Page 21

AERI

CITY OF RAHWAY, YUSAN

I f I’d known all it would take was an assassination attempt to get Royo talking to me again, I would’ve paid them myself.

“I really am fine, Royo.”

I’m sitting on the bed in his room after he carried me in. If I hadn’t already fainted, I might’ve swooned at the way he lifted me up and took me here.

He pauses, looking unamused as he sets window traps. He’s using knives and melted candlewax so that if anyone opens the windows, the knives will either fall on them or clatter to the ground. It’s ingenious. I wonder if he learned it from Euyn.

It takes a while, but eventually, Royo is satisfied. He closes the drapes and then walks over to me. But he stops a few feet away, idling by the nightstand.

“Aeri.” He stares at the oil lamp, and the flames reflect in his amber eyes.

I hold my breath, waiting, torn by hopeful anticipation and dread. Is he going to say he can’t ever forgive me? Or give me a chance and ask me why I didn’t tell him about the Sands of Time? I try to prepare myself for heartbreak, but no one can really soften a death blow, so what’s the point?

He traces patterns on the nightstand with his fingers and then looks at me.

“I never thanked you,” he says.

Okay, I didn’t see this coming. His scarred face is sincere, almost boyish. I want to take it in my hands and kiss him, but I hold still.

“What for?” I ask.

“For killing Bay Chin and saving my life in the harbor.”

Oh, right. That was a bunch of murders ago.

“But you shouldn’t have done it,” he adds. “Now they’re hunting you.”

I can’t summon more than a shrug. I’ve been hunted my whole life—every young girl is prey for the appetites of men. At least now I have the relics to protect me and the people I love. And I have Royo…maybe.

I stare up at him. “The amarth said I’d have to choose between loves, but that’s easy. I would choose you every time. I don’t care what the consequences are.”

His fingers twitch by his sides. He wants to reach out for me—at least he’s thinking about it. My heart swells.

Just reach out for me, and you have me.

But he balls his hand into a fist.

I deflate. So much for that.

“Mikail and Sora think I should forgive you,” he says.

I nod along eagerly. “They are very wise and always right.”

His lips twitch, and he almost cracks a smile. Almost. Then they drop into a frown and he runs a hand over his short black hair.

“You hurt me, Aeri.”

I sigh. “I know I did.”

“Did you not trust me enough to tell me the truth?” he asks. “Did you think I’d take the amulet from you?”

The thought had never crossed my mind.

“Not at all,” I say. “I wanted to tell you, but if you knew, my father could torture you. And you were loyal to Euyn, and I… I wasn’t sure if he’d kill me to take it.

My family is… Well, they’re not opposed to murdering each other under the right circumstances.

And the relic is so very valuable, Royo.

It manipulates time. Imagine what it could do in the wrong hands. ”

The neckline of my robe is open enough for me to touch it as I gesture. He stares at the sands glass that is now embedded into my skin by my collarbone.

“How long have you had it?” he asks.

“Since I was twelve.”

I watch as his brow furrows. He must be putting together the timeline.

He knows everyone thought I died at twelve—another of Omin’s young victims. I really don’t want to think about what happened back then, but I’m just so happy he’s talking to me.

That we’re together again. The past, no matter how horrific, seems very distant right now.

“I stole it from Prince Omin’s wrist the night he tried to attack me,” I say. “I didn’t know what it was—I thought it was a gem, but I aged four years in minutes because of it. It’s how I’m nineteen but I look your age. It literally steals time from me in order to freeze it.”

The lines on Royo’s brow deepen. “It was on your necklace before.”

“Yes.”

It’s almost like I can see him remembering that moment camping, when we kissed under the swirling lights of the night sky. I pulled away because he grazed the necklace. I couldn’t explain it then, but I can now.

“Is this how you saved us on the Sol?” he asks.

I nod.

“And how you took the crown?”

“Yes. It’s how I stole almost everything. My sleight of hand is pretty good, but it’s not that good.”

He’s silent. Etherum is a heavy thing to understand.

But for me, it feels like a weight lifted.

It lightens my whole being to have him know the truth about me.

For the first time in my adult life, I can actually tell someone everything.

I can be close to him, to Sora without the barrier of secrets.

I mean, yes, I’m also hunted from now until I die, but there’s an upside.

Royo rubs his face. “It explains a lot, but what is happening to you after you turn things to gold?”

“I’m really not sure. I thought… Well, this is going to sound…” I trail off. I don’t need him second-guessing his decision to speak to me.

“Just say it. You haven’t worried about sounding weird before.”

I raise my eyebrows. That’s true enough. “I thought I saw a red sky and a road made of ash. It was so real.”

I close my eyes, and I can still picture it. The sky was red like the Yusanian flag, and there were pieces of bone in the fluffy ash.

“That’s…odd. Is the god magic causing you to see the future? Like the huge birdman?”

Gods, I hadn’t even considered that. Could the relics be causing visions? I think about it for a moment. I want it to be true, but something in my heart says no.

I shake my head. “I don’t think so. The relics have a price. Using one eventually kills the wielder. I can’t imagine that using two actually benefits you—if anything, it has to kill you faster.”

Trouble lines form by his mouth at the thought of me speeding to my death. But that’s been the reality since I was twelve. Everyone dies. The difference is in who you can save.

“Do you want to sit?” I ask. This whole conversation has occurred while Royo’s been standing next to the bed in his underwear.

He shakes his head. “No, no. You get some rest. I’ll keep watch.”

I ignore the stabbing pain caused by his rejection.

“You have to be tired, too, though,” I say.

“I’m good. I’ll go to bed after you wake up.” He stands straighter.

My shoulders droop, and my chin falls. “Oh. I thought… Never mind.”

He walks over to the dresser and puts his clothes back on, which really is a shame. The muscles in his legs look especially good like this. He tosses on his undershirt and pants, then lights a candle and brings it over to the nightstand. His thick fingers turn off the oil lamp.

“Get some sleep,” he says.

I lie down. I move the pillow and find a dagger under it. Royo’s. I take it by the hilt and slide it under the pillow next to me.

“Royo?” I say.

“Yeah?”

I take a breath. I don’t know why it’s so hard to apologize to him, but he deserves to hear it. So, I make my mouth work. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I didn’t mean to, but I know it’s all the same.”

Hurt remains whether you intended to do it or not. If you stab someone, they still bleed. It doesn’t matter if it was a jab or an accident.

Royo draws a big breath, then nods. I don’t know if he accepted the apology, but he didn’t reject it, so that’s better than I’d hoped for.

“It’s not all the same.”

He reaches down and pulls the blankets over me. He lingers and gives me a look. Just one. But in his eyes, there’s forgiveness. I’ll take it whether I deserve it or not. Forgiveness is a gift you can earn later.

I turn my head, and I’m asleep within minutes, dreaming about a better tomorrow.

Assuming we survive the night.