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“A game?” she echoed, cocking her head.

“Let’s race to see who can clear more rocks. Carefully.” I tacked on that last condition, not wanting to worsen the situation or risk her safety.

Ophelia huffed a laugh, but her eyes gleamed. “Is everything a competition with you?”

A lot of things were even though I was okay with falling to second in the important things. Should I offer up the explanation, though?

Yes. She proved she wouldn’t run when I unveiled my flaws so far.

“With my father, everything was a competition,” I deadpanned. At this point, it was nothing more than a blatant fact of how I was raised. Her eyes softened, hand reaching for my own. “He pitted me against Lyria in every way he could imagine, always knowing she’d be the winner no matter the outcome. I resented her for a while because of it, but eventually I learned to make my own games. I taught myself not to care about coming in second in his and how to win mine instead.”

“It’s why you like to gamble so much,” she whispered, understanding.

“It’s why I like to win. I couldn’t with him, so I spent every day of my childhood trying to prove myself elsewhere. Until I stopped. When Lyria left for the war, I realized that even with her gone, I’d never be enough for him because of how I came into the world. I tried to let go of a lot of my feelings toward her then, especially when I didn’t know if I’d ever see her again.

“Lyria and I hadn’t been close before she came to Damenal. I only told her I was leaving Palerman because I felt obligated.” A shrug. “I wanted someone to know so I could tell myself perhaps someone cared, even if it was a lie.”

“For what it’s worth,” Ophelia said, “I don’t think it was a lie.”

I turned that over in my head. I never thought Lyria would come after me when I was captured. Now, with her on Ophelia’s council, maybe I could heal that relationship.

Ophelia squeezed my hand once, and that connection soothed every unworthy feeling within me. Then, she turned toward the rubble before us. “I’ll play any game you want, Vincienzo.” She flashed a wicked smile over her shoulder. “But I won’t let you win.”

The time passed quickly after that, lost in laughs and a competitiveness we shared. Angels help any children we may have in the future. I lost count of how many times I cheated, picking her up by the waist or throwing her over my shoulder to move her away from the mess so I could get extra points.

Eventually, though, we found the door. And then, we met our friends’ relieved faces digging us out from the other side.

As we reunited, I felt like I was leaving something behind in that cavern, but I’d gained so much more walking out of it.

Chapter Forty-Six

Ophelia

Ever since Kakias’s poison left my body, I was lighter. Enough so that the days journeying from the tunnels we’d been staying in to a pocket nearer the Mystique Mountains was easy, filled with jokes and chatter among my friends and stolen moments of Tolek dragging me down offshoots to kiss me senseless.

I’d known that once we unleashed this fire I’d become ravenous for him. Unfortunately, we couldn’t spare more than a few minutes at a time. Stolen kisses and whispered promises against dirt-packed walls with rocks digging into my spine. Rare touches under orbs of mystlight casting shadows across features I’d memorized years ago, but was seeing entirely differently now.

I wouldn’t trade it for all the Angel emblems, though.

When Ricordan eventually stopped us on the third evening in a wide rectangular cavern that faded into shadow at the end, desire heated my core immediately, thinking we’d be given rooms for the night and continue in the morning.

That was not the case.

“We’re here,” Ric said. He leaned his pack against the wall and rolled out his shoulders. We’d walked most of the way, horses following in a train behind us given the low height of the ceilings through most of the Labyrinth, and we were all stiff.

I exchanged confused glances with my friends. Everyone except Mila, who continued the silence she’d kept since Malakai found her during the cave in. They’d been freed before Tolek and me, and Malakai told us of the intruder Mila had killed.

Knowing someone had been following us planted hot roots of fury in my gut.

Were there more of them? We needed to get Thorn’s crown and get out of here.

Since the cave in, Mila had slipped into a catatonic state, not speaking, and flinching if touched. We’d been watching her carefully, making sure she was never truly alone, but even the healers did not know how to help her. Malakai had diligently cared for her, somehow getting her to move without laying a hand on her and ensuring she ate and drank.

As the rest of us looked between our surroundings and the Mindshapers, he kept one eye on her. I took a breath, reminding myself she wouldn’t get help if we did not find the crown and get out of here.

“Where is here?” I asked Ric.

This cavern had higher ceilings than any of the tunnels or caves we’d seen so far. Aside from the stalagmites and stalactites fittingly mirroring the icicles tapering across Mindshaper land above, there was nothing.