Page 7 of A World of Ruins

‘No, stay.’ Freya stands up, darting her gaze from Iker to me. ‘I need to go find Leira. She and Aelle wanted to teach me the differences between certain herbs. Apparently, star anisedoesn’thelp our psychic visions, although I have yet to have one.’ She laughs, and I want to tell her not to go, but she doesn’t give me a chance as she hurries past Iker and leaves the room.

Iker keeps glancing back at the door as if hoping Freya will reappear.

My brows draw into a frown, seeing how restless he is as he paces around and runs a hand through his short curls. ‘You never come into my room unless you want something, so what is it?’

He halts, turning to me with a bemused look. He lets out an incredulous laugh. ‘What if I wished to spend quality time with my little sister? We were apart for months—’ One raised-eyebrow look from me, and he sighs, dropping onto the edge of my bed. ‘Fine, you got me.’ A pause. ‘I need your help in ridding someone.’

Well, that is not what I expected, and by my reaction, Iker can also see the sudden worry.

‘Not in that sense,’ he amends quickly, and the rise in his voice has me shush him before he can wake Tibith up. ‘It is more of aforgetting your feelingssituation.’

That does not make it any better.

Puffing my cheeks, I blow out a breath and lean forward. ‘Iker, I can’t even command any creatures as of lately. Solaris, it feels like I’ve lost everything! What makes you think I have the power to do something like that? And besides, making you forget someone isn’t exactly part of Solaris’s magic. You would likely have more luck with a witch or shifter than me.’

Iker inhales. Something is clearly bothering him.

‘Why do you want to forget your feelings towards someone?’ I wonder as to why, of all things, he desires this. For the entirety of my life, I have seen Iker only care for three things: writing, his siblings and using his trickster mind to outsmart villagers. This . . . This is different.

He looks at the palms of his hands and frowns like he wishes to devise a solution to the state he has found himself in lately. ‘It . . .’ He expels a restless breath, and his eyes snap to mine. ‘It would be easier that way.’

I have no response except to feel the same ache he must feel. Knowing I cannot help him the way he wants to be helped unravels a cord of devastation inside me. Iker may not have the same pride as Idris or the kindness Illias emits, but he does care. More often than not.

‘Look, forget I asked. It was stupid of me,’ he mutters as he gets up to leave, but I can’t help thinking I might know who this someone he wants to forget is.

‘Iker,’ I say before he can leave my chamber. Almost like he does not want to look my way, he hangs his head and takes a deep breath. ‘Does this person happen to be one of my friends?’

He hesitates for a moment. ‘Yes,’ he whispers before shutting the door behind him.

I sit back with the heaviness of that answer. I do not know every detail of what happened while I was away from my brothers, but if I am sure of one thing, it is that something must have occurred for Iker to desperately want to eraseFreyafrom his mind.

CHAPTERTHREE

Earlier this morning, Gus agreed with Rydan that he should stand by, with Iker and Illias, watching me train in case any ‘reincarnation’ power of mine surfaced. Nothing in the books had prepared us for this possibility. No myth, legend or history book I have read before had even hinted at such a thing. There was that book back in Olcar’s library . . . But I doubt even that would have been useful to me now.

‘That’s it, Nara,’ Gus says in encouragement from behind. ‘Focus on what lies within you . . . Feel the air around you, the ground at your feet—’

I squeeze my hands into fists at my sides. The wind pummels into my lungs and whips my hair in every direction as I stand at the edge of a grassy cliff. I do what Gus says – as I have been doing for months, even when nothing happens.

‘I will bet you ten gold coins that she manages to move the ground or something.’

My lips bunch to the side when I hear Rydan bidding, but I keep my eyes closed and my back facing his.

Iker claps his hands. ‘I like the sound of that. How about we throw some drinks into the mix? Spice it up a little bit.’

‘I’m not vouching for you if you get your drunken self in trouble again for breaking shit . . . andyou, I doubt you have that much money, Rydan,’ Illias scoffs.

‘On the contrary, Ambrose number two, I have that and more.’

‘I believe him,’ Iker says.

‘Can Miss Nara have Darry’s magic?’

‘Boys—’ Gus tries to intervene, but it doesn’t do much. I’m no longer concentrating.

‘Tibby, of course she could have the Golden Thief’s magic. They likely share that and—’

I groan, twisting on my heel, as I plant my hands on my hips and stare at Rydan.

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