Griff was a thundercloud. “There’s nothing funny about this situation. She accused the princess of assault.”
“With what evidence?” Finn was still laughing as Griff turned to me.
“Did you burn her, Lexa?” His voice was intense.
“Maybe a little.” I held my ground as his face went blank, and not in a good way. Really? He was going to take Aine’s side without hearing mine?
Maybe Iwasjust a duty.
“You can’t just go around burning anyone who irritates you.” He spoke to me like I was a child who had been caught misbehaving.
“Are you the same Griff who told me ‘I will not be held responsible for what happens to people who touch you without permission’?” I asked him incredulously, pitching my voice low to mimic his tone. “She was touching me without permission. And refused to remove her hand, despite my asking her to do so several times. If she was a man, you would be applauding me for defending myself. So tell me, Griff, is this because she’s female or because she’s your lover?”
His eyes went wide. “She isnotmy lover.”
“So I’m only allowed to defend myself against men. Got it.”
I started to walk away, but Griff’s arm shot out and captured my wrist to prevent it.
“Lexa—”
I looked pointedly at where his hand was on me and he snatched it back.
“Excuse me.” I was proud of myself for the politeness of my voice.
As I strode down the hall, I heard Finn muffling his laughter. “Well done.”
“Shut up,” Griff snapped.
I didn’t have time for Griff’s shit right now. I focused on thinking over what I could have done differently with the boy. If I could have acted faster. If my actions had doomed or saved him. The other part of my brain was still dedicated to puzzling through why Cormac had that same tattoo on his arm.
There was nothing I could do about Cormac, but there was one thing I could do. One action I could take.
It still amazed me that I had figured out my way around here. I made it to the healing wing—maybe not via the most direct route,but I didn’t get lost on the way. Everyone was busy and I didn’t want to interrupt their important work, so I settled into a chair and prepared to wait. As soon as I sat, the energy expenditure caught up with me and I groaned, every muscle feeling tight and weak at the same time. I’d had no idea healing could be that energy-intensive, but it made sense.
“Lexa?”
I came back to myself. I wasn’t sure if I had dozed off or just zoned out, but I looked up to see Andrei’s kind face.
“Lexa, are you alright?”
I hastily stood. “The boy. The soldier? How?—”
“He lives.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding.
He put his arm around my shoulders, leading me down a hall. “You did good work. Quick thinking with him. You bought him time he desperately needed.”
We paused outside of a room, and he pushed the curtain aside slightly to reveal a bed with the boy asleep but clearly alive.
“Freya said so, but I didn’t believe it.”
He dropped the curtain. “Believe it, my dear. You were a hero today.”
We started to walk away when I halted mid-step, Andrei stopping alongside me. “Can you teach me more?” I asked, perhaps impulsively, but feeling deep in my bones that this was important. “Clearly, the basics were beneficial, but if I had more knowledge… I’d like to do something good with all this power.”
His smile lit up his face. “I’d love to teach you. Yes, there is certainly more we can do.”
