Cason shrugged. “You know, enjoying her freedom and all it has to offer.”
Right then, Serill had never wanted to throttle his friend so violently. Brela had asked Serill to be what Cason needed him to be. To be a friend.
Cason didn’t need a friend right now. He needed a fist to the face.
Serill’s teeth bared. “I’m sure she’s really enjoying her freedom with significantly less blood in her body. Probably loves the feeling of all that hellthorn, too.”
Heat spiked as Cason’s eyes widened and flashed to Serill.
Boelyn straightened. “What does hellthorn have to do with this?”
Serill ignored him, taking another step toward Cason. “You remember how well she handled that poison in Valisea, don’t you? How she risked her life to get us this information? We found a lot of it in the forest—in theair.”
“She can handle herself,” Cason growled. “Probably went into hiding until the danger passed.”
“You know that’s not true,” Serill hissed. “Three of her knives were embedded in trees without any blood. She missed. Shecouldn’thandle herself.”
For a moment, Serill thought he’d finally gotten through to Cason. Believed he saw his friend somewhere in there—the one who could change the world with him.
His heart plummeted as Cason folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. “She’s not our problem anymore.”
Then, it was rage. Absolute fury that Serill had never felt before in his life. His fist slammed on the table in front of him. Even Cason flinched.
“Brela saved your gods-damned life. More than once, in case you’ve forgotten, or have you stopped counting because that number is so high?”
Cason launched from his chair, the glare back in full force. “Sheliedto us, Serill. She wasalwaysour enemy.”
“She hasneverbeen our enemy, and you know it,” the prince snapped back.
Cason’s jaw clenched, nostrils flaring as heat rose around him.
And then it all just… disappeared. Emotion, heat, tension. Gone.
“I don’t care,” Cason growled, then fell back to his seat. “You shouldn’t either. She’s not a citizen of Severina, and, if you recall your own words:not our city, not our kingdom, not in our control.”
Oh, Serill was going to strangle Cason for this.
Boelyn’s grip on his arm was the only thing holding him back. “He has a point, Serill. You’re a prince. You can’t mess with the affairs in other kingdoms, and Brela is not part of ours, nor would she ever be recognized as a citizen in any of the kingdoms.” His fingers loosened. “I’m sorry.”
Serill snorted, anger still curling through his gut as he glared at Cason. “She wanted to be your friend, Case. She wanted to bemore.Maybe you should be asking yourself why, after all this time, she still hid who she really was fromyou.” He turned to the door, still addressing his friend. “She may have kept secrets, but you know deep down she wasn’t lying about what she felt for you. I think you know you’re the one lying to yourself.”
54
The Final Scheme
The library felt empty. So many books, so much knowledge in one place, and yet the one place that used to bring him comfort now felt meaningless.
Serill stared at the couch by the fireplace. It felt like just yesterday that he and Brela had curled up on that couch. She’d laughed with him, teaching him a few words of the ancient shadow language from the children’s bookThe Shadow Wolf Under My Bed. How awful had those dreams been? But for some reason, he didn’t care when he’d seen the light in Brela’s eyes as they shared something in common.
It had only been an hour since they’d made it back to Aelstow, but Serill had been drawn here immediately. Cason had stormed off to his room, but Serill almost dreaded the idea of going back to his bed.
Because Brelawouldn’tbe sleeping on a bed.
Part of him believed he deserved to never sleep on one again. He wasn’t responsible for her capture, but he was almost certain his father was. Who had the king tipped off about her whereabouts? Why did he pay her when he was just planning on betraying her? Why hadn’t anyone claimed her capture?
Pointless, spiraling thoughts that would never be answered. The same ones he’d been mulling over the last few days while ignoring Cason. It was the longest he’d gone without speaking to his friend.
Cason didn’t seem inclined to talk to him either. The rigid captain was back—the glare, the constant ripple of heat, and the restless nights. Cason hadn’t slept more than half an hour at a time since leaving Rooke.
