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A slight pause marred the confidence of her speech, but she pushed on.
“Let me?”she echoed, her leathers shifting as she adjusted her stance. “Let me?Need I remind you thatyoukissedme,Olympia.”
My hair blew in the breeze, tickling my cheeks as I turned to face her. “You licked my neck!”
“You tried to have mekilled!” she yelled, prowling forward and closing the distance between us. “You’re lucky I didn’t run you through with Amnesia on first sight.”
“And I would’ve deserved it, had I done as you claimed,” I returned bitterly, pushing the curls out of my face.
A storm whirled in her eyes. “Why do you continue to lie, Olly? I caught the assassin red-handed with a blade that boreyoursymbol.”
“My symbol?” I felt a furrow crease my brows. “What do you mean?”
She slid a small dagger from her belt, and I fought the flinch that threatened to crease my cheek. The sharpened blade pointed in my direction, the devilishly honed tip gleaming in the light pouring through the window behind me.
The blade was marred by a drop of blood, dried to a dark smear.
Almost instinctively, my fingers rose to the gash on my neck, touching the tender skin.
With expert fingers, Zoei turned the blade so the green leather handle was pointing towards me.
I stared down at the weapon, confusion rife in my gaze.
When I reached for the dagger, she pulled it away deftly.
“What am I supposed to be looking at?” I queried, crossing my arms with a huff of annoyance.
She held the base of the blade up to the light. “See?”
I squinted, peering close at the scratchings she indicated. Sure enough, it looked like the remnants of the earth enchanter symbol, but it had been worn away from decades or even centuries of use.
“Thisis your proof?” I questioned, flabbergasted. “Mere scratchings?”
“Don’t deflect,” Zoei growled. “The timing was too much of a coincidence. On the day we let the earth enchanters back into Highblade Palace, an assassin appears in my locked chambers. Do you expect me to believe thiswasn’tyou?”
I glanced at the blade, then back at her scowl.
“Wouldn’t that betooobvious?” I pondered aloud.
“Or just obvious enough,” Zoei countered. “I know you were in my rooms, Olympia.”
I froze, limbs tight with apprehension.
“I beg your pardon?” The question sprang free in a higher pitch than I’d intended.
Zoei scoffed. “You can beg me all you want—it won’t change the fact that you were in my rooms last night.”
I swallowed, unable to keep guilt from creasing my features.
“Did you sneak your little assassin through the passageways we used as children?”
“No!” Shame crashed over me, and I ran a palm over my heated cheeks.
“No,” I repeated, trying to mellow my voice into a more pleasing register. “That’s not… I didn’t sneak anyone in, Zoei. But yes, I visited your suite yesterday before the ball.”
“Visitedsounds like you were invited,” she chastised.
“Isnuck in.” The words were pried from my clenched jaw. “How did you know?”
