Page 103 of Queen of Thorns
Light flickers in my palm, and I run it over my broken nose.
“Sorry about that,” she says with a small smile.
“I did worse,” I say, reaching up to touch the bloody mat of hair on the side of her head. I wince as I remember that cracking feeling as my fist hit her skull. I heal her head quickly, without much thought at all.
“Well, I broke your nose after I knew it was you.”
I chuckle through a shiver. “I didn’t give you much choice.” I reach up to the bruises forming on her neck. My stomach sinks again. Shit. I hurt her. I’m not supposed to ever hurt her.
She pushes my hand away. “Keep your magic. I don’t know what else we’ll need here.”
“Congratulations, contenders,” a voice booms through the darkness dramatically.
I sneer at the unseen king.
“You’ve completed your first task. Prepare for the next.”
Caelynn
Iroll my eyes at theLight Ancient’s dramatic announcement.
“He’s enjoying this too much,” Rev mutters. I release an amused breath from my nose.
Then, I step closer to Rev. If he’s mad at me for coming down here without him, he doesn’t show it. When he looks at me, all I see is love. I touch his chest gently and try to soak up this moment, along with all the rest.
As much as I’m tired of fighting, I kind of like fighting alongside him. “I’ll miss this,” I tell him, and then my cheeks warm at the admission.
He licks his lips. “It’s not exactly the most romantic of moments,” he says, but his lips curl up into a small smile. “I did just smash your head in and nearly choke you to death.”
I roll my eyes. Obviously, this was an extreme circumstance. “And I stabbed you in the shoulder.” His thumb runs over the ragged hole below his collar bone. “Besides, some girls like choking.”
Rev’s eyes flare, and then he coughs.
Blinding white light rises quickly, extinguishing the darkness. I squint from the flaring light. “Ow.”
“Well, are you ready or not?” the king roars over us. I still can’t see where he is, but I stop trying to tell quickly. My eyes are already in pain.
