“Are you ready to stop pushing me away?” Sifa’s voice is light but layered with questions she doesn’t want to ask. At least, not yet.
I don’t look at her. Instead, I stare at the sky, focusing on the stars above. “We can’t be friends. Ever. You know that.”
“I don’t want your friendship. I hope I never see you again after this little adventure Bevin has sent us on. But you know as well as I do that we’ll have a better chance if we don’t hate each other.”
I sit for a long time, lost in the sky. The silence drags on but she’s patient, waiting for me to speak.
The thing is, I know she’s right. We’ll fail if we can’t rely on each other. Sighing, I drop my eyes toward hers. “I’ve been an ass.”
“Such an ass,” she affirms with another laugh that lightens my soul.
“If you knew why, you’d understand.”
“But you can’t tell me?” One of her eyebrows quirks in the most charming expression I’ve seen.
“I can’t.” I’m sure my smile reflects my regret as much as my eyes. “I would, though, if I could.”
“I have secrets too,” she points out. “We don’t have to get into those, now or ever. We just need to know enough to trust each other, at least a little.” One side of her lips tips up. “And stop being assholes.”
“I can’t promise anything. But I can try.” I lean forward. “Why did Bevin send you with me? What does he think you’ll provide?” I don’t think he knows about Sifa’s past—her time in the Nest when she landed in Vanatia—but I wouldn’t put anything past that wily, power-hungry bastard.
“First you’ve got to tell me what we’re doing. I know nothing right now.”
“Right,” I agree as my thoughts bounce through the things I can tell her, and those I can’t.
“What are we going to get?” she prompts.
“Not what. Who.”
Sifa’s eyes grow wide and then narrow dangerously. She’s angry. Really angry. “We’re going after a person? At the Nest?” she demands, her voice a whisper.
“Yes. We go to retrieve one of Bevin’s people. She got too close to someone and exposed herself as one of his spies. He wants her back.”
“Thyra? Bevin sent us to rescue Thyra?” Sifa was angry before. Now she’s furious. About to erupt.
“Yes, Thyra. Why are you so upset?”
“Why am I upset? How can you ask that? Thyra’s being held in the dragon Nest. Bevin expects us to break in and free her. And you don’t see anything wrong with that?”
“I didn’t say it would be easy.”
Sifa’s chest is heaving, her eyes starting to water. She shuts them and drops her chin, forcing her breaths to slow, her heart to calm. More than a minute passes as she sits motionless, regaining control of her emotions. Finally, she looks up, her eyes bright with the tears she refuses to shed.
“I don’t know if I can go there,” she whispers in a voice that quivers. Her hands flatten out on her pants and move up and down, perhaps trying to calm the knees that have started bouncing. “Bevin sent the wrong person.”
I should have known. I can’t tell her why I understand but I do. They tortured her for weeks. Who wouldn’t be afraid to go back?
“I can get us in and out without being caught. It’s why Bevin asked me to do this. You’re here to help get her out of the cage.”
“I know enough about the Nest to know how difficult it will be,” she scoffs. “I don’t think we can do this without being caught.” She leans forward, her gaze holding mine. “I can’t be found there.” Her words are sharp, intense.
“I won’t let them get you, Sifa.” Now I’m moving closer, reaching for her hand, my resolve to stay away shattered. Her skin is soft, comforting. “I can get us there and back without being caught.”
She doesn’t pull her hand from mine. I think the touch centers her as much as it does me. “We both know you can’t promise that.”
“I’ve done it twice,” I assure her. “I’ll get us into the Nest. I just don’t know if I can get Thyra out of her cage.”
Sifa takes a deep breath, her eyes never leaving mine. Finally, she dips her chin. “Tell me how you can be sure you’ll get us there safely.”
