Not that she would ever know—not that I’d ever let Orela find out. She’d already had so much taken from her, from the moment she’d been marked as a seer.
“Kira will be okay,” Finn replied again, his arms wrapping around my body as he pulled me in for a hug. I breathed in his smoke-and-sand scent, trying to calm the rising panic, the overwhelming feeling of nausea that began to build through my body.
“Don’t lie to me, Finn,” I murmured against his chest. “Not today.”
“It’s not lying, darling,” he replied.
“What do you call it then?” I pulled back slightly as I stared up at my friend. “Wistful thinking? Half-assed positivity? A cheery outlook?”
“Stars-above, woman!” he exclaimed, his eyes lighting with a teasing glint. “Heaven forbid we have a little positivity in our lives—a little hope.”
“Hey! That’s not—I’m just—” I didn’t know what I was trying to say. I was just too worried. I’d been here before, waiting on this side of the door for another sister, and it didn’t end well.
“Come on, let’s wait for her over there.” Finn gestured toward a canopied alcove, away from the crowds gathered for Marking Day. A ceremony that always fell on the Two Suns Solstice.
“Shade,” I nearly groaned in relief as I pressed my back against the sand slab base of the building, feeling the cool material against my skin.
“You’d think you’d spent all day in the sun,” Finn teased as he leaned against the wall as well.
I glanced at my phone, noting the time. It had been half an hour. Thirty minutes had passed since Kira had walked through the security gates. How much longer until she finished her marking? Until she walked out those doors with her affinities marked across her left forearm.
A rolling wave of nausea swept through me, and I leaned more of my weight against the wall, praying to the gods that it was just the sweltering heat.
Another wave, more violently this time, built up, and I closed my eyes, blocking out the noises of the street.Not today. For the love of Astara. Not today. Any day but today.
Only for the next rush of nausea to sweep over me. I tried to swallow back the urge to vomit.
“Rae?” a voice sounded in the distance, but my head felt fuzzy, heavy, as I sank lower against the building, reminding myself to breathe.
“Fuck!” I heard it louder then, my gaze focusing back in as wavy brown hair with sun-touched streaks popped into my vision. “Come on, let’s sit down.”
Finn’s voice.
Another wave of nausea rose, and I groaned.This couldn’t be happening at a worse time.
Pressure began to build in my head, higher and higher. My vision flickered on the edges, spots dancing in my peripheral vision. I could feel the tension twist inside my head, and then, right on cue, my nose began bleeding. I felt warm liquid dripping down against my lips, before droplets fell and splattered, marring the high-end streets of the Temple District.
Then, Finn was pressing something against my nose, holding it firmly.
“Come on, darling,” he whispered, his tone far more serious than it had been earlier in the day. “Eyes on me. I need you to lean forward.”
I gave a weak smile, leaning forward as I pinched the bridgeof my nose, already knowing that my hands would be coated in blood when I looked.
“You said the episodes were getting further apart.”
“Well,” I replied, my voice sounding far away as I held the cloth over my nose. “They were.”
“Raelyna,” Finn stated, a hard edge to his tone. “This has been the third time in two weeks. That is not evenremotelyfurther apart.”
“It’s subjective,” I replied, my voice coming off just as muffled as before while I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to staunch the blood flow.
“In what possible way is itsubjective?” he replied, his eyes narrowing as he watched me.
“In the way that I say so,” I answered. “And I don’t need you and Emberly worrying about me. I’ve got this handled.”
“That much is evident,” he said in jest. “You’re sitting like a vagrant on the side of the street in the Temple District with a nosebleed. But yes . . . you’ve most definitely got this handled.”
“Finn,” I huffed in exasperation. “Just . . . I’ve got it covered, okay?” I narrowed my eyes at him as I kept pressure against the bridge of my nose, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over me.
