Page 389 of Axis of Fire

My gaze snapped to him.

"If you'd rather," he said with a shrug, "I can always take you to Tarven and Rosalie."

Well...

That certainly knocked the pride out of me.

I simply looked away and kept walking, hearing his footsteps fall back into step beside me.

"So..." I said, forcing some lightness into my voice.

"What should we do first?"

"We could rent festival clothes."

He nodded toward a nearby stall filled with elaborate outfits.

They'd been prepared specifically for visitors who hadn't brought traditional festival attire with them.

Tarven had told me about those too.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of two painfully familiar figures.

Actually...

Three.

Alicia stood surrounded by two girls, arguing with someone.

Joelle.

The tension between them was almost tangible.

This wasn't an ordinary disagreement.

It looked like resentment.

Years of it.

The two girls beside Alicia avoided Joelle's eyes as though guilt weighed heavily on them.

Alicia, on the other hand...

Looked positively delighted.

"Have they hated each other for long?" I asked, nodding toward the group.

Ever since Joelle had stepped in during my confrontation with Alicia, neither she nor Miloran had mentioned what had happened.

It felt like forbidden territory.

"No idea."

Miloran shrugged.

"I don't make a habit of keeping up with students' personal lives."

I snorted.