IWILL ACT LIKEIHEARD NO MENTION OF CELLS AND BEDROOMS, Quincy says, and Astrid shoots him a grateful look. ASTRID, WE MUST LEAVE.JESSA IS CONCERNED.
She nods dumbly, not quite able to fathom that Zryan has just revealed her Gift to her. His gaze searches her face, trying to ascertain what this means to her, but Astrid only feels a crushing disappointment. Of all the Gifts she could have manifested, it had to be this. And she’s had it the entire time she’s been in Vatra.
She needs to speak to Bastet, find out if he knows anything more about his Gift. Oh Goddess, Bastet. That’s why it took him so long to recover after the assassination attempt, why he was so emotionallydrained—because Astrid had drawn his magic from him to fuel her Gift without knowing. His poor little body was pushed to the limit. Guilt mingles with the disappointment. Fear, too—she could have killed him.
“Are you alright?” Zryan asks.
“Yes, sorry—I’m fine.” She can tell she surprises him when she rises on her tiptoes to kiss him lightly before bending down to pick up her mask, brushing the snow from the panther’s wings. “Thank you again, Zryan.”
He smiles at her, though it’s a sad smile. He knows what she’s implying. That this, this moment in an enchanted wood, might be all they ever get, because once they leave this little pocket of peace, they’ll be on opposing sides once more.
She’ll need to kill his sister.
He needs her to die.
She backs away from him before her will fails her, falling into step beside the familiar. And regardless of the dread settling inside her at the revelation of her Gift, she can’t help the smile that lifts her lips.
36Skylar
The Heart. They’re taking the Champions to the Heart.
She lets go of Luc’s arm. He sprints away, barging through a couple on the dance floor.
She needs to talk to someone about this. She needs to find out where the Heart is—so she can go there, save Cam.
Astrid. Astrid has been looking for information on the Heart. She needs to find her. Find out what she knows.
“Skylar?”
She whirls at the sound of her name, to see Axel moving toward her through the candlelight. His gaze travels over her face, and she can’t quite tell what he sees there.
“Done with the queen so soon?” Her voice is a taunt, though part of her brain is still elsewhere. The Heart. She needs to find the Heart, in order to find Cam. She needs to find Astrid, she thinks again. But doing so among all the sections at the Masked Ball, especially given that Astrid might be otherwise… engaged… seems unlikely right now.
She exhales a slow breath. Tomorrow. She’ll have to speak to her tomorrow.
Axel is still staring at her. She frowns. “What?”
He reaches out, traces one finger over her jaw—like he is tracing an invisible line there. Tiny pinpricks of warmth dance over her skin at the contact.
“What happened?” he asks, dropping his hand to his side. She reaches up to her face, trying to rub away the lingering sensation of his touch.
“Nothing,” she says. He looks down at her bare arms meaningfully—and she sees, then, the lines of black. Disappearing slowly, but still obvious. She shrugs. “Had a run-in with someone who thought a bit too much of himself.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep. Thought I’d use the opportunity to test out my control skills—you should be proud of me.”
“I see. And is this person… still alive?”
Skylar huffs out a breath—as if this question is stupid, when, in fact, it wouldn’t have taken much for her to go there just now, and she knows it. “Yes.”
He nods slowly. “Alright, then.”
“What, no lecture?”
“I’m hardly one to lecture about the morality of using one’s power, am I? And you’re right—I’d rather you learn how to use it. It’s what’s going to save your life.”
There’s a beat of quiet as shadows dance at their feet. For the first time, she thinks of the man she met—the man who had saved her—out in the Stone City that night. The man who had controlled shadows in a way only dragons should be able to.
