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Who would have thought the trials would become the easy subject to discuss? “I don’t plan to come anywhere near killing any of my siblings.”

“Probably for the best.”

“Speaking of siblings,”—I stand and smooth my tunic—“I’ve got yours waiting for me. Are you staying here?”

“For a bit.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Rest up for the trial, Bell. The twins won’t hold back.”

I practically snort. “Of course they won’t. I’ll be the one holding them back.”

He drops his head to look up at the ceiling, and his exposed throat makes my heart drop at the memory of a blade flying toward it. “Watching that is going to be horrible.” For a moment, I think he’s narrating my thoughts, but we’re still talking about the trials.

He’s fine. He’s safe.

“No. It’ll be fun.” I walk backwards toward the bridge. “Stop worrying so much.”

“I have to worry for the both of us, apparently.”

Chapter twenty-six

Lemon and blueberry swirl together in the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness. The shortbread crust melts in my mouth just as easily as the jammy filling. Heavenly. Actually, if this is what heaven is like, the gods stayed here much longer than I would choose to.

Rylan clicks his tongue in response to my satisfied sigh. “If Mary knew you left the palace for treats…”

“She’d be relieved I’m not in her kitchen.” This treat came from a city bakery that doesn’t shove me out of their doors.

“Shall we test that theory?”

“Don’t you dare!” The only thing worse than me stealing food from our kitchens would be preferring the food elsewhere. Not that I prefer this—our food is just as delectable. It’s the experience more than anything: strolling down the promenade on a beautiful day, slipping into a bakery, enjoying the scenery and the people coming and going.

The palace being tucked into the capital gives us the opportunity to live in a community rather than in isolation, something we should and do take advantage of. Though the residents here are quite used to seeing us around, these days we are met with more interest and attention. People smile excitedly at us, wish us luck with the upcoming trials, and ask if we know anything about what they’ll entail.

Ry assures them we are in the dark and waiting as eagerly as they are to find out.

Alone on our walk, he asks, “Do you think you’re ready for the first trial?” His tone is casual in contrast to his stringent posture, hands clasped behind his back.

“They said we couldn’t do much to prepare, so I don’t see how any of us could be truly ready or unready.”

“Exhaustion from traveling wouldn’t help.”

I sigh. “Traveling isn’t the primary cause of my exhaustion.”

Ry tilts his head and gives me a patronizing look then lifts a finger to his lips. The volume of surrounding noises drops when I wrap us in a shield. “Ara, you can’t blame yourself for the misfortunes in Lambridge. There is a lot going on there that none of us can understand. Nina told us they mentioned marks on the leaves, time pulling, our magic expanding. The plants did have a strange energy about them, like they had been frozen and thawed without any damage. It doesn’t make sense, and I don’t know what it signified to those men.”

“We might have found out if they’d survived.”

“You didn’t kill them, so that isn’t your problem.”

I take a deep breath then a bite of the lemon bar to cleanse myself of the thought.

“You’re still planning to help me against the twins, right?” His voice is strained; whether because asking for help is uncomfortable or because he’s been waiting to ask, I’m not sure.

“Yes, Ry.” My exasperation comes through despite my—well, the effort was minimal, actually.

He relaxes somewhat. “Thank you. You’ve been handling this better than any of us.”