Page 84 of Empire of Flame and Thorns

He leans back in his chair and stretches his legs out underneath the table. My heart aches with jealousy at how carefree he looks. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that at ease in my entire life.

“What would you do?” Fenriel asks, and looks around at all of us. “With your freedom, I mean. If you win the Atonement Trials tomorrow, what are you planning to do with your freedom?”

A few people exchange startled looks. We’ve never shared personal details with each other before. After all, in here, we’re all rivals.

I glance around at the people in the room with me. Isera is sitting at a table by the wall, eating her food as if she’s the only person in the room. As usual, her face is an impassive mask, and she hasn’t looked up even once since Fenriel started talking.

Alistair is sitting at his table in the middle, which is now empty except for him since all of his friends have already been eliminated. He has paused with his glass halfway to his lips andis watching Fenriel with orange and green eyes that are full of suspicion.

A short distance from him, Lavendera is sitting at her own table. The plate of food before her is completely untouched, and she’s absentmindedly tracing patterns on the pale wooden tabletop with her finger. Her eyes are fixed on the white stone wall across the room as she stares at something that only she can see.

“I would open up a bakery.”

We all start in surprise and turn towards the source of the voice.

Trevor, the blond guy with stone magic, blushes a little when he notices our surprised looks. But then he clears his throat and shrugs before elaborating. “I’d find a nice human town, without any dragon shifters, and open up a bakery. I would bake all of those incredible pastries that I’ve only read about in books.” A broad grin spreads across his face. “And then I’d eat them all.”

Soft laughter ripples through the room.

“I mean, I’d sell them too,” he adds with a smile. “Eventually. But first, I’d just eat them.”

Fenriel excitedly slaps the tabletop with his palm and then points towards Trevor. “See? That, right there, is a true life goal!”

Another round of chuckles spreads through the room.

The tension that used to vibrate in the air evaporates almost immediately, and it’s suddenly much easier to breathe.

I eat some more of my food while someone calls from across the room, “What about you then, Fenriel? What would you do?”

Fenriel lets out a satisfied sigh and leans back in his chair again. “I would set out on an adventure.” Another grin spreads across his mouth as he crosses his ankles and reaches up to rest his hands behind his head, the very image of relaxed comfort. His face takes on a dreamy expression as he gazes up at theceiling. “I want to travel the world. Wander through the great forests. Climb the Peaks of Prosperity. Explore the land all the way to the Western Sea.” He shifts his gaze back down to us and flashes us another smile. “With Talon, of course. He would love to soar freely too.”

Unexpected warmth spreads through my chest, and I find myself smiling too. That does sound like a wonderful dream.

Sitting up straight, he turns towards Isera, who is still eating her food without bothering to look up.

“What about you, Isera?” he asks, trying to bring her into the conversation too. “What would you do?”

At long last, she looks up from her food.

Silence descends over the dining room as she meets Fenriel’s gaze. Her eyes betray nothing. No hint of emotion. As usual, her entire expression is just a blank mask.

I get the overwhelming urge to reach out with my magic and push at different emotions, just to figure out what she’s really feeling. But I don’t do it. I never use my powers on people without their permission if I can help it. And Isera trusts me for some reason, or at least she did back in that tunnel, so I don’t want to do anything to ruin that.

Everyone holds their breath as they wait for her to reply.

She just looks back at us.

And then goes back to eating.

A sigh of disappointment escapes several throats.

“You would try to find your mother, wouldn’t you?”

Isera jerks her head up. Shock and alarm flash across her face like bolts of lightning. It’s the strongest emotions I have ever seen on her face, and the sight of it stuns me so much that I sit back in my chair.

“What did you just say?” she demands. Her grip tightens around her knife, and for a moment, I think she might be getting ready to summon her magic too.

Kevlin, the person who made that shocking statement, just looks back at her with a steady gaze. “I said that you would most likely try to find your mother. Wouldn’t you? Your father was killed by a shifter patrol when you were only two years old, so your mother is all you have. But she was one of the three winners of the last Atonement Trials,” he motions vaguely at the world around us, “so she’s outtheresomewhere.”

---