“Is it like emotional reactions, things you can feel, or is it with words? Does she speak to you?”
I hesitated but nodded, my eyes trailing up to look at him. “Is that normal?”
He pressed his thumb to his lip, swiping it across.
“The nature of the Bond varies from rider to rider,” he said. “I can hear Kingsolver’s thoughts, but most can’t. Flame can speak to all our tygers telepathically, as their queen. And now, I guess, toyou, as her chosen rider. Which is good. It should help with the Bond and with your magic.”
“I don’t—”
“Have much,” he said, his voice overlapping mine. “So you’ve said. Which is why we need to train you, swiftly and thoroughly. Before the Culling.”
His eyes returned to delve into mine, then traced my bare neck and shoulders. His usual air of arrogant confidence was replaced with something more uncertain. As if against his will, his large hand rose to skim the curve of my jaw.
I felt the tips of his calloused fingers brush against the lobe of my ear, then the warmth of his thumb as it lowered to stroke my racing pulse. I inhaled his scent of cedar and woodsmoke.
When he dropped his hand, my body swayed toward him before I could catch myself. I had to force myself to open my heavy lids.
My cheeks heated. What in the Kingdom of Sky was I doing?
Blake took a step back, his jaw tight.
“Tomorrow we begin.”
—
Edith was still in myrooms, half asleep on one of the long plush sofas by the fireplace. As I reached for the blanket to toss over her, she blinked her eyes open, looking up at me.
“You shouldn’t have waited up for me.”
“I couldn’t sleep without knowing you were okay, my dear.” She sat up.
My body sank into the soft velvet beside her, the cushions enveloping my exhausted body.
Edith looked at me apprehensively. “Tell me everything.”
I watched her, sensing her growing anxiety as I told her about my meeting with His Majesty, about the Diviner’s appearance andher cryptic words, the heavy weight of what had been set in motion.
The room felt smaller as I spoke, as if the fire and the tension between us were closing in, pressing down on us both. At one point, she stood and started pacing, her expression serious, the enormity of everything hanging in the air between us.
When I finally finished, I fell silent.
Edith grabbed my arm, her grip tight with urgency. “Rubi, you must run. Youmustkeep yourself safe—”
I thought of the vision from the Diviner, the warmth on my skin, the peace of knowing who I was and where I belonged. An end to this sourceless grief.
We fight.Flame.
A slow, simmering heat unfurled in my chest.
I met Edith’s worried gaze, feeling the fire in my blood settle into something unshakable. “No,” I said, my voice quiet but steady. “If we run, they will find us. We will never be safe. And…and I want to fight. To enter the Culling, the Raveling—to fix the Anchors and…”
I didn’t have to finish my words. Edith sank onto the edge of a chair.
“You want the boon. For you—”
“For my memories.”
Edith shook her head. “Rubi,please, listen to me. These warriors have trained their entire lives. You will have a month’s time. You can’t—you won’t be able to do this. Please, I cannot lose you.”
