As Amira approached her door, she saw Rhay waiting outside.
He didn’t smile at her as he usually would. Did Karwyn get through to him? Breathing slowly, she mustered a smile. She didn’t want him to suspect anything.
“I was looking for you,” she started, but Rhay didn’t say anything. He just stared at her intensely as if he was trying to decipher her inner thoughts. “I’ve finished the book and I wanted to see if you had the sequel.”
His expression remained the same. “The book?”
“The human novel. You know, the one you gifted me.” She felt strange having to explain herself.
“I think one gift was enough,” Rhay said in a surprisingly harsh tone.
“Is everything okay with you, Rhay?” Amira moved closer as she lowered her voice. “Is it because of last night?”Or your conversation with Karwyn?
Rhay searched her eyes. His stare bored into her. “What about it?”
Was he playing dumb or were her memories from their two-person party wrong? “It’s just… You know what, it’s nothing.”
He avoided looking at her when he replied, “Actually, I think it would be better if we stopped spending so much time together.”
Amira’s smile crumbled. “Why? Did I do something wrong?” Was he really taking Karwyn’s words to heart?
Rhay gestured vaguely. “No, but as you know, I’m quite busy. I can’t spend all of my time with you. You’re a bit clingy.”
Clingy? Last night he’d practically begged her to spend time with him, and now this? He was the one who had kept trying to befriend her ever since she had arrived at the palace. Everywhere she went, he would be there, ready to distract her from the rest of the world. Now he was dropping her like a piece of dirty laundry?
“I don’t believe you. Let’s talk about it.” She tried to grab his arm but he pushed her away.
“Stay away from me, Amira,” Rhay said, stepping back. “I won’t tell you again. We never should have been friends in the first place. It’s only causing me trouble. And not the fun kind.” Rhay walked away faster than she had ever seen him walk.
Still in shock, Amira stared at her door way too long before finally going inside. Rhay had decided to follow Karwyn’s commands. Of course, what had she expected? Her friendship with Rhay couldn’t last forever no matter how much she wished it could. Her fiancé, like her brother before him, had decided that she deserved to be alone, isolated from any happiness.
Tears flooded her cheeks. Her heart felt utterly hollow. Rhay, with his boldness and wits, had managed to make the transition into the Turosian world less terrifying. With her only friend gone, was there anything good left?
Amira grabbed the familiar strand of hair and pulled on it with all of her strength. She needed her pain to be translated into something physical or else she was going to explode. Something dark was growing in her chest, nesting right next to her heart, ready to devour her completely.
Chapter39
Lora
When Lora returned from her shower, she didn’t notice Eyden sitting on her bed until her eyes met his by chance. He was quiet, looking up at her in the dim light. Their previous fight stretched in the air between them. They hadn’t had a chance to talk about any of it.
The fight. The current situation. What both of them would do moving forward. Lora had been waiting for the chance to talk to him alone but now that the moment presented itself, she almost wished they didn’t have to talk.
He had come back for her. He did care about human life. At least for one of them, two if she counted her own. Lora was scared whatever they’d say now would ruin it. It would ruin this image in her mind that he cared more than either of them would admit.
But there was no avoiding it. She had a decision to make after all. Lora had activated the tracker on her phone and it’d shown her old WiFi cube was still in Chrysa, close to where they’d left the fae. Maybe the fae was trying to catch someone else. Either way, they needed to wait. It might take another day until they could set off. In that case, depending on how deep into Rubien, or wherever, the tracker would lead them, they would still be gone Monday night.
Elyssa had said that they would leave on Sunday no matter what the tracker said. They’d have to take their chances and go into Rubien blindly. It was their best bet. Which meant by Wednesday, it should be done. But Wednesday was still so far away. It would be a long break from her search for a cure.
“Hi,” Lora said shyly as she dropped her towel and dirty clothes on the ground. She had changed into her other fae clothes that had been packed in her backpack. All her stuff was there just as she had left it at Eyden’s flat. Except the vial of blood. She hoped Sahalie didn’t still have it.
“Hey,” Eyden replied, sitting too still.
Lora’s eyes scanned the room as she moved her fingers through her wet hair. There was no other spot to sit, so she took a seat on the opposite side of the bed. She turned to avoid his gaze. The room was too quiet; it made the space feel suffocating with silent tension.
“So about—” Lora said at the same time as Eyden started with, “I’m sorry—”
“What are you sorry for?” Lora asked, tilting her head up. His vivid, light eyes struck a chord with her. There was a well of emotion hidden within the depth of blue.
