“You saved me,” the human squeaks in my direction.
I nod.
“Thank you.”
“That debt has been repaid,” I say, eyes on Caelynn whose cheeks turn red. “I’m still not sure what to make of it. That wasn’t the victory I’d imagined.”
“I suppose not,” Caelynn says smoothly, “but you’re still beloved. And once you retrieve the cure, no one will doubt you.”
I pull in a long breath. Yes, the cure. The whole thing I competed for—the chance to torture myself to save the world.Right.
I can do it,I remind myself.
“When do you go?”
I blink. “Soon. They want to make sure I am fully prepared and my health restored. I heard you’re allowed to stay.” I smile, not mentioning the fact that it was my idea. And that my father doesn’t know I made the suggestion. He already nearly disowned me the first moment he laid eyes on me after the trial’s conclusion.
He wasn’t happy I’d aligned with Caelynn but he seemed even more enraged once I won. My mother tells me he hateshowI won.
I suspect he hates that I won at all.
Now, he can’t disown me without making his personal information public. He’s just going to have to hope I die in the Schorchedlands.
“Yes, they allowed me to stay. But...” Her eyes turn to the black-haired girl under her arm.
“You’re going back to the human world... with her?” I ask, my stomach squeezing uncomfortably. I don’t know why that bothers me. It’s not like she could stay in the Flicker Court or travel to the Luminescent Court. She wouldn’t be safe in either.
“Yes.”
“But she’ll be back,” the girl adds.
Caelynn’s eyebrows pull down.
Raven smiles. “I know you want to be here.”
Caelynn shakes her head absently. “We’ll talk about it later.”
“Well,” I say, awkwardly. “I suppose, I’ll see you. Maybe.”Hopefully.
“Thank you for everything, Rev. I know...” she shake her head. “I know this was complicated and painful, but our... alliance means a lot to me.”
I take in a breath. “Friendship,” I amend.
Another blush crosses her cheeks, and I find that I quite like it.
“Friends?” she asks sheepishly.
I nod. “Just don’t tell my father.”
“One more secret to add to the bunch.” She laughs. “If you need anything, ever. Schorchedlands or not. I’ll come.”
Her smile is small and sad but real. I watch my brother’s murderer walk away and soak in the irony of how much I hate to see her leave.
The ache in my gut tells me this isn’t over. Good and bad.
This is only beginning.
***
