Page 52 of Forged in Flame and Shadow

I glance into the arena, but the animal has already been caged up again and removed, sometime after a pair of geostri coaxed the aisthekis back into its pit.

My grandfather’s eyebrows rise.

“I don’t see why not, my dear princess,” he says.

It’s rare for my grandfather to sound genuine, but he’s also rarely surprised. I think he’s rather enjoying Ana’s unexpected detour.

“Thank you.” She smiles again. “I thought you wouldn’t mind, seeing as you said it was of no use to you anymore.”

“The legends hold that korigos have unusual magic,” my grandfather says. “They’re meant to share this magic with the one they choose for an owner, but that particular specimen has never shown any willingness to form such a bond, even after we starved it to break its spirit. I suspect it’s a lost cause, but you’re most welcome to it, if that’s what you want.”

Something dangerous flashes in Ana’s eyes as my grandfather describes his treatment of the animal. This woman got offended when she thought we were abandoning some horses, so I can imagine exactly what’s going through her mind right now.

“I appreciate it, Your Majesty,” she says mechanically.

My grandfather doesn’t notice her tone, but then he doesn’t know her as well as I do.

“But I must ask why, dear princess. Why do you want such a thing?”

She shrugs, then winces, having obviously forgotten about her shoulder.

“I would just like a reminder of my victory, Your Majesty. Of the day I beat a powerful monster trying to take me down.”

Her face tells us all she’s not talking about the aisthekis.

“Nice to see thatyouget windows.”

Ana walks a circuit around my private parlor, examining the views across the grounds.

“I’ll make sure you’re moved from the secured guest rooms. There’s no reason for my grandfather to keep you there now,” I say. It had been a pain finding her last night, let alone getting the key to her without any of us going near the barracks. Luckily, Damia’s little snake Barb is pretty smart and has a great sense of smell.

Ana makes a noise of agreement, but she doesn’t look at me. I notice her shoulders are held stiffly, tension knotting them.

“How’s your shoulder?” I ask.

“Fine. The healer did a good job,” she says flatly.

The silence stretches between us. Things are…awkward. I don’t like it, especially after we worked together so well to wrong-foot Velrir. I want her to talk to me, at least tolookat me. There’s something tortuous about her refusal to engage. I’ve come to rely too much on the rush I get from those hazel eyes locked on mine. She probably knows that, which is why she’s making me suffer now.

“Are you ever going to tell me how you worked it out?” My question comes out more like a demand, my frustration getting the better of me.

“What do you mean?” She doesn’t look away from the window.

“When we arrived, you still hadn’t managed to revive a celestial flame, and then you turn up in that arena and heal that creature like you’ve been doing it all your life. Was that just a fluke?”

“I wouldn’t have taken the test if I hadn’t known I could do it,” she says, her voice a little hard. “I figured it out last night, thanks to that poor animal your grandfather’s been torturing. The korigos. I found it in the barracks and…I don’t know…I just trusted myself.”

She trails off, the memory shaking something loose in her. At last, she turns around, though the eye contact isn’t much comfort when I can see the unusual coldness of her eyes and the way her lips are pulled into a thin line.

“But I’m not interested in rehashing the test,” she says. “Not when you still owe me an explanation for not telling me you’re engaged.”

She throws the last word at me like a curse, and I resist the urge to flinch. So this is the reason for her stonewalling me. I suppose it should’ve occurred to me before, but I’m not used to worrying about whether I piss other people off. That only seems to matter where she’s concerned.

“I’m not engaged,” I say. “I’m betrothed.”

“And that’s supposed to make a difference?” she asks, crossing her arms.

“Yes. They’re not the same thing, at least to fae. Lots of us are betrothed at birth—it’s a promise between families, encouraging the children to associate in the hopes that they’ll grow fond of each other. The match is only confirmed when the couple come of age and decide to get engaged. Even then, we have more powerful, complicated steps we have to take for a couple to be truly bound.”

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