Page 62 of Thief of Hearts

I dreamed of the goddess again that night, everything exactly the same as it had been in the other dreams. Eramis silent, standing behind her. Invara speaking only one word.

Win.

I wanted to tell her that so far I was, but I was again prevented from speaking.

Thankfully Lia didn’t show up, and I hoped she’d stay away until the tournament was over. I would travel to my mother with my answer on how to change her mind and then I’d go straight to Ilion so I could explain.

Not that I knew how to explain any of this. I woke up with only Dagger for company. The dog still slept and emitted random bouts of flatulence. I went and got ready for the day, searching for Zain. I felt slightly pathetic for doing so and tried to come up with a reasonable excuse I could give him as to why I had sought him out.

Nothing came to me.

And it would’ve been a lie, so it was better for me not to say it. But I wasn’t sure if my ego could withstand telling him the truth. That the feelings I’d thought were far off in the distant future seemed to have started making an appearance after last night.

It wasn’t just his passion and skill, it was his consideration. The men I’d been with wouldn’t have cared if I’d been injured.

But Zain had.

Perhaps he thought it was only about a physical attraction and didn’t realize that it might go deeper for him as well?

He’d have to be the one to figure that out. It wasn’t my responsibility to tell him what his feelings were.

Despite searching for a long time, I didn’t find him. He wasn’t training, wasn’t running, wasn’t eating in the dining hall.

It was like he had disappeared.

I tried to occupy my time because I was not going to spend my day waiting for him to return. Healers stopped by to visit me and had me drink even more potions, which were causing my wound to heal extremely quickly.

And that meant I’d be at full health very soon.

There was no one to share that information with. Zain didn’t come home that night, nor did he return to our room early in the morning before the third event.

Now I was concerned. What if something was wrong? I thought about when he and I had gone out to celebrate and had been followed. He’d suggested that people might be after him—why hadn’t I taken that seriously?

He might be hurt. Someone might have taken him.

I decided to go to the stadium to see if he was there. If he wasn’t, then I would go looking for him. The diviner stone would have to wait.

When I stepped into the arena, I immediately spotted him and relief pulsed through me. He was fine.

I made my way over to him and he smiled at me.

But I noticed that the warmth of it didn’t reach his eyes. His smiles always made his eyes light up.

What had happened to him?

Chapter Nineteen

“Basileia! Are you ready to race?” Zain was behaving like he hadn’t been missing for an entire day.

“Where have you been?” I asked.

“Here and there.”

His vagueness frustrated me. “I thought something had happened to you.”

“Obviously I’m fine.”

I realized that he didn’t owe me an explanation. We were not involved. We had only briefly kissed. He was not beholden to me.