I refrained from speaking more on the matter before I found myself sayingtoo much. A problem I never had before, until now.
Rahzlyn tucked her wet locks behind her ears. I tracked the movement. “Facing them, facingher… she, too, will know that me being Chosen is a mistake. Me? A queen?” A watery laugh bubbled up her throat, and it dawned on me that she was crying. “What a joke.”
Her silent tears pelted through the walls of my invisible armor. I’d never known how to console anyone—fuck, I’d never had to. But my hands itched at my sides to do something, anything, as I observed her.
Either she was the greatest actress in the realm, or she truly was a terrible liar.
If the former, what was her game? To lure me in with her fake vulnerability and gain my trust? If the latter, did she know how fucking easy she was to read?
Maybe it took more courage to be that exposed than to hide behind a shield.
“I am sorry, Raithe, about what I said to you the other night. That you’ve never known love? It was wrong of me to make an assumption about you out of anger.”
My chest tightened. “Don’t apologize for being right.”
Sadness softened her gaze. It wasn’t pity I detected, but true remorse.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” I offered finally, my skin crawling to change the subject. “I grew up in Scorpio. You didn’t. I spent most of my life on the Isles where we trained to keep our emotions in check. Geminians value mind over heart. It seems you were taught to suppress what was innate to you, and because of that, you struggle with how to manage them.”
“Clearly.” Her thighs shifted under the water. A mound of soap moved to expose wet, gleaming skin.
My fingers ran along the too-tight collar of my neck. “Look, uh, about your brother?—”
“You’re off the hook,” she said quietly. “I’m sure you heard Gregorios, but he’s dead. Markus and Allory…” Her teeth dug into her lips, perhaps to blanket the pain she felt more deeply. “They killed him. Everything I risked was for nothing.”
“Maybe not.”
Her eyes shot to mine, a thousand emotions brimming in them.
Felaf’s footsteps shuffled across the terrace from her chamber. “We won’t be gone long.” I scratched the back of my neck, wanting to say more but unsure how. Rahzlyn tilted herhead in anticipation. “Should you ever need another distraction, I… well, you know where to find me.”
You know where to find me?Humiliation almost had me slapping my palm to my forehead. I’d never said anything so ridiculous, so?—
“I will.” She hesitated. “Thank you, Raithe.”
Surprise—and relief—flickered in my chest.
She didn’t need to thank me, but her gratitude was written all over: in the soft crinkle of her skin beneath her eyes, the tender draw of her brow, the faint pull of her lips.
Admiration. Appreciation. Acceptance.
No one had looked at me like that.
Ever.
I didn’t know what to do except depart abruptly while committing that look to my memory.
Chapter 33
Raithe
“We are breakingsomany laws,”Felaf called to me, her Pegasus Echo parallel from Cobalt as we soared through the cloudless night sky. To most ears, her voice would have been lost to the air whizzing by us as we flew. “I know the circumstances surrounding her Choosing areunique,” she continued. “But what we’re doing is against protocol. As is leaving Novah unguarded.”
“She’ll be fine.”
“What if Maryn finds out we’re leaving the queendom?”
“We can’t ask King Zephyr for permission into his territory without supervision. Doing so would have ramifications for Rahzlyn’s true identity. Sometimes being a guardian isn’t merely standing watch, obeying commands, and winning tournaments. It’s about doing what’s best for your queendom, no matter the risk.”
