There was a vibration in my throat as I shouted, a low hum beneath my words.
The Ambush Master pulled himself off the wall, stepping toward me—before he froze, hands suspended in the air. His slack-jawed face clipped up tightly, lips pursed and nostrils flaring.
“A liar and a traitor,” he snipped. “Tell me what you’re doing.”
My eyes narrowed into slits. “I’m not doing anything.”
“Your voice. The thing you did at the tavern. You just tried it again, to me.” Something new flickered in his eyes. “Do it again,” he commanded, voice deep.
I didn’t. Instead, I kept his eyes pinned to my own, dropping my hand to grab for his belt—
His fingers clasped my wrist, squeezing until I dropped the blade I’d barely managed to grab hold of.
“Clever Azure,” he chided. “I knew I was right about you. You’re lying about your power, what you can truly do. And I’m going to find out.”
The smile that split my lips then was bitter and bright. “Good luck with that, considering I’ll be slaughtered by a tyger tomorrow.”
“That’s your own doing,” he snapped and turned to walk away.
I called out to him. “Wait. My friend Edith. Can you make sure she’s all right?”
He paused, shoulders tense.
I drew in a breath. “Please.”
His face turned toward me, square chin dipping over the large muscles of his back, icy blue sapphires glaring at me.
He didn’t say anything, only staring at me. Anotherpleaseleft my mouth silently.
There was a lingering hum of magic. I nearly touched my throat to see if it was coming from me or from him before it disintegrated as he turned on his heel and left me behind.
—
Blake didn’t return for hours.I lay on the wooden platform bed, the thin blanket scratchy against my palms. I stared at the ceiling, counting the bricks—anything to try and lull myself to sleep. My legs bounced with the need to move, to fight, to do something, my body too antsy to rest, though I’d need it if I had even a chance of escaping the Arena tomorrow.
Bonding with a tyger was impossible. I’d be killed if I even stepped a foot toward them. My only chance was to run before they could get close.
The stolen coin burned faintly against my skin. I clutched it tighter. It was too small to be worth much.
Minutes dragged by.
I was shaking from terror and cold. I wrapped my arms around my knees and bowed my head. The fight inside me sagged under the weight of the silence. I’d be killed tomorrow in the Arena. There’d be no one to care for Edith, to make sure Quinn stayed out of trouble. And I would never get my memories back. I would never know who I truly was, who I’d loved and who had loved me.
I was an Azure. We were nothing to them.Iwas nothing to them.
A tear slipped down my cheek. I scrubbed it away, furious with myself.
I wasn’t nothing.
I wasn’t.
Breathe. Just breathe.Edith’s voice swept through my mind like a caress.
Trying to distract myself from the continuous spiral of my thoughts, I counted my breaths and took the coin out, turning it over in my hands. It was red metal, with a square hole punched through the center and symbols etched along the rim.
I furrowed my brow, a simmering recognition stirring.
Not just a coin.
