Page 146 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

She tipped her head and studied him. “Not your second best?”

He smiled and shook his head. “You were never second, Zee. You’ve never been second.”

At that, she burst into tears and threw her arms around him. He returned the hug and kissed the top of her head. They stood like that for several moments.

“Zee?”

“Hmm?”

“There’s an army of demons marching this way.”

“There is.”

“So, we should all probably deal with that.”

She laughed and pulled away, wiping the corner of her eyes. “Be careful out there. You’d better come back to me, too. And thank you for saving me.”

“You did it yourself, Zee.”

“I don’t mean just today.”

Yasen pressed his mouth together, looking like he was trying not to cry.

Rabin had never seen him like this before, but Zarya had a way of drawing out the parts of yourself you were too afraid to share.

“I would do it again a hundred times, Zee.”

They hugged for another moment and said their goodbyes.

Then Rabin left the courtyard with Zarya and Row. As they passed through the gates, he glanced over his shoulder one more time.

Abishek had lied to them over and over again.

He’d felt almost nothing when Row had killed the king. He wasn’t even angry. Just numb.

They hadn’t talked about the fact that Zarya was asking them to kill her. He couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t. He didn’t care about himself, but the world would be darker without her.

She met his gaze as they prowled through the streets, planning to make their way to the hideout in the forest.

As if reading his mind, she offered him a soft smile. “Everything will be okay.”

“I don’t think so,” he answered.

FIFTY

Zarya and Rabin followed Row through Ishaan until they reached a quiet corner and exited through a hidden gate. They entered the forest, winding through the trees until they heard the sounds of the rebellion in the distance.

She exchanged a glance with Rabin as they turned another corner to discover the encampment. They’d clearly been hard at work evacuating vanshaj from the city. Her eyes burned with tears. She was so proud of everyone. They’d all come so far since the day she and Yasen met Ajay and Rania and were recruited to this cause.

She couldn’t think of a better way to spend her final moments.

People stopped to watch as they made their way through the temporary village. She noted the glasses in their hands and that a few had been dancing.

Celebrating. They were celebrating.

“Zarya!” Vikas called. “You’re back!” He ran towards her with Ajay in tow. They both hugged her.

“We were so worried,” Ajay said.