‘She was probably celebrating until the early hours,’ he says, a yawn catching his face. ‘As I was. I celebrated hard for you, Rose.’
An unexpected smile rises on my lips. ‘What a good friend you are,’ I say drily.
Benny grins. ‘Aren’t I? I wanted to check you were okay before I left.Those clouds outside have a familiar colour, and I thought it might have something to do with why you left your own party so damn sharpish.’
Fuck Kyor and his inclement pity party, I think before the first part of Benny’s statement penetrates my skull. ‘You’re leaving?’ I say, my breath hitching as I spin back to face him. ‘Already?’
His broad grin drops away, and his eyes are sad as they hold mine. Reluctance is in every line of his frame. He doesn’t want to leave me either. ‘Yeah, I am. I’m due to catch a boat this evening. This is my last day on the mainland. I need to get back home. Obligations. Things to do.’
‘Do these things have to do with the fact that no one from the Isles won the Retterheld?’
‘Possibly …’ he admits sadly. He scrapes a smile onto his face and makes an effort to shake the melancholy away before it seizes him. ‘I’m so proud of you, Rose. A little jealous, yes, but damned proud.’ With a tilt of his head, he scans me up and down. ‘To be honest, I thought you’d be looking a bit happier.’
I offer a wan smile. ‘Yeah, me too.’
‘You want to talk about it?’ he asks. ‘I have time. I’m not Llin, but I reckon I can nod in the right places. Tell you what dicks men are. Myself excluded, obviously.’
‘Obviously.’ This time the slightest form of a laugh manages to escape, and I purse my lips thoughtfully. ‘You know what, thereissomething you can help me with, actually. Come on.’
Without another word, I grab Benny’s hand and lead him into the dining room. ‘You can help me eat some of this,’ I say, pointing at the table in the centre of the room.
Benny grins. ‘Now that I can do.’
We dig in with gusto.
‘So what’s going on, Rose?’ Benny asks as he takes a bite of toast. ‘I expected the gifted to be celebrating in luxury. Either that or still in bed … with company.’
‘Kyor and I are over,’ I start with. ‘And then there’s the little issue of?—’
I stop myself just in time, amazed at how easily I was aboutto release the secret that my little brother was alive, given how it could lead to him being killed.
‘What is it?’ Benny frowns. ‘What’s the little issue?’
I shake my head, trying to shrug it off like it’s nothing. ‘It doesn’t matter. Just Kay. That’s all. Things going on with her.’
It’s not a lie, but I still feel bad about only giving him half-truths. After all,things going on with Kayis a massive understatement. She might not get killed the way William would be if the truth came out about him, but she’d be stripped. Stripped of magic I’ve not even seen return to her yet.
There is one thing I can share with Benny though.Onlyhim. And Gods know, I need to talk to someone about it.
‘There’s something else.’ I lower my voice, causing him to momentarily cease his masticating. ‘I lost control. I used my ice powers on Jonas. Accidentally.’
‘They’re not gone?’ he asks in surprise, but I’m glad that’s the question he chose. NotwhyI used them on our former ally.
‘Apparently not.’
‘That’s not ideal,’ he mutters, running a hand through his hair.
‘No shit. I nearly killed him.’
As silence forms between us I pick up one of the many pastries still on the table. It tastes sublime and is easily as good as anything we had in the Retterheld, and yet my appetite has diminished substantially since we first sat down. Nothing like talk of betrayal at breakfast to really curb your appetite.
‘Listen, Rose.’ Benny leans forward and breaks the silence. ‘Come with me. You’d be more than welcome on the Isles. I know Llinos told you as much.’
I try to reciprocate his smile, but I can’t. As much as I would love to get on that boat with him and forget that the High Hold even exists, there’s no way I can leave now. Not with things the way they are. Not with my brother and sister here.Besides, it’s not like the Isles are without pain. The memories of Llinos’s mother and her sister, Carys, holding me tight are buried in my bones now. To be on that land –her land– without her would be like feeling her loss over and over again.
‘Look,’ Benny says, catching my eye before I can reject his offer, ‘whatever’s going on with you and Kay, you’ll sort it. I’m sure of it. You won the freakin’ Retterheld for her, right?’
Before I can reply, the doorbell chimes, and we both automatically stiffen at the sound.
