“Dimitri is fine, Valenia,” I reassured her.
“Val.”She looked up at me—finally. “It’s just Val.”
Her eyes, which were no longer rage-filled, were just as breathtaking in that moment as they had been the nightwe’dmet. They were such a deep blue that they reminded me of the water of Cynth Bay.
“Val,” I breathed softly, trying the nickname out on my tongue.
A wingbeat later, she cleared her throat and took a step back, our hands falling apart because of it. To my surprise, I found myself disappointed at the sudden distance.
“What sort of things were you testing me for?”sheasked, and it was like I could see her carefully crafted walls going back up around her.
Why did I find myself wanting to tear them down?
Shaking my head, I sighed.“I just… wanted to get to know you better. How afaefights says a lot—especially you, being a female in the North,” I explained. “The fact that you know how to fight at all says all I need to know.”
“Oh?” she said, her interest piqued. “And what did you learn?”
“Well, mostly this confirmed whatI’dalready thought—that despite how you appeared back at the ball, youdon’thave a purely noble background, if at all. Andyou’veobviously been well trained—though by who, Ihaven’ta clue. The lightning was a pleasant surprise, though.”
At that last comment, she looked slightly pleased with herself.
“You knew I wasn’t of the noble class, even the night of the ball?”sheasked.
I nodded.
“And yet you still allowed me to vow myself to you,” she continued.
“Nobody has ever beenbraveenough to try to harm me—or spy on me, or whatever it was you were up to—within the walls of my own castle before. You… intrigued me, is all.” I ran a hand through my hair, the white strands insisting on falling into my face.
We’dlapsed into a moment of silence when she blurted out, “I meant it, you know.I’drather you be upfront and ask me things, instead of randomly being tested.”
I pressed my lips together to hold back my wince. I guess it had beena sortofoddplan, to say the least.
“So,you’renotof thenoble class. Were you at least raised in Hollis?” I asked her, taking advantage of the moment while I could.
“Yes.”She nodded, taking a seat on the railing of the balcony.“My older sister and mother raised me in our cottage, on the outskirts of Hollis. My father died in the war when I was an infant, so I never knew him. Mother and my sister, Nat, did their best to keep me out of trouble, but I suppose itdidn’twork very well in the end.”
“What—”
“My turn,” she corrected, holding up a hand. “Can you only wield fire?”
A question for a question. I supposed that was only fair.
“It’sthe only one I have some control over, but I can…sensethe earth below, as well as its shadows. I know I can wield them, too—I justhaven’tfigured it outyet.” I looked down, my cheeks and the tips of my earsheatingup slightly with shame.
Val nodded, then motioned for me to go ahead.
“What kind of trouble did you find yourself in?” I asked, taking up a spot next to her on the wooden railing, sitting closer than I knew Ishould’ve.
“All sorts,” she sighed. “It started with me justhanging outwith the wrong crowds, but one thing led to another until I was tied up in some shady organizations. That was where I was trained to fight—in hand-to-hand, and with myzirilium. I was the only one in my family that could wield lightning after Father died. My family…didn’tknow what to do with me.”
I’dalways known there were organizations flying under the radar in the North. Most of the time it was about petty crime, butI’dheard whispers about bigger goals.
Like taking what was mine.
“How is it possible that you still can’t tap into all of your zirilium? You’re far past the age for it,” she questioned next.
How could I explain without making Father sound bad?
