Page 165 of Spoils of war
”The theatre,” Will echoed, giving Aran alook.
“Looks like we finally got ourselves a guide,” Aran smirked.
Kalani looked like she hadn’t eaten in days, so we took her back to the restaurant before asking anything more. She wasn’t just my stray anymore. She was ours. And we were going to take care of her. She was Licia’s friend, and that made her, however indirectly, one of us.
Inside, nothing had changed. Low murmurs still drifted from the scattered tables. A few diners lingered over half-finished stew. I used to think the people of Faerwyn didn’t care about outsiders, but now I saw it was worse. They didn’t care about each other either. They’d carved “mind your own business” into their bones.
We returned to our table. The food was still there, untouched. Kalani slid into a chair, slow and cautious, arms wrapped tight around herself like she was bracing for something that hadn’t ended yet. Aran dropped across from her, Will beside him. I stayed next to her. Kalanididn’t speak when the serving girl arrived, so I pushed the bread basket toward her. She hesitated, then slowly tore off a piece and nibbled at it, like she was trying to remember how to eat.
“Do you need anything else?” I asked gently. “Clothes? Coin?”
“Do you have somewhere to go?” Will added. “Anywhere to stay?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m not from here.”
“You can stay with us,” I said, the words out before I had time to doubt them. “As long as you need.”
“I just want to get back,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have left.”
Then, without missing a beat, Aran leaned back in his chair and muttered, “Speaking of that… where are we staying?”
“I just want to get back,” Kalani whispered. “I shouldn’t have left.”
The table fell quiet. She tore off another piece of bread. Then finally, her voice broke through again.
“So Licia is at thistheatre?” Will asked, trying to steer the conversation back to something I could handle.
Kalani hesitated. “I hope so,” she said. “Unless—”
Aran stepped in, his tone hardening. “Unless what?”
Kalani dropped her gaze, fingers tugging at the frayed hem of her dress.
“It’s probably nothing...” she whispered. “She’s there.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The theatre wasn’t what I expected. After everything Kalani had told me, how heavy the wordtheatrehad sounded in her mouth, I imagined something dark. Looming. Dangerous. Instead, it was just a plain, gray building. Tucked between neat, sunlit storefronts along Faerwyn’s spotless streets. It could’ve been anything. A courthouse. A library. The kind of place no one would look at twice.
“This is it? There’s no sign,” Will said.
Kalani rubbed her arms, her hands moving in a restless rhythm like she was trying to brush warmth into skin that never stayed warm. I knew that feeling.
“Everybody knows what it is.” she replied. “No need for signs.”
The way she said it made my skin crawl. Kalani just wasn’t nervous. She was petrified. The kind of scared that comes from knowing exactly what awaits on the other side of a door.
“You don’t have to come,” I told her.
She didn’t even think about it before responding. “Yes. I do.”
I knew what she meant. We were past the point of choice, and there was no turning back. Not for any of us.
“She’s my best friend,” Kalani said. “And with you here, I know no one can hurt me.”
She stepped forward and opened the door to the entrance. It creaked softly on its hinges. Inside, the space stretched wide, candles flickered in scattered wall sconces, giving off barely enough light to see. The air was thick with dust and the wooden floor groaned beneath our steps. But it didn’t feel abandoned. No. The place was lived in. Something once grand, now stripped and worn down.
A voice cut through the stillness. “Do you have tickets?”
