Page 41 of The Mirror in the Mountain

The clash of metal from where Rivan and Yael had been sparring like their lives depended on it seemed to pause. Bash’s eyes met mine over Tobias’s shoulder where he and Quinn had been doing the same. He nodded at Quinn to keep going, but I could feel his gaze on me.

“I should have,” Tobias said quietly, a hint of pleading in his voice.

I lunged forward, nimbly sweeping out a foot to knock him off balance. But he was ready, already spinning away, his arm reaching for my leg. I knocked it aside, before the blur of his kick nearly hit me in my stomach, his speed still impressive. Charging forward, I threw a fist at his face, my frustration breaking through. But Tobias deftly dodged, lashing out as hespun, moving with a lethal grace that made me hold my breath even as I deflected his attack.

As I punched toward his gut, he caught my wrist, the paleness of his skin against mine even more evident in the daylight. I stilled at the silvery scars on his wrists that mirrored mine, now visible with the way his tunic had ridden up his arm.

Tobias released me, then took a deliberate step back, breathing hard. “I thought I could stop him first. Make this realm safe for you before you even had to know about it. Keep you from the same fate as our?—”

I launched myself at him, landing a strike to his chest that had him stumbling. He held up his hands, my blows glancing off his forearms as he backed away.

“And you just thought you’d let me think you were dead until then? Let megrievefor you, on top of Mom and Dad?”

“I thought?—”

“Youleftme.”

Tobias flinched worse than when I had hit him, looking stricken. I pressed my advantage, sweeping his legs out from under him in a quick twisting movement. Rivan let out a low whistle from somewhere behind us, but Tobias brought me down too, hooking his leg behind my knees. I rolled as he tried to pin me.

He winced as my elbow found his solar plexus but managed to pull me back against him. “By the time I made it here, to Soleara, it had beenmonths. When I figured out how to return, you already thought I was dead. If you knew I wasn’t, you would have wanted to know everything. And I wasn’t about to break the wards keeping you safe, bring you here, and put you in danger. By the time I realized what a fool I’d been, I was trapped in his dungeon.”

I struggled against Tobias’s hold, but despite his captivity, he had noticeably spent his time honing his skills. Grunting, Ikicked my legs back, using my momentum to fling my feet over my head, somersaulting backwards into a crouch. Tobias stood, eyeing me warily.

“Youwerea fool,” I spat. “And look where it got us. With Aviel?—”

What, precisely, do you think you can do against me, when all of you put together failed to stop me from getting exactly what I wanted?

A phantom pain swelled where my neck met my collarbone. Where that monster had marked me, as if saying his name had brought up what I had so carefully pushed down. Shakily, I brought my hand up, my fingers trailing under my shirt as I rubbed against the raised wound now scabbed over the old scar. Tobias’s eyes flickered with light, his jaw clenching, and I knew he had put it together.

We would soon be forced to face him in order to end this. I sucked in a measured breath—the thought of seeking Aviel out made my skin crawl.

How could I be High Queen when I was a coward?

I glanced behind us. Bash had gone preternaturally still, like he could read my thoughts instead of just gods knew what I was sending across our bond. The rest of our group was no longer even attempting to pretend they were still training, having long since stopped pretending not to be listening.

Grimacing, I turned away. I couldn’t stand the pity in their eyes. The way Bash’s guilt swept down our bond in a flood of his own self-recrimination.

“I’m sorry,” Tobias rasped. “I was trying to do the right thing and keep you safe from him. By the time I realized I was wrong to keep you in the dark, it was too late. But I did try to get back to you, sis. You don’t know how many times in that cell I kicked myself for not trying to get home to you sooner so we could face this together.”

I nodded stiffly. The light in his eyes flickered as I walked away to gather myself, still panting from our battle. Bash stepped toward me, but Yael got there first, a frown marring her beautiful face.

She tossed me a sword. “My turn.”

I started to shake my head; my throat too tight to speak. But Yael had already raised her sword, her turquoise eyes narrowing. “You’ll need more fight than that if you’re going to survive this war.”

My hands tightened around my sword, even as something inside me flinched at her finding me wanting. “I don’t have to prove myself to you.”

She feinted low. I evaded the swing of her sword, anger boiling in my stomach.

“Not to mention the wallowing.”

My mouth twitched in annoyance. “I’m not?—”

“Prove it.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rivan hold out a sword to Tobias in invitation. He took it, still watching me closely.

Not wanting to think anymore, I lunged forward in an attack. Yael parried my wild blow, her agile movements and impeccable footwork quickly forcing me to go on the defensive. Her strikes were swift and unrelenting, obviously meant to engage rather than disarm. So quick that all I could focus on was anticipating her next move, the brutal pace giving me an outlet for the pressure still trapped in my chest.

---