’t get the smile off my face.
Llinos reaches out, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze. ‘You must be so excited.’
‘I am!’ My grin fades a little. ‘Though I’m also kind of nervous. Does that make sense?’ There’s a good chance that Kay’s still angry at me for entering, and there’s the added little issue of my not giving her a heads up about what I asked Artur to do either. Yes, there’s a fairly good chance she’s even more pissed at me than when I last saw her.
Llin snorts. ‘Not at all,’ she replies. ‘Come on, we’ll pick out your dress tonight. That way, I’ll have time to make any adjustments.’
Chapter 31
‘So,’ Llin begins, ‘Benny told me Jonas went all jealous on him earlier.’
‘He did?’ The comment catches me by surprise as, for the last ten minutes, Llinos has been examining the gowns in my wardrobe, her dagger dangerously close to the fabrics. There’s no chance any of these dresses are making it through the night without some serious alterations.
‘Yup, he thinks Jonas is too possessive of you. And he thinks he’s hiding something.’
‘Really? Jonas?’ Sure, Jonas isn’t a core part of the group, what with his flitting about between us and the others from Wrohelm, but he still worked with us and only us in the trials. ‘Why does Benny think that?’
‘Not sure, but he’s good at spotting people who are hiding shit. Then again’—she shrugs—‘he’s also completely paranoid. I guess that comes from his family.’
‘His family?’ I ask. I don’t know much about Benny’s family other than, like both Llin and me, he’s the eldest child.
‘Why’s his family paranoid?’
‘Oh, it’s nothing, really.’ She has her dagger against one of the dresses again, though this time it feels like she’s purposefully avoiding looking at me. ‘They’re just really wealthy.’
Given that everyone here except the knights is a noble, wealth is something I kind of expected. Though I suppose, like anything, there are shadesof it. In the slums we were the poorest there is, so even now I still have to stifle the urge to hoard extra food. Some habits are hard to let go of.
