In the bathhouse, I scrubbed myself clean, pulled on fresh clothes, and gathered my wet curls into a ponytail—all of which went without incident. I had the feeling that some of the candidates in there would have at least mentioned the earlier shitshow to me if Khalida hadn’t been there, making it clear I was to be left alone and that to ignore her would be a mistake.
The gem also washed the mud from my boots for me.
Once ready to leave, I balled up my dirty clothes and strode out of the bathhouse with them tucked under my arm. “I’ve never enjoyed a bath so much in my life.”
“I can imagine,” said Khalida, idly swinging my sack back and forth as she walked alongside of me. “You hungry yet?”
“So starved I’d eat my own foot.”
“Really?”
“No, but I’d at least consider it.”
She chuckled. “Then let’s stash your things in the tack room and head to—” She cut off as a cluster of male candidates began to pass us by.
One of them was Atticus.
I felt my lips flatten. Justlookingat him made my pulse quicken with anger.
My mind’s eye replayed that moment when a cunning glimmer slid into his eyes before he ‘accidentally’ let me go. It bothered me more that he’d gotten away with it.
He slowed to a quick halt as he spotted me, and his friends followed his lead.
Oh, brilliant.
At first, a hint of resentment began to brew in his eyes. He was probably pissed that not only had I possessed dormant power all this time but that mine had surfaced before his own.Yeah, ha. But the resentment vanished quickly, replaced by a gleam of calculation.
“I just want to say,” he began, his voice rubbing at my nerves, “there’s no hard feelings on my end over what happened earlier.”
I did a slow blink. “No hard feelings?” I echoed, my tone flat.
He put a hand to his chest. “I’m not holding your accusation against you. Like I said, that hit to the head probably left you confused.”
This fucker.Plunging my fist into his gut soundedsogood right now. Or even tackling him to the ground and stomping down hard on his dick. Repeatedly.
Khalida leaned into me. “He’s baiting you,” she whispered. “Don’t give him what he wants. He’ll be made to pay for what he did, but not here and now.”In front of witnessesshe didn’t say but I heard.
She was right, I acknowledged with a deep breath. Engaging with him would not only be foolish, it would be playing into his hands. And yes, hewouldpay for his actions, I thought as vindictiveness took root in my chest. I’d even the score at some point. I’d just need to bide my time.
So, even as vengeful images skipped around my brain, I locked my anger down and wrestled back the urge to bare my teeth. “It’s good of you to offer me such an out, but I feel I should apologize.”
He went still. “Apologize?”
Well, if he was going to fuck with me I’d fuck with him right back. “The more I thought about it, the more I realized how silly it was of me to claim you’d make an attempt on my life. You’re a boil on my ass—that’s a fact. But you’re not brave enough to do anything that would earn you the wrath of Talon, so …” Relishing the way he bristled, I offered him a repentantlook. “I’m sorry for accusing you of causing my fall. Thank you for trying to save me.”
He stared at me, his face hard. “You’re welcome,” he finally said, the words like gravel. He and his friends then strode off.
Pleased with myself for putting that look on his face, I turned to Khalida with a smile. The odd expression on her face made my forehead crease. “What?”
“Quillen told me that that fall could have killed you; that, at the very least, it should have seriously injured you. But here you are, alive and well. I have to wonder.”
“Wonder what?”
“If being a mortal doesn’t make you a weaker Sayer; if it actually somehow makes you stronger.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The sound of a spine snapping was a surefire way to put you off your breakfast. From my seat on a food hall bench, I swallowed hard as I looked down at the dead candidate sprawled on the floor several feet away.
