Page 166 of A Fate in Flames

Tavrik chose that precise moment to walk in.Again.

Our heads snapped to him in unison, mouths still open mid-argument.

Theo didn’t even breathe before blurting it out, hoping to gauge the same reaction.“She slept with the king!”

Tavrik only looked at me with gentle understanding.

“I’m not judging you, El,” Theo said.

His face sobered, hands landing gently on my arms.

I knew that look.

“I just don’t want you to gethurt.”

And neither did I.Because no matter how much I tried to ignore it, one truth remained.

I was meant to kill Dalkhan.

And now… I’d made everything infinitely worse.

“I know.”I said flatly.“I know.”

As Mira dressed me, she rambled on and on about how weneededto go to the fighting pits, her hands moving at a pace no mortal should possess.Her excitement was palpable, but every time I tried to pry answers from her, she’d just flutter her fingers in dismissal and crinkle her nose.

I dropped to the floor beside my bed, working at the leather ties of my sandals as I crossed them over my calves.Theo and Tavrik hovered by the door—Theo bouncing on his toes like an overeager child, while Tavrik leaned against the frame, infuriatingly calm.

“You know,” Tavrik drawled, examining his nails with exaggerated boredom, “at this rate, the fights will be over before we even leave this room.”

“Don’t encourage her,” Theo snapped.“She’s already moving like she’s underwater.”

Theo had finally stopped his relentless questions about my night with Dalkhan—thankfully—but concern still bubbled beneath his restless energy.The way his eyes kept darting to me spoke volumes about the worry eating at him.

I honestly couldn’t blame him.

Zaheera hadn’t invaded my mind since yesterday, and I couldn’t tell whether the silence was a blessing or a curse.The absence of her disapproving voice left me oddly hollow, like missing a constant pressure I’d grown accustomed to.She clearly did not approve of me getting close to Dalkhan—had warned me not to countless times.Of course, the rational part of me had completely ignored her.

“Hurry up,” Theo whined, shifting from foot to foot, hands opening and closing like he was trying to strangle the air.

I made an elaborate show of dragging the leather ties through my fingers at snail’s pace.Twisting them over and under, examining each loop as if my life depended on getting it exactly right.

Theo’s eye twitched.

“Oh, for the love of—" His hands flew to his hair.“I swear to the Heavens, El, if you don’t move your ass right now, I’m going to—”

“Going to what?”I asked sweetly, deliberately fumbling with the ties so they came undone.“Oops.”

Tavrik snorted.“You know she’s doing this on purpose, right?”

“I KNOW THAT!”Theo exploded.

I snickered, grinning.

“Okay.Okay.”I secured the tie with a sharp tug and launched to my feet, sweeping my arm in a flourish.“Let’s go.”

“Finally!”Theo spun on his heel and strode out the door, muttering curses under his breath about ‘impossible women and their timing’.

Tavrik followed with a shake of his head.Mira and I rolled our eyes as we linked arms and trailed behind them.