Page 90 of Daughter of No Worlds

I did it.

I did it.

I touched the side of my head, still warm and damp. Pulled back my fingers to look at the red. I didn’t realize that I was grinning until I started to wonder why my cheeks ached.

Max pushed back my hair, examining the wound. I hardly felt it. “Sammerin can take care of that,” he said, but I couldn’t care less about that cut.

BecauseI did it.

“Tisaanah, I need verbal confirmation that you’re alright and that none of that turned your mind to custard.”

I couldn’t stop smiling. “I am very good,” I said, hoarsely. “Very, very good.”

Max dropped his head, letting out a sigh that started in relief and ended in exasperation. “Ascended above. Get up. You look like a lunatic.”

“Loo-nuh-tic?” New word. I hadn’t found one of those in a while.

My head spun as Max pulled me to my feet.

“A crazy person. Like, for instance, one that rolls around on the ground grinning to herself while covered in her own blood.”

Loo-nuh-tic.

I liked it.

A firm hand clapped me on my shoulder, shaking my knees. “Excellent work, Tisaanah. Incredibly impressive.”

Zeryth stood beside me, greeting me with a pleasant smile. His hand remained around my shoulders. That otherworldly magnetism was gone, replaced with a much more comfortable, human friendliness. Still, I resisted the immediate urge to shrug away from his hands.

Get on your knees.

But I simply smiled — gave him one befitting of the sweet teenage girl that I was when I first met him. Insulting the Arch Commandant was not in my best interest.

“It’s good to see you after so long, Zeryth,” I said.

One telltale wrinkle flickered over the bridge of Max’s nose, and I immediately knew what was coming.

“What the hell was that?” he spat. “Three high-ranking Valtain against one apprentice? In what world is that reasonable?”

I shot Max a warning look. As touching as it was that he was so angry on my behalf, I didn’t need him undermining my success, even if his intentions were good. Besides, I wasn’t afraid of being pushed hard. Not when it gave me that much more of a chance to prove myself.

Which I had. That was all that mattered.

“Maxantarius. What a surprise.” Zeryth had remained on my arm. His easy smile hardened. “Are you finally attempting to rejoin society?”

“It’s a temporary testing period. So far, my opinion is mixed.”

“Really? A happy-go-lucky person like you?”

Max practically snarled. “You didn’t answer my question. Do you want to explain why you thought it was acceptable—”

Shut up.“Max is a very loyal teacher,” I said to Zeryth, infusing my voice with a shade of too-pleasant, too-sweet good humor.

Max caught my glare and shut his mouth, though doing so looked like it put him in physical pain.

Zeryth waved my comment away, chuckling. “We’re old friends. Trust me, I’m very familiar with his charming idiosyncrasies.” Then he turned back to me and his smile softened from hard-edged to gentle. “I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear that you made it here, Tisaanah. But then again, if anyone could do it…”

I beamed. “Thank you.”

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