His fingers release mine, and, for a moment, I think he’s about to pull away from me entirely. But it’s only so he can hook my chin and then tilt my face toward him. When our lips meet, it’s as deliberate as a vow.
I shift against him, draping a leg over his. Our warmth tangles like his hand in my hair, and he exhales like he’s finally releasing all the fear and shame he’s been holding for years. His hand slides down my side, pulling me closer as I settle in and our bodies melt into each other.
For a long time, we don’t move. Quiet and calm for maybe the first time in our lives.
Then Kaelis kisses my forehead, and, without moving his lips, he murmurs, “Clara, there is one more lie I must confess to.”
“About what?” I yawn, having just been about to fall asleep.
“I want to hear you say it. I’ve wanted to hear you say it for what feels like eons.” He doesn’t even need to clarify what “it” is.
I smile slightly, letting my lips ghost along his jaw and end upon his mouth before I answer.
“I love you, Kaelis.”
Chapter 70
I go back to the new hiding place of the Worldkeepers deep in the academy that afternoon, once more dressed in clothes from the stash in what was once my room in Kaelis’s apartments. He’s updated the wardrobe to fit my current station better, so it’s unnecessary for me to swing back to the professors’ wing first.
Xora talks with Ferier. It looks like Ordin is asleep in the room to the right, what was once Gregor’s. It makes sense they’d use it, but the idea of someone else occupying that space like he never existed so soon after his passing rubs me wrong. I hear Thal and Arina from the room to the left.
“You didn’t die.” Xora is on her feet the second she sees me.
“Your confidence in me is astounding,” I say dryly.
“We heard there was a Stellis attack at the crater.” Ferier turns my way.
“In Oricalis, the only thing faster than a card casting is gossip,” I murmur.
“More like, a mysterious case of missing Stellis—their leader included—since they didn’t even find the bodies,” Xora says.
They don’t know what happened to them. No one could know. I hardly knew what was happening, and I saw it. But the way Ferier looks at me has me panicking that somehow he, too, now possesses irrefutable proof of Kaelis’s ability to wield reversed cards. And I’m holding a container of yet even more evidence.
“What happened doesn’t matter. I have what I need to ink another vessel,” I proclaim, patting my satchel, where the small jar of reversed card dust sits. “Now I’m going to check on my sister.” I stride away before they can ask anything else.
I exhale and pause at the cracked door of the room where Arina and Thal are, never sure what I might find. There are good days and bad days. I never dare get my hopes too high. But out of everything I expected, laughter wasn’t on the list.
Not only are Arina and Thal talking, but she’slaughing.It’s wispy and thin, more like a wheeze. But genuine.
I pause and draw a shuddering breath, forbidding myself to cry as I push open the door the rest of the way.
Arina is propped up against pillows. Not only does she sound better, but shelooksbetter. Her color is returning. Cheeks fuller. And her hair is nearly to her earlobes. Even though there’s a faint tremor in her fingers and she uses both hands to bring a mug of steaming broth to her lips, she seems tenfold stronger than I’ve seen her in months.
At her side on the edge of the bed is Thal. They lean away the moment I enter, beaming. “Clara, it’s good to see you!”
“I…” My voice fades, words lost. Arina and I lock eyes, and I’ve a thousand things I want to say.
“Oh, since you’re here, I’ve a few things to sort myself.” Thal stands and quickly crosses over. They pass the mug they were holding to me. Judging by how the broth nearly sloshes over, it’s untouched. “Talk to her. She’s been asking for you the past two days,” they whisper hastily, then leave.
Arina and I continue to stare at each other. She regards me carefully, but there’s no resentment there. No unease. It seems as if Thal has helped her make progress by leaps and bounds in just a few days.As if Arina had turned a corner right before I left and is now sprinting toward something resembling healing.
“It’s good to see you.” There’s so much wrapped in her words.
“It’s good to see you,” I echo, still in a daze.
Another stretch of silence. I think we’re both remembering our conversation right before I left. Mourning Gregor together. Arina sucks in a slow breath and then puts on the bravest smile I’ve ever seen.
“You look thinner,” she says finally. I blurt laughter. Brief and rough. She grins slightly.
