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I peel the pillow back a fraction. The light hits me in the face. My hands grow slick with sweat. I should hide them again, but I can’t stop staring. They are more luminous than any sola brossa I have seen. One shard could illuminate the entire market in Utsanek. “These are new, Rhun.”
He shrugs. “Yeah, so?”
“Where did you get them?”
He flops down heavily on his bed. “From the shack where the hunters left the sola meat to hang for the night.” Glancing at me, he lets a smirk creep across his face. “Ketra took me there.”
I sip in a quick breath and try to control my surprise.
Ketra’s always been my ... what? Girlfriend? That word doesn’t seem right. Whatever she is, I’ve always taken for granted that she wanted me. I realize I’m an idiot, and it makes me want to spit hurtful things at Rhun, likeWhen has she ever shown interest in you?Or,You know she only did that to make me jealous.But it isn’t his fault. I’m the one who completely ignored her at the ceremony. I just didn’t think she’d run off with my brother. Grimacing, I push it aside.
“And you, what? Thought it would be funny to hack off a bone or two?” My exhale comes out as a laugh, sharp and mirthless.
He rests his arms back on the mattress and slips his fingers into his mop of dull-blond hair. At fifteen, he already has my father’s muscular frame, but his features are those of Mother. “Don’t worry,” he says, “we took them from inconspicuous places.”
Is he honestly this obtuse? I stare at him, bathed luxuriously in the fresh sola bone light. “There’s no way the Shrouded, or Father, will let you get away with this.”
Rhun’s eyebrows raise. “Ooo, look at the brand-new convert they made out of you.”
An exasperated sigh escapes me as I try to knead the tightness out of the space between my eyebrows. Sometimes, I find it hard to believe he is only three years younger than me. “What are you talking about, you morvus?”
He folds his hands on top of his chest. “You can’t pretend you actually believed in all this kaligorven garbage before today.”
His smug expression makes me want to punch him. Instead, I sit back on my heels and rest my hands on my knees.
Of course, I didn’t. But what does that change?
Pain throbs dully in my left temple. I grit my teeth. Somehow, he always manages to get in my head.
This isn’t about me. It’s about my stupid brother.
“So, you’re saying you didn’t notice the entire Vale threatening to implode on us?” I say, my voice barely controlled. “You didn’t feel the wind try to rip trees out of the ground? You didn’t hear that ... thatthingspeak?” I shudder thinking about it.
Shrugging, Rhun rolls his eyes and stares back at the ceiling. “It was a good show. That’s all.” He closes his eyes as if to sleep.
“Rhun, this is serious. Your actions could have severe consequences—not only for you. For all of us.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
My fingers clench into tight fists. Will nothing get through to him?
“And what happens if Ketra gets the blame?”
Rhun examines his fingers, scraping the dirt from the crevices with a thumbnail. “You honestly think she means anything to me, other than a good time?” His eyes assault me with a look of superiority. “If you care so much about her, why were you such a prick at the festival?”
Heat rises to the collar of my tunic—whether it’s because I can’t stand his egotistical face, or because there’s some truth in what he says, I don’t know.
Standing up, I snatch the bones from the floor and loom over him. I’m done with words.
“Get up.”
He cocks his head, challenging me. “What?”
“I said, get up. You’re going to get rid of those things. Now.”
He yawns apathetically and tries to roll over. I catch him by the arm, yanking him to his feet.
“Hey,” he protests, but I’ve already thrown open the door and dragged him halfway down the hall.
