Page 72 of The Heart Trials

“Axira,” Caelus says beside me in the transport as it bumps along out of the Citadel and into Skyhaven. “You haven’t said two words since we left.” He holds our itinerary in his hands.

“I picked someone,” I say.

The transports all veer in different directions. Catching up with Kade now is going to be difficult. I have to get close to him somehow. I have to get between him and Lira. And yet I’m here with Caelus.

“Kade,” I say. “That’s who I should be with today, not you.”

“Excuse me for trying to save you from being cut.”

So I was last, as I suspected.

“Be mad if you want,” he goes on. “I wasn’t going to let you be disqualified. You’re stuck with me for a day, but you’re still here.”

“I didn’t mean—Caelus, I don’t mind being stuck with you. Kade is on a date with Lira right now. He will be kissing her at the end of the day for all we know.”

“You don’t mind being stuck with me?” He smirks.

I elbow him. “Have you picked someone?”

He avoids everyone who tries to talk to him. Syra’s warning plays like a tolling bell in my head. He will be killed. She seemed sure. But she also didn’t flinch at me matching with Kade. So her judgment is faulty at best. I tell him what she said.

“You’re worried about me,” he says.

“I’m not worried.”

“You reach for your bun when you’re in a panic.”

I hadn’t even realized my hand was nearing the nape of my neck. I shove my palms together and stuff them between my knees. “I just need this to work.”

“We’ll find Kade and Lira. I’ll make sure of it.”

“And somehow protect Dorian.”

He frowns. “Why Dorian?”

I tell him about Rhythe’s plans, and Caelus’s jaw tightens. “You might have to give up on trying to protect Dorian, Axira.” There it is again, the softness that slips into his voice when he says my name like it matters to him. Like I matter to him. “You can’t risk becoming Rhythe’s enemy.”

“Why?”

“If he becomes your enemy, he becomes mine.” His jaw tightens, and his eyes move over me—gentle, watchful. Like he’s holding himself back from saying more. The air between us tightens. His gaze lingers on my mouth for half a breath before meeting my eyes again. “You don’t want me in a fight with Rhythe.”

“Because—”

“Because my father is looking for a reason to make things worse for the districts. Whispers of the rebels resurging have him frazzled. I saw him pacing in the middle of the night days ago. Rhythe is from a family of traitors.”

“But his life was spared. Wouldn’t the Benevolent assume he’s loyal to him?”

Caelus shrugs. “That’s the only reason Rhythe was allowed to compete in the tournament, I would guess. But my father is the kind of person who never forgets a person’s mistakes. And he will bring them up at the worst possible, most painful times.” Caelus’s gaze drifts past me to the window as if the glass reflects some horror only he can see. “Rhythe fighting with his beloved son is the perfect reason to make things very bloody in your district, very quickly.”

A wave of dread rolls through me. But my mind doesn’t stop—it races ahead. “But I thought he wanted to get you killed in here.”

“He wants whatever suits him when it suits him, and as of two nights ago, he’s more worried about the whispers of rebels than me disrupting his stupid tournament. When he visited my room last, he was threatening to have Finn’s family punished because he picked a fight with me. But he decided Finn dying was a severe enough punishment. He’s determined to crush the whispers of a new rebellion, whatever the cost. And that means punishing the lowborn.”

“Serafina—”

“Will be okay.” Caelus fingers slide over mine suddenly, and everything fraying inside me slows as if he’s caught the threads before they could unravel completely. It feels like being chosen, not in the tournament, but in another way. I don’t pull away. I hold still, letting it steady me like an anchor, memorizing the weight of his hand covering mine with more certainty than I’ve ever felt from anyone.

“I sent more medicine this morning,” he says. “But Dreth’s getting suspicious. We’re going to get that ship, Axira. We’re going to get you and her out of here.”