Page 137

“Yes.”

“In the dirt?”

Malakai looks down. “Yes.”

Rhett slowly turns toward me and I point at him. “Choose your next words very fucking carefully.”

He considers. “Congratulations?”

“Rhett.” Ezra’s voice is deadly.

“What? I’m being supportive.”

“You’re being an asshole.”

“I can be both.”

I hate that I laugh. Just a little. It escapes before I can stop it.

Rhett hears.

Of course he does.

His grin becomes unbearable.

Then Ezra’s attention lands on my wrist and all the humor disappears. He crosses the space between us. “What happened?”

I look down at the blood that has soaked through almost half of the red ribbon. “I don’t know.”

He reaches for it but Malakai catches his arm. “Don’t touch it.”

Ezra looks at him. “Take your fucking hand off me.”

“The ribbon changed after the Revel.”

Ezra’s eyes flick to the disturbed Earth and his jaw locks. “You completed it.”

Malakai doesn’t answer. He doesn’t have to.

Ezra rips his arm free. “You fucking idiot.”

I step forward. “Hey.”

His eyes snap to mine as the anger pours out of him like a bull getting ready to charge. “He knew better.”

“I was there too.”

“Sage.”

“No.” I move between them. “I made that decision.”

“You don’t understand what you decided.”

“Neither do you!” His mouth shuts. “None of you know what the final rite is. You’ve all said that repeatedly.”

“That doesn’t mean you should feed it!”

“I wasn’t fucking Kai for the benefit of the corn!”