Page 70 of Petals for Deadly Power

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Lenna

Sashawassobbingnonstop,her dark curls a hot, wild mess and her brown eyes somewhere between irritated-flood and I’m-going-to-slap-you-with-compassion.

“I cannot believe you were in yourordealand almost didn’t make it, and I didn’t even look for you because I thought you and Jake were fucking your brains out, as usual.”

Lenna considered her answer, biting her bottom lip in a failed attempt to keep a serious face. It was definitely better to not go into detail about how close toalmost didn’t make itshe had been. The way the memory of her death limbo caused her absolute fucking terror and an irresistible need to laugh hysterically in equal parts was probably concerning. But what would life be if she didn’t ignore the concerns and moved on?

“That’s what we’d have been doing otherwise, to be honest.”

“But youweren’t, Lenna. You were fighting for your lif—Don’t look at me like that, okay? I’m not going to ask you again about the damned ordeal. You keep it all for yourself, because why would anyone need to talk to a friend, anyway? Am I even a friend if instead of worrying about you I was busy with a blond distraction?” Sasha wiped her soaked eyes angrily, making her pretty face even redder.

“Oh. What blond distraction, miss?” Lenna tilted her head, lifting her eyebrows repeatedly. “I didn’t know Arabella was your type.”

Sasha rolled her eyes, pointing at Lenna as she said, “You talk, I talk. You don’t talk, then I willnotfucking talk.”

“Brendon’s cock has to be huge. The day he was wearing those sweatpants, I swear on the Fifth I could s—”

“Lenna,” Sasha shouted, interrupting her. “For the love of all feathers and my own sanity:talk to me.”

Lenna pursed her lips, avoiding Sasha’s stare. “I don’t give a shit and have no sympathy for any feathers, but I do value your sanity, and yes, you are my friend—a bloody good friend—so stop blaming yourself for something you had no idea about.”

Silence followed, and when Lenna made eye contact with her, Sasha’s arms were crossed, her pinning stare demanding more. Lenna exhaled theatrically and obliged.

“The ordeal was crap. Imagine being inundated by petals, not being able to make them disappear fast enough to keep from being trapped, being stupid enough to think giving fire to the sea was a good way to compensate for it, then burning the whole thing down because, you know, why not? And then when my man came to save me, because he is way better than what an idiot, pyromaniac like me deserves, I didn’t even realize because I was so far gone.”

“Jake saved you.” Sasha’s words weren’t a question, her smile was genuinely happy, proud, her tears not angry ones anymore. “Of course, he did. He’s fallen deep,yourman.”

Lenna bit her tongue, this time to keep her own tears from falling. “He’s good, Sasha.”

“You don’t need to convince me.”

“Sometimes I need to convince myself. He cares like no one else has ever cared about me before, he treats me as if I’m something precious, valuable, something unique that deserves to be loved. And he . . . he doesn’t hold back. He gives me everything he has. His ruthlessness, his trust, his passion, his devotion, his love.”

“His sex.” Sasha grinned.

Lenna winked. “Times fifty.”

“I’m so happy for you, Lenna. You deserve to be loved well.”

Loved, fucked,saved.

Lenna gave her a tight hug and a kiss on her still wet cheek. “If you ever say you’re not my friend again, I’ll rip these sexy-ass curls of yours.”

Sasha gasped dramatically. “Savage bitch.”

“Warning has been served.”

Sasha’s laugh accompanied Lenna to the door.

After the unanimous decision to abandon the other navia in the middle of the Radel Sea, they traveled like a happy family towards Orizane. The crescent-shaped island, creation of Llunal and apparently where most courtrades lived, was somewhere towards the East of Thyria.

Thanks to the united efforts of the six courtrades and—shock-not-shock—Hope, their travel speed was incomparable.

Hope, for all non-feathered-creatures’ sake.

Whereas the shadows worked more efficiently at night and culminated their strength at ante meridiem, Hope’s magic was formidably scary at any time of the day. For the past thirty hours, the black-haired woman had stopped a handful of times, barely long enough to sleep or eat. She didn’t seem to care. And her constantly open palms, Giving as if the sole purpose of her life was to move them through? Lenna’s—anyoneelse’s—would have cramped or fallen into pieces by now.

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