Shouldn’t Saydren be here to take care of her? Did Karwyn care about her at all? The thoughts in his head turned darker every minute.
“Do you need help?” Rhay asked. To lighten the mood, more for himself than Lora, he added, “A lot of fae have told me I have themagic touch.”
Lora’s head popped out from the door. “I’ll pass.” She had changed into a clean dark grey sweater and wide trousers. Her eyes still looked haunted.
“How are you feeling?” Rhay asked. The cut on her forehead looked clean and was already healing, but he knew it wasn’t her only injury, merely the only visible one.
“Honestly? I’m a mess,” Lora admitted, biting her lip.
“I’m sure you’re not used to being violently attacked.”
Lora smirked. “And you are? I thought the palace was safe.”
“It’s mostly safe.” Rhay struggled to find words. A part of himself that he had carefully kept locked up was finally breaking free, and he feared it would take down everyone around him.
“I want to train more,” Lora said, pulling him out of his spiral. “With weapons. So I can fight even when I can’t control my fire.”
“The fire is a nice touch, though.” Rhay winked at her.
Lora shook her head, her eyes pained. “It’s unreliable and dangerous. I don’t want my fire to be dangerous.Iwant to be dangerous.”
Rhay pressed her shoulder. “You did well out there, you and your fire. It’s all the same. It's allyou.”
Lora let out an audible breath, seemingly not convinced about her own ability. “Will you teach me?”
“It would be my pleasure.” A genuine smile stretched his lips before treacherous thoughts sneaked into his mind, erasing any joy. If Lora had grown up here, would Karwyn still be the one in the running? Would Rhay be in the same position, caught in endless darkness?
Rhay searched Lora’s turquoise eyes that reminded him too much of Karwyn. Yet they weren’t the same.Shewasn’t the same.
“You know what?” Rhay asked. “That almandine dagger you were admiring in our last training session—it’s yours.” Lora’s eyes widened. “I’ll get it for you tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” Lora replied, and to his astonishment, she pulled him into a hug. Rhay returned the gesture, careful not to put too much pressure on their bruised bodies.
When she pulled back, Rhay looked at her, an innocent fae thrown into the scheming hands of Karwyn. She clearly didn’t want to bow to his every whim.
If Rhay couldn’t get it together, couldn’t let himselfsee,maybe Lora could. Because even though Rhay had been blinded for a long time, he did notice Lora. Her strength, her empathy. HowunlikeKarwyn she truly was.
“There’s a secret door in the palace,” Rhay whispered quickly before he could change his mind. “It’s on the ground floor, far inside the left corridor. The door is grey like the walls. It leads to a staircase and then to another hidden door.” Rhay stared into Lora’s eyes, full of expectation, not fear. It pushed him to voice his realisation, “Iseeyou, Lora.”
Chapter26
Amira
Even though Amira didn’t like to admit it, she had grown used to the presence of her so-called maid. Her attention lingered on Elyssa as she opened a new book on the golden oak table. A couple of weeks had passed since Amira had agreed to take Elyssa with her to the library. Thankfully, Tarnan didn’t seem opposed to Amira taking her maid with her as if he was afraid to leave Amira by herself.
She was starting to notice small details about Elyssa. Like the way she refused to break eye contact with her. It was almost…endearing.
“What are you staring at, princess?” Elyssa’s voice took Amira out of her thoughts. She moved her gaze to the bookshelf behind Elyssa. A stream of light came in from the window. It wasn’t even noon, yet Amira was already exhausted from her research, or her lack of results.
Fidgeting with the sleeve of her long-sleeved lavender dress, Amira shrugged. The skin of her arm was bright red; she had been scratching at it ever since she had reduced her fortae intake. “I’m looking for my next book.”
Elyssa leaned back in her chair, her eyes calculating but in a different way than Amira was used to. It was almost like Elyssa actually wanted to know her. “You know, I expected you to be a spoiled party girl, not so much aresearcher.”
Amira thought back on the many parties she had attended back in Turosian. She could picture Rhay at one of the bars, handing her a drink, an easy smile on his face. Even weeks after her departure from Parae, Rhay hadn’t so much as written her a letter. He had gotten his wish—she was no longer his problem. The only letters she had received were from Saydren to remind her to act right and represent the Turosian court.
Amira hadn’t even had a sip of alcohol since she’d decided to quit fortae. She tried to convince herself she didn’t need it, but the truth was that she craved just one sip of wine, just one more taste of fortae. She hadn’t gone completely off it yet, the withdrawal would be too strong, but the quarter of the pill she’d taken earlier was barely enough to stop her mind from going to dark places.
If it wasn’t for Elyssa watching her, keeping any pills from her, Amira would have had a much harder time staying clear of temptation. She wasn’t an addict, but with the darkness cursing through her blood, Amira craved the safety fortae provided her.
