“Oh my Goddess,” Rena squealed, startling me from my thoughts, “I nearly forgot to ask, are you coming to the celebration tomorrow night?”
“Celebration?”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “The first day of every week the barracks throw a party in honor of the first sun cycle, the sacred day of Soli. A large bonfire is lit in her honor, but really I think everyone just wants to get drunk for the night. The hangovers aren't the best, but I'm sure you have some potions that could help us with that, right?"
At my nod a wicked smile lit Rena's face as she said, "You and I are going to be such good friends, I can already feel it, Syra."
Chapter Seven
Iwoke to darkness.
My surroundings were foreign as I fumbled through the blankets that trapped my body to the mattress, my heart pounding as my gaze snapped to the door.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The knocks weren’t loud, but insistent, almost frantic in their repetition.
The palace. I was on palace grounds. My heart stopped entirely, frozen in fear. Had they discovered what I was already? Scrambling from the bed, I felt for the oil lantern I knew was placed on my desk to the left, my hand shaking as I struck the match. Careful to keep the flame from the two fingers I held it precariously by, I lit the wick.
I turned, lantern in hand, only to find Rena’s bed empty. The covers rumpled and strewn as if she had woken in a hurry.
Thumpthumpthump.
The knocks came quicker, angrier.
My hands fumbled for the dagger beneath my pillow before I faced my impending doom.
One.I let out a breath, steps hesitant.
Two.Another as I reached for the handle.
Three.If the Moon Goddess still listened to the prayers of her people, I prayed that Bran and Merle not be caught in my web of lies.
Four.I opened the door.
Roan Delmar stood on the opposite side, illuminated by the yellow light of the lamp. His gaze was furious, but it was the blood that streaked his face that caught my attention. Opening the door wider, I stepped back, taking in the scene before me.
Prince Kairen clung to the Kinslayer, one hand held to his side where blood oozed between his fingers, his brown skin sallow and sickly. Grunting under the weight of the prince, he practically shoved me as he pushed past.
“Where’s Rena?” His voice was ice, his jaw clenched as he carefully laid Kairen upon the floor of our dormitory, snatching a lavender pillow from her bed to lay beneath his head.
“I—” my words caught, too focused on the wound that continued to ooze blood.
He stepped closer, hands clenching at his sides, “Whereis Rena?”
My instincts reacted before my mind when he came too close, the blade in my hand flying up before I could think of the consequences that would surely follow. It pressed just beneath his chin, tipping his head back so his eyes were upon the ceiling.
He let out a low growl, his jaw tight as his hand snatched my wrist faster than I could comprehend.
Yet he didn’t take the blade from my grasp, didn’t bat it away. Instead he slid it slowly down his throat until it pointed to the hollow of where his neck connected to his chest. Leaning closer, a blazing anger still lingered as he stared back at me.
“If you’re going to hold a blade to my throat again, at least give me the pleasure of meeting your eyes,” he grimaced as he inched closer, digging the blade deeper. “I don’t have time to parry over sharp blades and even sharper words. Where the fuckis Rena?”
With a ragged inhale I stepped back, my head shaking as the blade dropped to my side. “I don’t know, I only just woke and found her gone. What happened to him?” My attention snapped back to the prince laid upon the floor. “He should be with the Master Healers, why is he here?”
He let out a curse, tension winding his body so tightly I thought his skin might crack and crumble beneath the pressure. “Master Healers aren’t an option, he’ll only see Rena for this.”
Chewing my lip, my decision was made in only a split second. I was on my knees beside the barely conscious man in the next, bringing the blade up.
