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“I feel fine.”
“Are you sure? You didn’t look so good after the trial. I don’t know how I managed to get you out of those tunnels.”
“Thank you for that.” Tears swell in my eyes, and I blink them away before they can escape down my cheeks. “If not for you, I wouldn’t have passed the trial. I don’t think I can ever repay you for what you did.”
“Repay me?” she scoffs. “Don’t be silly. You’re my best friend. Why would you need to repay me? Though if you are insisting, I certainly wouldn’t say no to a bottle of moon-blossom wine. And Mrs. Baxter’s finest cakes.”
I laugh, and so does she. But then my chest starts to hurt, and we both stop laughing.
“I thought you said you felt fine,” she says, giving me a dubious look as I clutch my chest.
“I do,” I wheeze. “Or at least I did until I started laughing.”
“Then don’t laugh. Now I see why your father told me not to talk to you for long.”
I roll my eyes.
“He’s right. You need to sleep.”
“I’m tired of sleeping,” I complain. “I’ve already slept all day. What time is it even?”
“Just past nine o’clock.”
“I’ve slept for at least eleven hours. Must I really sleep more?”
“Yes,” she replies, wagging her finger at me. “You absolutely must if you are to complete the last trial on Friday. The Trial of Magic will require a great deal of strength. You know that.”
“I know, I know,” I huff, slumping into my sheets.
“Oh, that’s right,” she blurts. “Don’t you have a date with Nolan tomorrow night, as well?”
Grumbling, I grab a pillow and bury my face in it. The golden tassel tickles my nose.
Eliya confiscates it. “You’ll knock your bandages if you’re not careful.”
I wrinkle my nose at her and pull the sheets over my head.
“What’s the matter? Yesterday, you were excited about it.”
“Yesterday, I wasn’t injured,” I retort. “Nor was I excited about it.”
“Were too.”
“Was not.”
“Come on, Reyna. It’ll do you some good to have some fun for once. And that’s all it needs to be. If you decide you don’t like him, you don’t ever need to see him again. I’ll even break the bad news to him, if you want. You know I’m an expert at that. But at least see how it goes first before deciding.”
“I don’t think I’m in any state to have fun right now.”
“You’ve told me twice that you feel fine. And that you’re tired of sleeping.”
“My father won’t let me leave my bed, let alone go on a date with someone I just met.”
“We have an entire day until then. And your father normally works until late, doesn’t he? I’ll convince him to let me look after you all of tomorrow.”
I press my lips together, trying to think of an excuse she can’t counter. “I’m not like you,” I finally settle on saying. “I don’t want a long line of broken-hearted boys pining after me.”
She cackles. “It is a long line, isn’t it? But you won’t have a long line. At least, not yet. There would only be Nolan.”
