Page 293 of The Academy of Blood & Shadow

"You knew."

His expression tightens. "About what."

"Tonight."

"No."

"You were outside my room." Silence. "You couldn't sleep either."

"No."

Liar. I look at him. "Rhyven."

He exhales. Barely. "I didn't want to wait alone." There. So quiet I almost miss it. My chest aches. Neither did I.

I step closer. Not like before. Not romantic. Just enough. "We didn't."

He looks at me. For once no sarcasm. No argument.

"No." A pause. "We didn't." Then his gaze shifts toward the command tower. Toward where Aelindra's staff now sits under guard. Whatever almost happened between us closes back inside something neither of us names. Not gone. Just postponed. The world has terrible timing.

At my residence door, Rhyven waits until I step inside. Before I close it, I look at him. "Sunday." He nods. "Five."

"Yes." He says.

"Next is Tuesday."

His jaw tightens. "Maybe." Nyra would approve. Maybe. I close the door.

My roommates are awake. Everyone is. No one asks questions. They've already heard. Keeper Aelindra. Western Marker Twelve. Three seconds. Gone. I sit on my bed. Remove my boots. My hands are still shaking. Not from fear. Not entirely. There is another memory in them. Rhyven's chest beneath my palm. His fingers around my wrist. His hand at my waist.

His mouth almost— I close my eyes. Not now.

Four bells. One minute before midnight. Varethia spent an entire day watching. We changed the patrols. Closed the shops. Filled the skies with dragons. Counted every person. Watched every corridor. Aelindra stood six feet away from another wardkeeper. And still something took her. For the first time, though it left something behind. I don't know whether that should make me hopeful. Because downstairs, somewhere beneath Council guard Aelindra's blood is waiting. And sooner or later someone is going to ask me to touch it.

Chapter Thirty-eight

By breakfast, Rhyven is acting normal. I hate him for it. Not dramatically. Not enough to stop eating. But enough that every time he speaks to Caelen at the Chiefs' table like he did not have me pinned against a wall eleven hours ago, something deeply unreasonable happens to my patience.