Chapter Fifty-Five
Analleia
The light was gone, the utter bliss.
My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself in a room enclosed by windows, the sun beating against the panes.A dull ache throbbed in my head, my limbs heavy.I blinked, not remembering where I was.Why I was here.
I turned to the right, surprise jolting through me.
But maybe it wasn’t a surprise.
Maybe Ihadgone to the next world, because Nadiyah sat curled up in a chair beside the bed, her thick hair falling over half her face.
“Nadiyah?”My voice cracked, my throat dry.
Her eyes shot open, and she practically jumped into my lap, flinching in pain.“You’re awake!”
“How are you—”
“You thought I was dead, didn’t you?”She lifted up her tunic, revealing a row of neat stitches.“Wylan Athello knew what he was doing, struck without hitting anything vital.I played them all for fools, acted like I was dying.I’ve endured so much worse.They thought I was helpless and didn’t watch me as closely as they should have.They were stupid enough to take me to where they were holding Desmond.The first time they turned their backs, I incapacitated them and broke Desmond out.That’s when we came looking for you.”
I closed my eyes.“I’m sorry, Nadiyah.It’s my fault.It’s my fault you were captured.It should have been me.I should have waited for you.Should have tried to—”
“Hey,” Nadiyah cut me off, placing a hand on my arm.“We knew what we were risking, and we would risk it all again.You weren’t alone in this.We signed up for it.And Desmond...”
Her voice trailed off, as if waiting for me to remember something.
And I did.The events from the king’s chamber caught up to me, overwhelming me again.
“Where is he?”I asked.
“He didn’t—” She hesitated.“He didn’t know if you would want to see him.”
I might not want to, but I needed to.
Nadiyah stood from the bed and avoided looking at me.I frowned.She never shied away from anything.It took me a moment to understand it.
“You knew,” I accused.“Didn’t you?”
She met my gaze, guilt written all over her face.
They had lied to me.Both of them.
“Why?”I asked.“All this time, you knew.Why didn’t you tell me?”
She shook her head.“It was not my story to tell, and I think it would be better if you spoke to him first.”
I tried to bury the resentment.The hurt, but it rose within me unbidden.
“You weren’t able to find the man who killed your family,” I said.
