I could not dwell on that. I had to get out of this damned bathhouse, rescue Isanara, escape Balar Shan, and get back to the gates. If I was away too long, the gods would seek their vengeance, and whatever Isanara suffered now would be multiplied tenfold.
The best I could tell, there was only one entrance to the bathhouse, through an ornately patterned archway decorated with orange and turquoise triangular tiles. No matter where I positioned myself within my salt rectangle, I kept my eyes fixed on that archway.
She appeared as I rearranged my legs on the cold tile beneath me for the hundredth time, a snaking breeze announcing her arrival while simultaneously carrying away the sound of her footsteps.
Her wind-gifts had moved her feet with unnatural swiftness as we attempted the Seven Gates. But here in Balar Shan, Alize’s movements were slower, as if she did not want to showcase the strength of her magic.
I made no attempt to hide my glare as she walked closer, stopping just short of the ring of salt. I did not miss the sparkle of satisfaction in her eyes as they traced the perimeter of my makeshift cell.
I should have kept my mouth shut. But control had never been a particular strength of mine. “Enjoying my torment?” I spat.
“A little,” Alize admitted. The corner of her lips twitched upward in a familiar smirk.
Garrick.How had I not realized they were related? Now that I knew, the resemblance was so clear. Their skin was the same shade, though Alize’s appeared more golden because of her brown hair and bright eyes. Even the arch of their brows and the shapes of their mouths were echoes of one another, hers more delicate and feminine, but undeniably similar. I’d thought them lovers. The connection was much deeper than that. Lovers came and went, but blood was forever. I’d demonstrated that with my devotion to my sister Rylynn’s line, right down to Kyrelle.
So why did the empty cavity in the center of my chest ache?
Isanara, my mind supplied quickly. But the shape of my pain was bigger than even one insolent lavender dragon could fill.
I turned that pain outward, as I had always done. It was easier than feeling it.
“You knew all along,” I said. It wasn’t even an accusation. It was a statement of fact, bitter and harsh.
Alize stood above me. I refused to acknowledge the disparity by moving.
She pushed her lips together, mouth pursing as she considered her response. She crossed her arms over her body. “Would you believe me if I said that I did not know the extent of his dealings with the head witch?”
“No.”
Neither of us said his name. I told myself that if I did not say it, I was not thinking of him. I did not care about Alize’s reasons.
She shrugged. “Then I will not waste my breath trying to convince you.”
That grated on me even more. I wanted a fight. The pain in my chest spread to my limbs, the pounding of my unreleased power mingling with anger.
“They sent you to make sure he stayed true to his word.” This time I could not keep the emotion out of my voice.
Alize’s face transformed, the detached amusement curling into vehement rebellion. My words had struck something inside of her, but I was too deep in my own icy burn to analyze why.
“No one sent me,” she hissed through her perfect front teeth. “I am the second-born of my family. The Seven Gates are my duty and my right.”
Whatever the fuck that meant.
It was important to her, but I did not care what was important to her, nor how her brother fit into it. My only concern was getting out of this cell, finding my familiar, and escaping Balar Shan. Severing the Lifebind… it did not even matter. I did not care if his life was tied to mine. I did not care about his life at all. He deserved whatever happened to him as a result of his traitorous choices.
Alize walked the perimeter of the salt, balancing easily on the narrow strip of tile between two of its edges and the deep baths that dropped off on the other side. When she returned to her original place, her face was once again under control.
I could not say the same about myself. I was seething. Keeping my power from exploding outward and eviscerating everything—including myself—took almost all of my energy. My power surged with my emotions. It always had. But with that ring of salt, I was not even sure it could explode out of me. And if it did...
“I half expected you to be gone,” Alize said.
I said nothing. She was a fae princess. Balar Shan was called the Court of Lies, and she had been raised here. Every wordout of her pretty mouth was nothing more than a carefully constructed trap.
I closed my eyes and focused on my breath, just as Tomin had taught me. I would see my friend again, I told myself, at the Peace Gate.Friend. The word was unfamiliar, even in my mind. It was a weakness. But lying to myself about it did not make it any less so.
The rustle of silk and velvet told me that Alize had crossed her arms over her body again. It was her preferred position. “I did not expect a witch as coveted as you to be so easily contained.”
Another trap I could avoid.
