Page 110 of Ash and Feather

I looked away from his injury, focusing on the small garden in the corner of the yard instead.

With our mother’s help, my sister and I had planted the golden blooms within that garden when we were children; it was one of the last memories I had of the three of us. To my surprise, the flowers were still neatly intact, with no weeds to be seen between them. Had Savna been tending to them?

A chill crept down my spine. I couldn’t decide which was worse to look at: The flowers—painful reminders of the family I once had—or Andrel.

I eventually settled on him, though meeting his eyes made the rage swirling in my gut rise up and settle uncomfortably tight in my chest. “Why are you here?”

“Because I wanted to be a part of the reunion, of course. Why else? Your sister has been looking forward to seeing you again for a very long time.”

“And you thought we would want you here to witness things?”

“Not you, perhaps. But Savna and I have gotten very close, as of late. So I’m here as her partner and supporter.”

I shoved past him, heading for the bed of flowers.

I needed space.

“Partner,” I hissed. “Does yourpartnerknow what you did to me after we fought in the middle-heavens, by chance? Does she know you essentially killed me?”

“No one knows what happened except for you and me. I wouldn’t betray you like that.”

I couldn’t keep the heated emotion from my voice this time. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Oh, did youwantme to tell your sister how many of our kind you killed that day in Nerithyl? How you stole our prized weapon and ruined what should have been our most successful attack against the gods to date? It might put a damper on your heartwarming reunion, don’t you think? If she realizes all thedisappointingdecisions you made that day, well…”

I started to reply, but the words died in my throat. I was spiraling into that awful memory once more. Back on the shores of the river with his knife, his betrayal, his words slithering over my skin—

Your sister will be so disappointed in you.

“That’s what I thought,” he said, mistaking my silence for agreement. “So we can keep it our little secret. No one but me needs to know the depths of your traitorous behavior, Kare.”

I glared at him over my shoulder. “I am not the traitorous one between us.”

“You don’t think so?” He held up his bandaged hand, studying the misshapen end as though seriously considering my words, only to dismiss them with another cruel, hollow laugh. “Well. I am not the one fucking a god whose hands are drenched in the blood of our kind, now am I?”

Streaks of red blurred my vision.

The wards surrounding the yard were clearly even more powerful than I’d feared—because if they hadn’t been, fire would have engulfed everything around us with my next breath.

Whatever was caging me in was enough to reduce my magic to mere flickers.

I tried the same trick I’d used against the Sun Court goddesses, gathering those flickers and shaping them into something sharp that I might wield. But the resulting weaponwas not nearly as impressive this time—a mere dagger of fading firelight that wouldn’t hold its shape.

“Relax,” Andrel said, stepping closer. “I’m not going to tell anyone about that part, either. Most of them still think you’re a victim of the God of Fire, being forced to do his bidding.”

Lies. So many lies it made my head spin just trying to keep track of them. I tossed the dagger of fire away and knelt down, picking one of the flowers. The bloom of pale gold felt velvety and cold beneath my fingertips—something tangible to focus on.

“You have an opportunity before you, you know.”

I didn’t reply, but he continued all the same.

“You could start over here as though what our followers believe is true. You could be an inspiration to them—a victim, but one who escaped the chains the gods attempted to bind you with.”

I crushed the flower against my palm, staring at the bright yellow stain it left behind as I said, “Start over with you holding those chains instead, I assume?”

I kept my back to him, but I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “I’ve always held your chains, Karys. Nothing has really changed about that.”

I straightened, unclenching my fist and letting the bits of flower fall from it as I replied in a low, furious voice: “I’vechanged. And I am more than just a victim.”

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