“Where is she?”
I shove Imperials aside, quickening my pace down the cramped hallway. Smoke hangs thickly in the air, wafting from a charred room that Hydros huddle around. They do their best to tame what is left of the flames with waves of water.
Lenny is raising his hands in surrender before I’ve even reached him. “She’s fine—”
“Take me to her,” I order.
The Imperial takes a breath. “She’s with a Healer, but there is no need to worry.”
“No need to worry?” I almost laugh. “I woke to an Imperial beside my bed and smoke in the air. So I’ll ask again. Where the hell is she?”
Looking utterly defeated, Lenny reluctantly leads me through the throng. We turn down a quiet corridor to stop before an unsuspecting door. Opening it, Lenny gestures me inside where I’m greeted by several gazes.
But it is only hers I search for.
Paedyn sits on a stool, clothing charred and hair blackened. Burns run down the length of her body, pink and blistered. A bloody gash sits right above her brow, making her flinch when a smile reaches the eyes beneath.
I rush over to her, not caring who bears witness to my worry. “Are you all right?”
She nods. Winces. Curses the burn climbing up her neck. “I’m fine,” she eventually grits out, voice like gravel. “Everything happened so fast.”
I take a breath, fighting to keep my voice steady. “Why were you even in Blair’s room?”
“She…” Her eyes flick behind my back, and I turn to find Kitt leaning against a wall. He gives me a slow nod—or perhaps it is for Paedyn. “She practically invited me in. I was angry and…”
Paedyn’s eyes dart to Lenny, and the pleading look within them has him sighing. “Blair had me pinned. There were candles lit, and one must have gotten knocked over because, suddenly, the room went up in flames.” He shakes his head. “This wall of fire separated me from P, and by the time I finally got her out… Blair was…” Lenny swallows, his brown eyes shining. “I took care of the body.”
I whirl on my Imperial. “You should have prevented this!”
Lenny’s gaze drops. “Sir, I—”
“It wasn’t his fault.” Paedyn’s voice is weak. “He couldn’t have stopped it. I… I wouldn’t let him stop it.”
I give her a knowing look. “You still went after her, didn’t you?”
The anger on her face doesn’t mask the guilt beneath. I know what it looks like to get lost in the rage, the power of controlling another’s fate. And I see it reflected on her features. My voice is a consoling murmur. “Oh, Pae.”
A Healer steps forward then, his voice grim. “Well, it’s a good thing Miss Gray got out when she did. A little while longer and—”
“I know,” I hear myself bite out.
“She needs to rest.” It’s Calum who says this, though I don’t bother to look at him. “Heal.”
“I’m fine,” Paedyn mouths to me in a way that’s only slightly reassuring.
A hand on my shoulder has me turning. Kitt’s expression is stern. “It was a terrible accident. That is what her father, and the rest of the court, will know. I’ll… find a way to cover this up.”
I nod, because it’s the agreement he wishes for.
I stand, because the look in Paedyn’s eyes say she will find me later.
And I leave, because she is not mine to worry about.
I’m not even surprised when she bursts into my room.
I’ve been up for hours, pacing in the darkness and hoping she will stride in to brighten it.
“Where’s your sword? I need to hit something.”
A ray of sunshine, this one.
I lean against a bedpost. “I take it you’re feeling better?”
Paedyn huffs damp hair from her eyes. “That Healer made me sit in there for hours. Even after taking care of the burns.” She waves a hand. “Something about smoke in my lungs.”
I nod slowly. “What happened to keeping our distance?”
“I’m making an exception.”
“Because you wish to hit something?”
“Yes.” A smug smile. “And for once, it’s not you.”
“I’m a bit offended, actually.”
She shakes her head distractedly. “I need to blow off some steam.” I’m skewered with a pointed look. “Sword?”
Fighting my smile, I retrieve a battered sword from beside my desk. “And the reasoning behind this sudden urge for violence?”
“Sudden?” She snorts. “I’ve been kicking your ass for a long time now, Prince.”
I push the sword into her palm, our bodies close. “Maybe I miss it.”
Her smile is wicked. “Maybe you’ll have another opportunity to lose soon.”
My answer is lost in the sound of steel slicing wood. She rains down blows upon the already mutilated bedpost. Again and again, the sword sinks into the shredded wood, spraying splinters in its wake.
