Page 118 of A Liar's Twisted Tongue

“So this?” I point between us. “This is over?”

“Long over.”

I reach for the door and slam it behind me.

Stepping into Aralia’s room, I see a lump in her bed and remember it’s just my sulky roommate. Joining her in the sulking, I lay in bed and pull the covers over my head. It gets stuffy beneath the surface too quickly, and I pull it off.

Then I do something stupid.

“Aralia?” I ask.

She pulls her cover off from over her head. Her black hair is an untamed mess sticking out in every direction. Her lips a scowl.

“Are you okay?” I haven’t tried to talk to her much other than during the first days.

Turning away from me, she says, “No.”

I wince when I say, “Do you want to talk?” But I wince even more at the sudden emotion that fills me—how much I hope she will say yes. I must be desperate for a distraction. “I miss you,” I add. I wonder if it sounds convincing. “And I almost died today.”

She looks at me, fidgeting beneath her cover. Then she just stares, for a long, long time. Until, finally, she says, “I can’t stop thinking about what will happen if Lilac doesn’t make it.”

“I didn’t know you two were friends,” I say.

“We were best friends.” She fidgets more before she says, “When Calista and I got back from Acansa, a lot changed. Before that, it was always the three of us.”

“The three of you?” I ask.

“Calista, Lilac, and I.”

I’m shocked, but I don’t know why. Her parents are the head advisors to the king and queen. She grew up in the kingdom, with Calista. She is practically Royalty adjacent.

I am surrounded by people who’d hate me if they knew the truth.

It’s a good thing I’m a liar.

“Calista was the first to drop us. It was just Lilac and me for most of the year, until I did exactly what Calista did to us.” Tears build in her eyes. “And what Calista did still hurts me. And Lilac went through that twice.” After a pause, she says, “And I miss her.”

Oh. It’s not grief. It’s guilt. “I’ll start checking on her for you,” I say, thinking of my mom and how the image of her bloody and bruised fills my mind every time I close my eyes. “So you don’t have to see her like that.”

“Thank you.” Aralia catches a tear from her cheek and sniffles. “How’d you almost die today?”

“Oh,” I turn over to lay on my back, “the Flame.”

“Oh,” her voice cracks.

“Yeah,” I sigh. “Oh.”

When the ceiling gets boring and my thoughts get repetitive, I say, “You know, you’re the only one here who’s taken an interest in being friends with me. Everyone else looks at me with either fear or pity.” Take your pick.

I’m more likely to self-combust than graduate. The truth is actually petrifying.

I look away from the ceiling to find her looking at the window between our beds. “My dad was a Fire Folk.” Was. That’s what she looks at when she stares at the window. The pictures on the sill. “I don’t think you deserve to be ignored because you have a power that’s difficult to maintain.”

“I appreciate it,” I say.

“It’s not a big deal, truly. Besides, you’re kind of my best friend at this point.”

“Best friend?” That could work out well for me. “Yeah, you too,” I mumble. To change topics before I get caught in my white lie, I say, “How well do you know Kai?”

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