The room tilted beneath me. Nausea twisted through my stomach, and his face blurred at the edges.
“Are you quite alright?” he asked, reaching for my elbow.
I tried to nod, but the world was still dizzy. “Yes, I…” I narrowed my eyes at him. “How did you know about Asha?”
His eyes widened.
I stumbled.
“You’re unwell. Shall I assist you?”
I pushed him away, hard enough that nearby guests turned and stared. He dropped my arm and bowed. “As you wish.”
I sank down on a nearby bench, waiting for the nausea of my premonition to leave as Lee disappeared into the crowd. In that moment, certainty settled into my bones: Lee had something to do with the danger Thomas would be put in.
I just didn’t know why.
I stumbled out, away from the stray elbows, sweeping skirts, and obnoxious laughs. Into the quiet of the night where only torchlight and horses’ soft huffs kept me company.
My lungs drank in the fresh air, the world slowly being put to right. My steps became more sure, even as my mind reeled with realization.
When I finally found the carriage, Ella’s driver, Mr. Brook, stood brushing down a horse’s coat. He paused at the sight of me. “Aren’t you going to twirl around the room with a prince as well?”
I snorted. “Those sorts of stories belong to people like Ella and Theodore,” I said. “Soft and sweet and built for romance.”
His brow lowered as he returned to his brushing. “And what are you meant for?”
My stomach settled as answers flooded my mind. I looked at the palace and the dazzling sunset above it, the golden sun bidding farewell so the moon could take her turn.
I smiled to myself. “More.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Nearly two weeks after the ball, my mind still wandered more often than it should have to Thom. I knew Anna would want to meet me at the market soon to chat, but she failed to appear at our usual meeting spot. Apparently the ball had swept her off her feet, too.
But something more important, more severe, weighed on me. Again and again, at the most unexpected moments, dread would weigh me down and I’d feel faint, only to be certain of my least favorite truth: Thom would soon be in trouble. And Lee was most certainly involved.
And there was nothing to be done about it.
Should I warn him again?
But by now, Thom knew of my first premonition—I’d laid out as much to him in my letter.
Yet he still hadn’t sought me out. Why not?
And what should be done?
Guilt prickled at my conscience as I tossed and turned beneath the starlight that snuck into my room through a small window. I heaved, the nausea within me so strong I would have called a physician if I hadn’t known it was my magic.
The gift I’d feared for so long, the one I was slowly learning toembrace, no longer felt like a whispered warning.
It felt like a command.
Now.
I dug my fingers into my cheeks, trying not to vomit. The world was swirling, my mind blank.
Now.
