Page 37 of Thief of Dreams
Soraya's eyebrows rise as she turns to the decanter in the corner. "I wouldn't know what that tastes like."
"Liar. You've kissed enough donkeys in your time."
"But never their asses." She smiles as she pours me wine. "I used to leave that to you."
"I missed you," I admit, resting back on my hands. Maybe I hit my head harder than I thought?Maybe I nearly died."I missed this."
Both of us working together, instead of at odds as it has been for the past ten years.
Soraya pauses, her dark eyes locking on me as I reach for the goblet in her hand. She resists slightly, but I arch a brow and take it from her with a smile.
"If only we didn't have to go back to Father," I muse, sipping the wine. "Do you ever think of what it would be like to live in another court? To be free of him?"
"All the time," she whispers, but she still hasn't moved. Her face hardens. "This place is turning your head. Court of Dreams. Ha. Thereisno escape. Father owns us, body and soul."
I capture her hand, knowing she speaks of the past and what she suffered when she returned from her failed attempt to assassinate the Lord of Mistmark. King Raesh does not suffer failure lightly, but there'd been more to it, I was sure.
Especially when word came of the Lord of Mistmark's betrothal to a foreign princess last month. Soraya has been brooding ever since, though perhaps I’m the only one who can see it.
"He hasn't married her yet. There's still hope."
She tears her hand from mine. "I don't know what you speak of."
A lie,but perhaps our new truce doesn't extend so far.
"I think you do. You don't fail." I breathe the words into the air. "Father might believe you missed your mark, but I know you better. If you failed to kill the Lord of Mistmark, then there was a reason."
I know the girl who forged herself in the brutal training camps we'd endured in the Shadowfangs. The only way to survive was to be the best, and despite my efforts, not even I could come close to beating her at the games and bouts. There was a strength of will inside her that forged my sister into a cold, hard blade without mercy.
Soraya stares at me stonily.
"You won't speak his name," I continue, taking another drink of wine. "But you flinch when Father does. And you bore your punishment without a fight. You've never tolerated Father's abuse, but this time you did. I think we both know why. You didn't want Father to look too closely atwhyyou failed. Did you love him?"
What does that feel like?
A flash of rage crosses her face, and she smashes the goblet from my hand. Wine soaks across the carpets, but I don't move. Not even when she strides to the window, glaring through it. "A half-born wraith bastard? I would not have dared."
"You should have dared."
After tonight, it's becoming more than clear that life is worth grasping by the hands. All those things I've never done, and I came close tonight to never having that chance again.
"And have Father crush my soul-trap in his fist?" She shoots me an angry look. "This is why you could never beat me. This is why I was the best. You hope. You dream. You have trust where there is none. You are weak. We must stand alone in this world or we will fall."
I push to my feet in protest... and somehow lose my balance.
Capturing myself against the bed, I try to shake off the sudden weakness in my knees. Must have been sitting too long. Maybe I'm still concussed. "Is it weak to dream of more?"
"Like what?" She turns on me, raking a disdainful look down me. "Like the handsome prince following you around like a fool? You think he's your answer? You think he would risk it all for you if he knew the truth of your ancestry? You think he would chooseyou?" A bitter laugh escapes her. "Gods, you're so trusting. You don't even truly know why Father sent me, do you? To be yourmaid?"
Once again I'm reminded we're not truly allies, no matter how much I try. The room swims before my eyes, her words sounding as if they come from a great distance. This is no concussion.
"What did you do?" The wine looks like blood splashed across the floor, a sudden, ominous omen. Gods, my head is swimming. What was in the wine? "What did you give me?"
Soraya draws her knife. "It's not poison. You'll wake with the dawn, though you might regret it for a while. Night’s Bloom has that effect, I'm told."
My feet go out from under me, pain slamming through my knees as I hit the ground.Curse her. No!
"You had your chance," Soraya continues, her voice echoing hollowly in my ears. "You failed to steal the charm. So Iwill, now you've told me where it is. No matter what I must do." There's a faint pause. "Love is a weakness. There is no place for it in this world. I loved you once, but we both would have died if I'd let it trap me."
