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It probably wasn’t a good idea to provoke him: he was a monster in his own right. But the undiluted anger and hatred from the past year overcame her better judgment. She wanted him to feel a sliver of the fear she had when she faced him. And now the tables were turned.

“You can’t do anything without your magic,” Kolfinna murmured, relishing in how his eyes narrowed. She had struck a nerve. “I can read the runes. If I decide to let you die, then you die.”

Blár grabbed the collar of her uniform and yanked her close until she was inches away from him. The smell of vanilla, spice, and sweat assaulted her nose. She was on her tiptoes, and his grip was like iron. “Do not provoke me, fae,” he said through clenched teeth.

Blár released her and she stumbled a few feet back, her arms flailing as she regained her balance. It was infuriating how much stronger he was than her. What could she do to reach his level?

“Asshole,” she muttered, dusting her clothes with trembling hands.

Kolfinna shifted her attention back to finding the runes. For a few seconds, she stood still, scanning the sands, before she felt the tiny pull of mana. She followed that pull of mana to a rock in the distance. There was nothing extraordinary about it, but she felt that there was something powerful on it. Runes, most likely.

Without waiting for Blár, she jogged to the location. She could hear him following behind her, and a part of her couldn’t help but smirk. He needed her. He knew that, and she knew that. It must’ve infuriated him to rely on her. She didn’t peg him as the kind of person to rely on anyone but himself.

When she reached the rock—upon closer inspection it was more of a boulder, since it was half her size—sure enough, shimmering runes were inscribed into it. It said in simple words,Slay the dreki; magic does not work.

The dreki? Was that what was making all that noise? Her blood ran cold and she reread the sentence. How were they supposed to slay it without their powers?

“What does it say?” Blár asked.

Kolfinna ignored him and brushed a hand over the runes. There had to be something else written there. Some clue to help them kill the dreki, because there was no way she could fight without her powers. They didn’t even have weapons.

“Well?” His tone grew more annoyed and he kicked a rock the size of a small animal to the side as if it weighed nothing. It plopped into the sand. “What does it say?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Stop.” He slammed a fist against the boulder, his body positioned in her direction. “Weren’t you the one saying we should work together?”

“No.” Kolfinna stared at the silver clasp of his cloak, and then at the dried blood on the collar of his uniform shirt, and lastly at the column of his neck. And then she met his icy blue eyes. “You rejected the idea of me working with you. You said you didn’t trust me. And that you wanted me to leave the mission.”

His lips thinned down. “I’ve saved your ass plenty of times.”

“That doesn’t negate what you said. You told me you wanted to continue our little cat-and-mouse game, and that you wanted me out of the mission. You said it clearly before we left. You threatened me and then tried to attack me with your ice.”

Blár hesitated and for a moment, she feared he would tell her he didn’t remember, or that it never happened. She wouldn’t have expected anything less from him. But he muttered, “I was wrong.”

Kolfinna blinked. Had she heard right? “You … were wrong?”

“Yes. Now what does it say?”

“No.” She couldn’t help the grin that twitched at the ends of her lips. “You said you were wrong. You should apologize as well.”

“You’re being as stubborn as this ugly-ass rock.” He slapped the rock to emphasize his point. “Now just tell me. What does it say?”

“That doesn’t sound like an apology.”

“I still haven’t heard a thank you.”

“Excuse me?”

“I saved you multiple times throughout the two days.” A sheen of sweat dampened his forehead. “If you want me to apologize, you have to say thank you first.”

“No.”

“Then you won’t get an apology.”

“Andyouwon’t know whatthissays.” Kolfinna pointed to the rock with the runes before pushing past him.

It was foolish to exclude him—she wouldn’t be able to accomplish her goal without him, and vice versa. But she wanted to feel …something. To hear him apologize. To have him acknowledge her. To acknowledge all the pain, fear, and anger she had felt the past year because of him. To have some sort ofpowerover him.