Page 198 of Daughter of No Worlds

Because I knew my heart would just combust when I saw him.

Because I took so long to come back for him.

Because he saw me at my worst in that ballroom, saw my failure, saw the monster that Reshaye made of me.

“Look at me.”

Look at me. Look at me. Look at me.

Warm fingers tilted my chin, just as they had on that terrible day seven months ago.

And just as they had on that day, clear blue eyes greeted me like a gulp of water in the middle of a desert.

Serel smiled at me, and something inside of me split open. I threw myself against him and buried my face into his tanned neck, into skin that smelled like my home, into an embrace that felt like dreams solidified.

And with all my body and soul, I wept.

Chapter Seventy-Eight

Max

Istood in a familiar little shed that smelled like animals and rustled with the sounds of tiny feet. Kira held a little blue lizard in her palms. It skittered between her fingers and over the backs of her hands as she excitedly told me about everything that made it revolting and beautiful.

“—Andafter thatis when it vomits up the carcasses to feed to its babies.”

I leaned against the wall and made a snort of disgust.

“That’s pleasant,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm, as if I wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be.

I had been listening to her go on for hours. Normally by now, I would be looking for excuses to leave. Today, for some reason, felt different. Something about this chilly afternoon seemed fleeting, like a ghost was about to slip through my fingers. I couldn’t pinpoint the sensation until Kira stopped talking and turned around to look at me, dark eyes that were a reflection of my own peering through sheets of black hair.

Her image flickered, as if for one brief moment it was made of smoke, then solidified so quickly that I thought I was going insane.

A lump rose in my throat. A distant reality began to encroach on the edge of my thoughts, but I willfully ignored it.

“Show me the next one,” I said.

“You don’t like this one.”

“Show me anyway.”

Don’t stop talking.

She knelt down and pulled out one final glass enclosure from the bottom shelf, opening it and reaching inside with the gentle touch of a mother picking up their precious child.

When she turned around, she gave me a mischievous grin. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want toscareyou.”

She held out her hands. The green snake regarded me with a wary stare as it wound around her arms.

There it was again. A flicker of smoke.

No. Stay.

“If you’re feeling brave, you can even hold it,” she teased.

The sight of the creature did coax forth some unease in my stomach. But I wasn’t afraid of it. Not like I once was.

I extended my hands and let the serpent slide from her fingers into mine, coiling easily around my forearms.

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