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“How was breakfast?” he asked, inviting himself to the empty chair at our table.
I moaned from the base of my throat, exaggerating the pleasure my full stomach promoted. “Oh, gods above, don’t get me started. They have these white and orange things—”
“Eggs?” He cocked his eyebrow.
“Eggs, yes. And when you prick it with a fork, this golden goodness pours out. What did you say it was, Loren? Yolk? Anyways, I’m absolutely obsessed.” I beamed, holding my fork triumphantly as if I’d conquered my meal.
Azriel grew a soft smile, looking pleased I was enjoying myself. “I’ll make sure they put your name on a hen, then. Wouldn’t want to you to run out anytime soon.”
“If I get my own hen, does this mean I get to stay?” I asked, leaning forward slightly on the table.
“Well, you can’t leave now that you know our secret hideout, darling.”
Loren tensed his fist at the term of endearment. I placed a hand on his forearm before Azriel noticed.
“Good,” I grinned, ignoring my friend’s exaggerated response. “Because you’ll have to roll me off the side of Estellas to get rid of me now.”
Azriel finally turned to Loren, who appeared to be wearing a mask to hide the irritation demonstrated by his tension. “I’m afraid I have to take Arya now. I’ve put off the council for as long as possible, but time is no longer our ally.” He turned back to me. “We need to know what you learned at the citadel.”
I nodded, feeling my stomach cramp against the overindulgence of yolks—it was time.
I followed him deeper into the fortress like his shadow, trailing him closely to keep up with his large gait. He barely looked at me, hardly acknowledged my presence as we walked. Something was wrong between us. I sensed it with every ounce of my practiced intuition.
“Where were you this morning? You left without saying a word,” I asked to break the silence. My voice sounded boisterous in contrast with the quiet hall.
“You were…busy.” He shrugged at the word, still not looking back at me.
“I was talking with my friend, that’s not busy.” I quickened my pace as his steps grew larger.
“You two seemed pretty preoccupied. Especially making plans to kick me out of your room.” He replied. “I guess I was just a placeholder for Loren.”
I rolled my eyes at his back. How had I made connections with the two most jealous males in all of Valdihr? “I’m not sure what you think you heard, but I simply told him you probably wanted a break from me.”
“Well, you were right.”
My feet slowed to a stop underneath me. I had only known this man for a few days, but we had been through a lot in our short time together. I considered him a friend, and his harsh words stung my chest like a whip to my heart. This mood swing had thrown me completely off my guard.
Hearing the sounds of my steps break their shuffle, he turned around, his face the picture of confusion, like he had no idea why I was hurt by what he’d said. Honestly, I didn’t really know myself. “Come on, Arya. They’re waiting,” he said impatiently.
“I don’t give a damn who’s waiting for me.” I replied, my voice slightly shaking. “Why are you acting like this?”
“Like what?”
“Just so…indifferent towards me.”
He crossed the hall to where I was standing, leaning slightly forward to get on my level. Starlight turned into ash in his eyes, dull and uninteresting. “Because I am a watcher, darling, like your little friend told you. You are nothing but a mortal to me—fun to mess with and expendable to know. Like a mayfly, here one minute and gone the next with a hundred more to take your place.”
I swallowed back the pain in my chest, vowing to my pride to not let his coldness undo me. “But last night, you said—”
He threw his head back in impatience. “It doesn’t matter what I said last night. Remember your place in my life, Arya, or I’ll be forced to remind you like I am now.” He practically spat the words at the scowl I wore.
“Loren was right about you,” I mumbled, hoping my glare was as fierce as I meant it to be. “You’re nothing but another self-serving divine.”
“Self-serving,” he repeated. A rumble from his gut echoed through his throat, escaping as a dark chuckle from his lips. “That’s rich, coming from a mortal.”
“I thought you were my friend,” I whispered.
“You thought wrong. I’ll give you some advice, darling,” he said, stepping closer to me. “You’re not under the mountain anymore—you’re in the real world. Out here, no one cares about your feelings, and no one cares about being your friend. The sooner you realize it, the better.”
