It’s for the best. Even if he keeps adjusting his feet to stand as carefully on the shadow of the path as he can, protecting plants he doesn’t even know I care about.“Fine, then,” I blurt. “It’s a bet. If I win, we keep our distance. If you win—”“We attempt to look normal.” His smirk is hollow. “F
XanderLukewarm night air whispers through my private garden. One of the many strange things about Dun’s Crossing is how far off they seemed to keep the natural world. Buildings cover all the land within their walls, or they have flattened it into fields. I appreciate they went to the trouble of all
I suspect—I very nearly know—there is more to Finn than that, but I cannot disagree with Corwyn without prompting further questions.“I would worry less.” I smirk. “It makes you sound like an egghead.”“This, from the man who’s read every book in the library—twice!”We bicker the rest of the way to
Xander“He’s here,” Vedran says in my room as he helps me prepare for kafi.I meet his pink eyes in the window's reflection. “How did you know?”Vedran taps one of my shoulders lightly. “Every time someone mentions their arrival, you tighten. Why do you think you have woken so sore in the mornings?”
A long wooden table covered in maps and tactical pawns dominates the room. Six men sit or stand at various points along the table. My Goddess-damned mind will only focus on one.At the far end of the table from his father, Xander looks up as we walk in. His auburn hair is braided back away from his
FinnKieran leads the charge to the heavy, beaten-copper gate at the top of the winding, shell-strewn path. I do my damnedest not to choke on my heart, which seems to have taken up permanent residence in my throat. I also give myself the gift of not looking at Elian. Even in just my peripheral visio