I grab her arm, stilling the strained muscles there before she can swing again. Silver hair flicks me in the face when she whirls, cheeks pink with anger. “What?”
Her tone is biting, meant to ward me off with a single word. But she doesn’t scare me away—I almost wish she could. Life would be so much easier if I didn’t want to spend it with her. But nothing so stunningly formidable could go unwanted.
“Pae.” I let her see the concern on my face. Let her see the devotion it derives from. Let her see everything I am not and the little that I am. “What is really going on?”
Her lashes flutter. I watch that blue gaze sink to my chest and stare blankly. “I killed her. I… I was a monster. Her skin was melting beneath my palm and still I—” She sucks in a breath. “I have never been so vicious. It was terrifying, this person I became. This darkness swelling within me. And worst of all”—she chokes—“it didn’t help.”
My heart aches in a way it only ever will for her. “I know.”
“I thought it would help this hurt,” she whispers. “This hole in my heart where Adena used to be. But it’s still there.” Her eyes lift, brimming with tears. “Just as gaping as it was the day she died in my arms.”
“I know,” I say again, hating the hurt on her face.
“It didn’t bring her back.” The sword clatters to the floor, her tears falling with it. “I’ll never get her back.”
I wrap my arms around her trembling body, pressing my mouth to the top of her head. “I know, love.”
Tears soak through my shirt, and yet she barely makes a sound. I hold her tightly, running a hand down her damp hair and the back stretching beneath. She melts against me, soothed by the touch and many murmurs against her hair.
But when my body goes rigid, she lifts her tear-streaked face toward mine. “What is it?”
Power bubbles beneath my skin, one so familiar I almost don’t notice it. “Kitt’s coming.”
“What?” She blinks before peeling herself away from me. “Here? Now?”
I lower my voice. “Yes, and quickly.”
His Dual ability is one I’ve memorized since I was a boy, could pick out from a crowd. But dwelling on it now, something feels indescribably off.
“Well,” she sputters. “What do we do?”
My eyes flick to the wardrobe.
She gives me a dull look. “You can’t be serious.”
“Would you like your betrothed to find you in here with me?”
Her frustrated groan is followed by an exiling into the wardrobe. Paedyn glares as I shove her among my clothes, tears momentarily forgotten. She picks up a particularly bright shirt and raises a brow. “I’ve never seen you wear this.”
“That would be because it belongs to Jax,” I say quickly. “I’m winning a bet. Don’t worry about it.”
With a slight scoff and shake of her head, I begin shutting the doors on her face. “Oh,” I add quietly. “Try not to step on my shoes. I just got them shined.”
I can practically feel the roll of her eyes even after a thick layer of wood separates us. But I’ve barely managed to pick up the strewn sword before my door creaks open.
Kitt steps hesitantly into the room. “Oh, good. You’re awake.”
I lift the sword in answer. “Just blowing off some steam.”
“Right.” The king seems distracted. “Well, I just wanted to stop in and let you know that the third Trial will be taking place tomorrow.”
My eyes widen in surprise, just as I know Paedyn’s are behind me. “Tomorrow? You’re not announcing it to the court?”
Kitt rubs a hand down the back of his neck. His gaze is distant, clouded. “It’s meant to be… unexpected. For Paedyn, at least.” Quickly, he adds, “It will take place in the Bowl.”
“I see.” A beat of silence stretches between us before I ask, “Kitt, are you all right?”
That unsettling feeling washes over me again when his power slithers beneath my skin. I hold my brother’s gaze, but he doesn’t seem to be looking at me. It is as though he has retreated into his mind.
“Hmm?” His unfocused gaze falls just over my shoulder. “No. No, not yet,” he mutters distantly. “It’s not time… I need the right time….”
I glance behind, finding nothing but open air. His mumbled words have me taking a worried step forward. “What? Kitt, is everything okay?”
Those green eyes flick back to mine. He blinks. Then plasters a smile onto his features. “Yes, no need to worry. It seems I need some more sleep. Just… just trust me. I have everything under control.”
I nod, despite my concern. “Of course. I trust you with my life.”
He coughs. The grin that follows is genuine. “I’ve never doubted that about you.”
Then his hand is on the door, mind somewhere else entirely.
“You and me, Brother.”
“You and me,” I echo softly.
