Elyssa shrugged again, putting her clothes on Amira’s desk and leaning against it. She almost considered not giving her an answer, but her curiosity won out. “What everyone in Turosian knows about him.”
“I haven’t been in Turosian long enough to know everyone’s opinion.”
“You haven’t made up your own?” Elyssa shot back.
Amira turned her head, lowering her gaze. “My opinion doesn’t matter.”
Elyssa frowned, stepping closer as if pulled by something invisible. “It does to me. I just asked you for it.”
Amira’s gaze snapped to hers, her eyes bloodshot. “You don’t want to know.” Her voice sounded final, broken. It bothered Elyssa more than it should.
“I’ll get it out of you sooner or later. I can be quite convincing when I want to be.” Elyssa smiled at her daringly, wanting to erase that sadness in her tone.
“Whoare you?” Amira asked, shaking her head.
“Let’s just say I’m someone who wants to use this opportunity to find out more about Liraen. I know you’ve been going to the library.” Elyssa pushed off the desk to draw closer to Amira. “Take me with you.”
“Why would I do that? What do you want to learn? You’re just human.”
Her grin almost slipped. “I’m notjustanything, sunshine. If you want me to keep giving you pills and keep your addiction a secret, you’ll take me with you. Besides, from what the servants are saying, your research is not going well, so the way I see it, you desperately need my help anyway.”
“I don’tneedyou.” This time, Amira stepped closer, but she swayed and had to put a hand on the doorframe to steady herself.
“Maybe you can’t find anything in that library because you can’t even goddamn stand upright,” Elyssa huffed. Amira’s bulging eyes made Elyssa smirk. She’d hit a nerve.
Shutting her eyes, Amira leaned her head against the wooden doorframe. She looked almost peaceful now. Her lips were slightly parted as she exhaled. Her long dark brown locks hung loose around her shoulders, almost reaching her waist.
The princess looked at her, and Elyssa could see how lost she was. Yet there was a hint of determination in her haunted eyes.
“All right. You can go with me to the library on two conditions,” Amira said. Elyssa noticed her hand shaking. Amira kept closing and opening it. Fortae must be wearing off. “One, you don’t ask me any questions about what I’m searching for and I won’t ask about yours.”
“Fair,” Elyssa agreed. She wouldn’t ask, but she could still find out. And even if she didn’t, she could find spell books. The rare kind Farren could really use.
“What’s the second condition?” Elyssa asked, genuinely intrigued.
Walking past her, Amira went to her bedside table. Opening the drawer, she took out a small leather pouch and let a familiar pill fall into her open palm.Fortae,of fucking course. The princess wanted more of it. Always more.
Amira met Elyssa’s gaze as she swallowed the pill. A second passed as the princess’ eyes fluttered closed. When her eyes snapped open again, Amira said, “You help me get off fortae.”
Chapter22
Lora
“Come on, love. I know you can do better,” Rhay said, lounging on a plush velvet chair that had been added to the training room. The wooden bench must have not sufficed.
Lora had been staring at the black wall for over an hour and had nothing but a faint flicker to show for it. The fire inside her was as anxious as she was. She couldn’t focus her energy. Every time she tried, her head filled with dark memories. Instead of Kelvion’s twisted face, she now saw Karwyn’s sadistic grin as he choked her. What would he have done to her if Layken hadn’t shown up?
The last two weeks had been too still. Since Karwyn had revoked her privilege to walk around freely, she’d been stuck in her room too much, Layken on her heels every time she went out. Every day, her family’s faces swam through her mind, haunting her. In her dreams, she could hear Maja’s voice telling her to hurry the hell up.
Lora had tried to sneak out her window, but it would only open enough to let in a sliver of fresh air. Obsessing over every little detail she could observe but not being able to actually do any spy work had driven her half insane.
She didn’t have enough distraction, enoughpurpose,to stop herself from thinking about her family back home. If only she could see them,talkto them... What were they thinking now that a month had passed since she’d last spoken with them? Did they think she was dead, or did they believe the worst of her, that she was willingly deciding not to reach out?
Lora had done nothing but train recently, yet Rhay had grown impatient with her. Was he disappointed in her, or did he not want to disappoint Karwyn? Varsha’s words still haunted her mind. Lora had been paying extra attention to Karwyn and Rhay’s interactions, but she had barely seen her diaboliccousin—the word still tasted bitter on her tongue—since their showdown, and never alone, thankfully.
It seemed impossible to figure out Rhay. He flirted with anyone, so it was hard to tell if he actually cared or was merely playing around. Yet Lora decided he must care for Karwyn if he had managed to deal with him for so long.
Her only relief was the runia Eyden had given her. Late at night, when Lora was sure no one was listening, she’d lock herself in her bathroom, turn the water on to drown out any whispers, and call Eyden. Somehow, he always managed to pick up. Like clockwork, they’d found a rhythm. It was her one distraction from this bleak existence as the bloody princess of Turosian.
