Page 80 of Of Stars and Lightning
“I’ll kill him.” Smoke lined the tub, the water suddenly scorching. “I swear to Emberdon I will.”
Nina heard the unspoken reasons in Sawyer’s waver. For my Mother. For my Lands. For Cas. For Sol.
She hugged her friend’s shoulders gently, withstanding the heat that made Sawyer so incredibly special. “And we will be by your side, S.”
A knock at the door made them both jump.
Nina had no positive ideas of who it could be, half expecting Alix to come in with a bloody nose after he, too, had received the King’s wrath for whatever reason.
But when she pulled the door open a sliver, it was Caleib who stood in the hallway, his hands holding a folded piece of parchment with the Semmena sigil.
“Miss Amana,” he bowed. “Word from the Gods’ Villa.”
A massive shiver snaked down Nina’s spine as she snatched the paper, slamming the door in the courtier’s face after a breathless dismissal.
“Sawyer!” Nina yelled, prying open the wax seal. “News on the prospects!”
Within a matter of seconds Sawyer was in the room, the splash of the water still spilled in the background as she hurried to Nina’s side, wrapped in a towel.
Once Sawyer was beside her, Nina flipped it open, and prayed to Flora the names of her friends would not be on the Death List.
Twenty Six
TO GRIEVE
AFTER THE DINNER—ifit could even be called that—Sol went to her small room and sobbed. She buried herself beneath the duvets and mourned the easy life she had taken for granted.
She let herself wallow in self-pity for twenty minutes exactly.
Just twenty.
Then, she sat up in her bed, wiped her tears, and sank herself into a freezing bath while she formulated a plan. She couldn't let the prospects die. Their death would be on her hands, even if it was by proxy. There had to be a way, a loophole.
Nina assured her they would search for one, and Sol believed her. But she also knew she and Cas had a good possibility of making it to the end, and their lives were her court’s only true concerns.
Sol shuddered at the thought.
If she and Cas survived, the options were for one of them to yield, or for them to fight. She wanted to think he would yield, but she also had a sense the man was unpredictable.
The day after the feast fiasco was calm. Sol spent it isolated, only coming out of her room for nuts and berries Phil assured her were safe. She thanked the boy and begged him and Jonah to stay safe, only catching glimpses of the other prospects between escapades.
It was on the third day, in the middle of wondering if she should go hunt for squirrels instead of settling for eating rabbit food, something tapped on her window.
Her hand gripped the side of the table where she sat. The window was behind her—dodging whatever it was seemed futile.
Grabbing a vase in front of her, she threw it back at the window before diving to the ground. If a Jinn had found her, if somehow they had the ability to fly now??—
She reached for another makeshift weapon, then actually looked at the window. She shivered with relief.
“Penny! Oh gods.” Sol crawled and pushed it open. “How are you??—”
Penny grinned at her. “Fantastic aim, Princess!” She glanced over at the shattered vase. “Shame the vase had to suffer, though.”
“How are you here?” Sol looked around frantically. The girl was floating.
“My air dancer friend is helping.” Penny grinned, pointing to the ground below.
Sol looked over the window’s edge to find Phil sitting on the grass with his hands above his head. Sensing her, he waved.
