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“Yes, it matters!”
“Then, no, I wouldn’t have,” I said solemnly. I couldn’t lie to her anymore.
Her expression tensed like she’d been struck. “Did you lie about the healer in Askeland too?”
“No, I didn’t.”
She seemed to believe me, but the lethal look in her eyes didn’t dissipate. “I can’t believe I ever trusted you.”
“Wait, you thinkI’mthe only one who’s lied?” I said, my tone suddenly tightening in reaction to her words. No, I hadn’t been completely honest, but neither had she.
“What are you talking about?” she said, taking a step back.
“Um, Jeddak,” Kah interjected when he noticed the tension rippling through my muscles. “She’s not going to listen if you start shouting at her.”
I ignored him, not bothering to unclench my fists. “For one, you said you didn’t know why Commander Bloodbain was after you. But youdidknow, didn’t you?”
Raven stood still, her lips pressed together.
“It’s because you told him about the suli map, isn’t it? You didn’t trustmeenough, but you clearly felt that smug Rathalan bastard was trustworthy after about five minutes in his bedroom together.”
“He poisoned me!”
“Don’t you realize if you had told me, we might have been able to create a diversion to get the Rathalans off our tail? Then we wouldn’t be stuck in this forsaken place.” I waved to the black bramble surrounding us. “Who else knows about the map, Raven?” I demanded. “Sal Sahteene? Queen B’kara? That guy Skyler? Who did you tell?” I knew I had no right to be angry, but the Rathalans—and who knows how many others—had been hunting us this entire time without her breathing a word about what they were after.
When her lips twitched at Skyler’s name, I knew the answer. My blood burned when I thought of her whispering to him at the feast last night. Telling him about the map instead of me. Confiding in him instead of me.
“Skyler’s no more trustworthy than your preciousBain!”
Kah coughed uncomfortably behind me.
“You don’t know anything about Skyler,” she said coolly.
“I know he’s been following us ever since we arrived at the Market of End. Did it ever occur to you that he’s after the stone too?”
“Heisafter the stone.”
“What?” I didn’t expect that.
“Skyler’s from the Zavien tribe,like me.” She waited a beat for me to react. When I said nothing, she knew I’d known the truth about her all along. “Last night,”after you left, her rigidtone implied, “he told me everything. About who I am and where I came from. The Azurstone—or Zavien stone—was stolen from our homeland months ago. He and I were on a mission to find it when the Rathalans captured me.”
That confirmed my suspicion about the bowman. I’d secretly guessed he was a Zavien but wasn’t sure until now. The only way he could have followed us this far without detection was if he was in his bird form. “How do you know he’s even telling you the truth? Your memory is gone, Raven. He could make up any wild tale to get you to lead him to the stone.”
“Because not everyone is a liar like you.”
“You need to stay away from him. He’s dangerous,” I said, my tone icy.
“I’m beginning to thinkyou’rethe one who’s dangerous.”
Lightning flashed between us, her fingers twitching like they craved a weapon to swing at me. But when she spoke, her rage had flatlined. “I’m not coming with you to Askeland. And neither you nor your king will get your hands on the Azurstone.Ever.”
The air stilled around us, the calm in the eye of the storm.
“I’m not leaving here without you,” I said, my jaw tight. She might hate me, but I wasn’t going to leave her in this deadly place. And I wasn’t returning to Askeland empty-handed.
“Yes, you are,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s easy. Just go. Like you did last night.”
Her words cut into me, and I felt my defenses falter. “I messed up,” I said, shaking my head in defeat. “I shouldn’t have walked away …” There was more I wanted to tell her, but how could I confess my feelings for her when I could barely admit them to myself? Every thought I had of her was weighed down with guilt about Lila.
