Page 131 of The Freedom You Seek

A knot twisted in my stomach, and I drew my brows together in a frown. It hit me like a thousand horses that this story also explained the nickname Dion had given me, and I instantly hated the meaning.Murderous and cunning?But instead of commenting on it right away, I deflected. “I never liked Noelk.”

Dion—the bastard—smirked. “Twin flowers, one lovely, one deadly—just like Noelk had perceived the female twins—and almost alike in appearance as well.”

“You started telling the story on the premise you’d talk about the meaning of my name.”

“Don’t rush me.”

“You love to hear yourself talk way too much.”

“I’ve been told before that I have a lovely voice.”

“The meaning?”

“Well, that’s the last part of the story. In his grief, Noelk spent two winters developing a language, the one we call the old language of the gods nowadays, and he convinced the Triad and the other godfolk to use it as well. Until then, the divinity had only communicated mind-to-mind with each other—they’d had no need for spoken words.”

“He invented an entire language so two words could have a meaning?”

“Never underestimate the lengths a dedicated godling would go to, simply to follow their heart.”

“I’ll never do it again.”

“In the end, Noelk’s plan worked as intended, and the other godlings—and even the Triad—started to use the language he’d created. And so, in the tongue of the old gods, Nayana meansmine, and Jama meanspoison.”

“Poison?—so you’ve been calling mepoisonthe whole time? Because of a godsdamned plant I never even knew the name of?” My eyes narrowed at Dion in anger.

He just shrugged. “I thought it would be funny.”

“Funny?”

“Yes. You must admit, it’s quite amusing.”

I glared at Dion, trying to figure out if his amusement was the only reason he’d chosen to call mepoison. I was sure there was another implication behind it.

“I don’t know why you are reacting like this. I’ve been told time and time again that females like it when you give them nicknames.”

“But notpoison!”

Dion laughed, which enraged me even more. “Or do you want to tell me that you would’ve preferred it if I’d called youmineall the time?”

I didn’t even dignifythatwith a reaction, although my jaw clenched so hard that my teeth hurt. Before I could strangle him, though, he turned serious again. “Are you done eating?”

I huffed in annoyance at the change of subject, but I nodded. This conversation was not over, and one day, Dion would spill every single secret he was hiding, even if I had to force him to.

The Cleansing turned out to be exactly what it sounded like. Dion brought me to a bathhouse that—much to my surprise—had also been preserved, and we disappeared into separate wings to soak in the hot springs. I took my time and washed thoroughly, which felt heavenly. When I was finally content, I left the water and got dressed in the ceremonial gown.

The robes weren’t as complicated to understand as I’d thought at first, and—just as I had hoped—they fit me almost perfectly. I wished I had a mirror to be able to see myself for the first time in a long while, but there wasn’t one in sight. After a moment of hesitation, I slipped my dagger into a hidden pocket of the dress.

Sighing, I grabbed my hairbrush and untangled my long tresses. I’d found an alcove where a warm draft was flowing, and standing under it helped my locks dry faster.

When I was done dressing and taking care of my hair, I took a deep breath. My fingers gently touched the bracelet Antas had given me, and the simple motion helped me calm my nerves.

When I no longer had any reason to stall, I exited the bathing chamber to find Dion. I had left my bag behind, intending to fetch it after the ceremony.

Dion was already waiting for me. He too, had left his bag and was only carrying a satchel containing the wooden box he’d gotten from Larithia. A muscle in his cheek ticked nervously.

“There you are. You’ve been gone so long, I feared you’d had a change of heart and drowned yourself.”

“I would never.” My gaze roamed over Dion, from his head to his toes. He was dressed in black, which wasn’t much of a surprise, but his clothes were a lot finer than the tunic, pants, leather, and light armor combination he usually wore. His pants were loose, and the material looked soft. Over them, he wore a long coat-like garment made from matte onyx silk embroidered with a delicate black pattern that resembled stylized ivy, visible only because the thread was glossy and stood out from the background. The garment was closed with silver buttons, and he had left the first two open, revealing a sliver of his toned chest. I was almost certain that he didn’t wear anything underneath, and I fought the heat that wanted to rise to my cheeks. He’d left his black hair untied, and it framed hishandsome face, accentuating his strange, colorless gray eyes.