Page 41 of Her Dark Reflection

I snorted. ‘Now who’s picking who over?

‘I wouldn’t ask, only it’s making me feel like you’re plotting to attack me.’

Unlikely. Not when he could conjure flames with his bare hands. ‘How about I trade you an answer to your question for an answer to one of mine?’

I expected him to dismiss the suggestion, so when he said, ‘Fine. One question,’ I stopped dead as my mind whizzed over all the things I wanted to ask him. I lost contact with his shirt. The sudden air beneath my fingers sparked the thought that I could be left down here in the dark, shattering the peace that had settled over me. I lurched forward with my hands outstretched, leaving the wall in my panic, and I stumbled several steps into nothing.

‘Draven?’ I squeaked. I felt a hand fumbling for me, and I clutched onto it with both of my own. ‘Don’t you dare leave me down here!’

We stood still, his hand clasped in mine. My heart pounded.

‘I won’t.’ His voice was quiet, and he gently moved my hands until I felt the fabric beneath my fingers. ‘One question,’ he reminded me as we began to walk again.

What would I ask him? How did his magic work? What would the next apple do? How did the king marrying me fit into whatever plan he was nursing? Whowashe?Whatwas he?

But when I opened my mouth, the question that fell out was none of these.

‘What did you do to Vanaria?’

‘Ah,’ he replied, ‘your sour-faced rival. Are you sure that’s what you want to waste your question on?’

No. But a part of me wanted to know that she was at least alive. ‘Yes.’

‘Very well. She woke to find her hair had fallen out, and she fled the palace in shame.’ His tone was indifferent, as though it meant nothing.

‘Oh.’ I felt a spiteful twist of pleasure at the idea, but after that faded out it left behind a heavy discomfort. ‘Will it grow back?’

‘Does it matter?’

‘She’ll never work again if it doesn’t. Not as a maisera.’

‘I know.’

The thump of our footsteps against the dirt was the only sound for a while as I tried to digest how I felt about this.

‘My turn,’ he said, interrupting my thoughts. ‘What do you think of the king?’

If I’d had any idea what he was going to ask, I certainly hadn’t thought it would be that. I snorted in surprise and answered without thinking. ‘He’s pleased with himself and easily manipulated. Much like any other man.’

Draven actually laughed at that, the sound echoing strangely against the walls. ‘I take it you’ve found no worthy adversaries in the court. I hope that bias isn’t blinding you to who your enemies are.’

‘You assume that I have enemies. I’ll have you know that I am a delight, and everyone adores me.’

‘No doubt. If you’re making so many friends, you’ll be glad to know I’m about to return you to them. We are approaching our exit.’

If I hadn’t been immersed in absolute darkness for so long, I wouldn’t have seen it, but my eyes were hungry for something to fix on, so when I squinted ahead I could pick out what he meant: a faint slither of light on the roof of the tunnel.

‘How are we supposed to get up there?’ I asked as we drew beneath it.

‘I’m going to lift you.’ With no further warning than that, his hands were around my waist. I sucked in a breath of shock at his proximity, at the sense of him, so close yet still completely out of sight. And before I had time to collect myself, he was lifting me, his fingers splayed wide across the small of my back, my stomach and thighs brushing past his torso as he raised me towards the roof. I placed my hands on his shoulders to steady myself.

‘Push up against it. It’s a trap door. It should lift.’

Yes. Door. Right.

Raising my hands, I patted and rattled at the door, feeling for hinges and sending loose dirt showering down over us.

‘What if it’s bolted?’ I asked as I heard Draven spit out the dirt that must have caught him in the mouth.

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