I still hadn’t decided what to make of the relationship between Selena and Thaan. There was no doubt in my mind Selena disliked him. But so did I, and my own loyalty was sealed.
I wondered if my mentor had noticed me pulling away. Or if she’d done the same after our last conversation.
Never speak of this to me again.
I’d been alone in the glass box for several hours. Light began to streak through the window, the call of my bed across the sky bridge and up a distant tower whispering in my ear. I’d avoided sleep as much as I could these past few weeks. If I didn’t wear myself out by water calling, I’d end up staring at the ceiling, my mind adrift in my own thoughts. Or worse—a certain fire would trickle in from the corners of my bed, licking my skin with a scent sweet and familiar, building and consuming until I rolled under my blankets in delicious agony, my breath hard and fast, my hand between my legs, a pair of golden eyes branded into my memory.
I wouldn’t have to deal with it tonight. I’d stayed extra late, and exhaustion hovered as I relaxed in the water, determined to call to it one last time before I turned in.
Tail tucked underneath me, my eyes gently closed, I willed the water from the glass box around me, feeling it follow my lead in liquid ribbons through the air. I wove it in strands, this way and that, testing its weight against my force, its obedience against my command. I lifted more and more and more, until I realizedthere was nothing left to lift. The entirety of the glass box floated under the ceiling.
I opened my eyes, and realized I was floating along with it.
A yelp of surprise caught in my throat, and I lost my hold, dropping through the air. Water cushioned my fall, though it sloshed against the walls of my glass box, spilling over the sides and across the floor. My hair lank and in my eyes, I wiped my face with my palm, scrambling to call the water back in.
Footsteps came from the other side of Thaan’s door, slowly heading toward me, and suddenly I didn’t care about the mess I’d made. I clambered over the glass, darting toward my clothes, but I’d only managed to pull my white chemise over myself before his door opened.
His icy eyes flickered over the walls and the floor before settling coldly on mine.
Aware that the simple dress I wore was transparent against my wet skin, I crossed my arms and waited. “What?”
“There’s been an attack in Winterlight.”
Whatever I’d expected, it hadn’t been that.
My heart stopped.
My mouth fell open, my hand wrapped the base of my neck, and I gaped at Thaan. He met my eyes with a look of suffering patience. “I’ve been tasked with the duty of informing you, though we have other matters to discuss. You’ve been ignoring the rules of our contract—"
“What happened?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” he droned, his voice laced with rare irritation. “You and Selena seemed to be getting along fine, then you married and—"
“What happened in Winterlight?” I cut in. “What did you do?”
Thaan paused, angling his body so he could study me before he stepped in close. Though he was the picture of collection, a thin scent dragged from him to my senses. Heated metal.
“That will be the last time you interrupt me,” he said, barely louder than a whisper. “Fourteen days ago, a band of Rivean men discovered where the sentries in Winterlight were hidden. They killed off the watchmen and sent fifty riders into camp, where they attacked the men who were still sleeping in their tents. Seventy dead was the first estimate. Now the count is around two hundred. When the Calder army discovered what had happened and mounted to fight, Rivea pulled out, leading Calder into the mountains. They released boulders down the ravine after their own horses had passed through to safety, trapping Calder, and then flanked them from behind.”
I took a step away from him, my breath too shallow for my lungs. Eyes narrow, he continued, his gaze fixed on the growing horror written across my face.
“Archers rained down on Calder’s army as they fought their way out. Early reports are that we lost a quarter of our men. The lead bowmen, and seven of twelve commanders.”
Silence filled the corridor as he studied me. My pulse thundered in my head. The world threatened to tilt sideways, to throw me from my feet. The whoosh of my blood echoed.
“Is he alive?”
Thaan stared.
I straightened, lifting my chin as the severity of his words settled in my stomach. Suddenly desperate to escape, I reached for my folded dress. He clutched at my hand, fingers curling hard over mine.
My foot stretched ahead, already inclined to evade him. But he pressed me into the wall. His eyes drank me in, stretching slowly up the flare of my hip, following the arc of my ribcage. Thin fingers grazed the tip of my shoulder, smoothing the damp fabric, and glided down my arm.
I stilled at his sudden proximity. Unsure what he wanted, I flexed my hands and looked away, gathering a deep breath.
Thaan didn’t neglect the opportunity to make me uneasy. He trailed cold fingers in the opposite direction, across the depression of my chest and up my throat, lifting my chin to face him. He leered at me, and I could smell him—a choking scent, damp and cloying. Familiar from my old life in Leihani, though I struggled to place it among my memories.
He brought his nose inches above mine, so close I could see the small chips lining the ridges of in his teeth, the finite cracks in his dry lips, flakes and patches of red along the membrane’s edge.
