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Kallie shrugged a shoulder, hoping the indifference she offered was plain across her face.

“Are you sure about that?” Myra asked, not bothering to hide her disbelief.

“What other reason would I have, Myra?” Kallie asked, her tone taking on a sharp edge. Plopping back on the couch with a huff, she tucked her feet underneath her.

“Fine. If you don’t want to say it, that’s fine.” Myra shook her head. “But we both know why you truly let him go. Keep in mind, tomorrow you are to be married.”

Kallie stared at the fireplace, the coals having long gone cold. There was no going back. She already knew that. She had made her choice last night. “I know.”

“But, Kallie,” Myra grabbed Kallie’s wrist, “I have to ask . . . who else knows?”

“No one, Mys.”

Myra drew her head back. “We need to tell someone. The guards—the king. King Rian should know. If we don’t tell him, he will—”

Myra tried to stand, but Kallie panicked and snatched Myra’s hand, keeping her friend in place. “Myra, youcannottell anyone.”

Kallie’s gift hummed beneath her flesh. There was an easy way to handle this, a way to ensure Myra would keep quiet. But Kallie had made a promise to herself a long time ago. Her jaw popped as she ground her teeth together.

Lightning struck, and the window flashed white.

Myra’s gaze flicked toward the door, fear lacing her gaze. “But—”

Kallie squeezed her hand. The air stilled, and the humidity of the storm filled the room. The temperature in the room grew too hot as Myra gnawed on her bottom lip. Kallie’s eyes darted across her friend’s face. Her breaths became too short. Her palm grew damp atop Myra’s.

Kalliewantedto trust Myra. Of all people, Myra was the one person who had never let Kallie down, who had always been there for her. But when Myra’s sweet, worried hazel eyes flicked to the door again, her face pale, the words slipped out of Kallie’s mouth before she could stop them. “You willnottell the king.”

Kallie slapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. The command had already slipped free. The familiar heat of her gift coated her blood even though she hadn’t reached for it. It had come rushing out in a torrent when the fear of the unknown consumed her.

It was a simple command, but a command nevertheless. And with it, Kallie had betrayed her friend for the first time. Kallie had promised herself that she would never manipulate the people she loved. But now, even if Myra didn’t know it, Kallie had crossed that invisible line.

Water prickled at the back of her eyes, and she dropped Myra’s hand.

Chapter51

GRAESON

“Isthis the smartest thing to be doing right now?” the woman with the endless black eyes asked.

The god snorted, and the sound was so human that he mentally checked the lock on the door of the man’s cell. He found the man still locked up.

“I mean,” Euralys continued, “aren’t you worried?”

“And what do I possibly have to worry about?” He asked as they slid past a group of pedestrians walking around the streets beyond the castle. Even at this late hour, there were still several people out. The god and the woman had been chosen to collect supplies for the arsonist. When the god had attempted to ignore Danisinia’s request as she spewed the morning’s breakfast into a bucket, the human man had forced his thoughts through the door. An image of the mortal promised, her blue eyes shining. Sticking to the plan was the only way they would get Kalisandre back. So, they searched for flint, sulfur, and oil in the middle of the night.

The woman glanced over her shoulder. “Of being recognized.”

“Why would I worry about that?”

She grabbed his arm, tugging him to a stop and pulling him into an alcove.

In the shadows, she stepped closer, squinting at him. “I am not so impudent that I cannot recognize a god when I see one.”

“And yet,” the god said, tilting his chin up as his lip curled, “you dare touch me?”

“If you wanted to kill me, you would have done so already.”

The god’s nose twitched. This woman . . . she was not like the others. Her eyes alone had that cursed look within them.