Page 180 of The Incendiary

“No. They live in the tunnel you’re currently staying in. Perfectly comfortable, but you’re our queen. We have the best for you.”

“I’d like to stay near my friends.”

Elias sighed. “I really think it would be wise for your permanent quarters to be near mine.” He slowed to a stop outside of a tall set of wooden doors with iron handles and knockers and cleared his throat. “Listen.” He turned to face me. “Can I come to you later to discuss…” His confidence faltered. “I really would like to further discuss what happened that night in the Barracks.”

I felt the blood rush from my cheeks as the carved insults on the insides of my thighs began to sting and burn.

“There’s nothing to discuss.” I grabbed the door handle. “Is he in here?”

“Wait.” Fire shot up my forearm at the feel of his hand over mine. He withdrew when he saw me glaring at his hand. “If you had told me who you were… it never would have happened, Aryella.”

My shoulders slumped in defeat. Could he not see that was exactly part of the problem?

“It shouldn’t have mattered who I was,” I whispered, finally, looking up at him with sadness. “I know I lied, but as I was—as Fera—I needed you to care. My commander. My friend. You already doubted them, and yet, them assaulting me in the shower wasn’t enough for you to believe me when I told you the truth.”

His sorrow mirrored my own, and his longing caused my throat to tighten. He felt remorse. It didn’t feel like enough, but it was still painful to see.

“I’ll forgive you for it eventually. I will. Every single life in this cave relies on us trusting each other, but I need time.”

“Time,” he repeated. I heard the unspoken question in his worried stare. How much?

That, I didn’t know. “Yes. Time.”

“Well, I’ll be here,” Elias sighed heavily, his hand reaching to brush mine.

“Thank you.” I ignored how my touch-starved body ached with longing and opened the double doors to Simeon’s study, preparing myself to finally meet my uncle.

FIFTY-THREE

ARYELLA

I kept my back to him at first. Once Shera entered behind me, I closed the door and locked Elias out, knowing I was trading one challenge for another.

“If they try to force you to do something you don’t want to do, you tell them no, and you don’t give in… Promise me.”

Silently promising him I’d obey, I turned and took in Simeon’s impressive study. Wall-to-wall bookshelves. Multiple tables filled with glass orbs and beakers and flasks. And then… my uncle.

Seeing that silver hair on anyone but myself was surreal. I wanted to find comfort in his bright green, gold-speckled stare identical to my own, but I couldn’t. He was lean and of average height, quite a bit taller than me. He wore black pants and shoes, a perfectly unwrinkled ivory button-down shirt and round spectacles. Not physically intimidating, but he carried himself with unnerving, omniscient authority that made me want to cower.

But I didn’t.

This man had been the one to break into my mind, steal and unravel it. Wipe me clean for his benefit. Especially now, with Gavin gone… what I wouldn’t give to regain the memories of our past.

Simeon closed the book in his hands and smiled warmly. “It’s good to finally see you, Aryella.”

“Do you want me to rip out his throat?”

“Let me handle this, please,” I answered Shera, who’d remained mostly calm and unwavering at my side until this moment.

I gave Simeon no answer, only stared. The way my body bristled in his presence made me think that part of me remembered how he once made me feel.

“Aryella.” He took a step toward me. I tensed and let my disgust read plainly on my face.

“Come any closer, and I’ll let it be a surprise which god’s power I show you first.”

He pursed his lips. “You and I used to be very close. I helped raise you. We’re family.”

He was nostalgic over the niece he had erased, and the person left in her wake was the product of his manipulation. I was forgiving, but Simeon would perhaps take more work than I was capable of. Family didn’t do what he did or take what he took.