“I swear.” She raises her hands. “She attacked me from behind, and I was defending myself … mostly.” I follow the path of her eyes as she watches a small insect crawl across the floor and slip through a crack in the wall. No doubt she’s wishing she could escape, too.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many bugs in one place,” she says absently. “Above ground we don’t have many animals, and very few bugs have survived the Smog.”
“It’s sealed off from the Smog. Haven’t you been able to feel it?” I ask.
“No? At least, I don’t think so.” She looks down at her hands.
“That’s one reason we went below ground. The Smog doesn’t affect us as much down here.” It was the only thing we could think of to protect ourselves here, and it’s worked well for us. But we deserve more, all the people of Lukasia deserve to see the sun.
She stares hard at me like she wants to ask a question, but when she doesn’t, I offer a truce, “Try and heal it.” I tap my cheek, indicating that she should try to heal herself.
“I’ve never been able to heal myself very fast,” she says flatly, like she thinks I don’t know that. There are a lot of things she still thinks I don’t know about her.
“This place has already proven to make you stronger, don’t you think? You healed from that fall quickly enough.” I had thought maybe she had recognized the deeper well of power that being shielded from the Smog had given her.
She just shrugs from her seat, and I get the feeling she doesn’t want an audience when she attempts this particular task.
“We’re going to take this to your father. The two of you need to sort things out.” Konnor needs to properly threaten Shreya. If he doesn’t, I will.
“It won’t do any good. Besides, if she didn’t want me dead before, she definitely does now.”
“You really gave her a beating, didn’t you?” I shouldn’t laugh, but it does bring me a bit of joy to know Arina was able to hold her own. She will be fine while I’m gone.
“Would have been even better if I’d had my fucking dagger. Can I get that back?” she asks.
I would give it back if I could, but I need it for just a little while longer. “Not a chance,” is all I say.
“Can I ask you another question?” she says, finally breaching whatever topic she’s been trying to avoid.
“Please,” I say, not wanting to speak too much for fear of her losing her nerve.
She plays with a loose thread on the skirt she’s wearing and doesn’t look at me when she asks, “What happens when your mate dies?”
“I’ve heard it’s like being ripped in two. Like your soul fractures, and there is no healing, no relief, until you meet them again in the after.” Not unlike how it feels to deny yourself of your mate when she’s standing right in front of you.
“I didn’t even know mates were a thing until coming here.”
“Yes, there seems to be a lot of history being left out of your learning. I wonder, whatdothey teach younglings?” It’s a rhetorical question, and I hope she knows my seething anger isn’t aimed at her.
“I don’t blame her for hating me if it’s really as bad as you say.” She rubs her thumb along the wrap over her knuckles.
It doesn’t matter that Shreya’s lost her mate. She’s going to wish she had never touched mine. “We don’t tolerate this type of behavior down here. It’s one of things the Rhiza pride ourselves on. We are going to put an end to this. Now.” I haul myself up, and Arina rises with me.
“Where are you going?”
“We are going to speak with your father.”
She swallows hard. “No! I mean … didn’t you say you were leaving? You shouldn’t waste your time on this. Really. I can handle it on my own.” Her body is in front of mine, blocking the door, and it takes a grueling amount of effort not to touch her.
“Get out of my way,” I say softly, hoping she will comply, knowing it’s not in her nature.
She just stares at me, arms splayed out to cover the entirety of the door.
“Make me,” she says, and my resolve is broken.
I throw her over my shoulder in one movement, and do my best to ignore her protests as she swats and kicks and yells at me to release her.
NOT LONG AFTER I’ve dragged Arina to her father to show him her injuries, Shreya is hauled from her quarters to the throne room. Arina wasn’t kidding. Shreya definitely got the worst of things.
