Page 70 of The Stolen Throne
Don’t get me wrong—Aryd is the only dominion with multiple portals, and our portal rooms are ornate and beautiful, too. The one in the capital city of Oaesys is all obsidian and gold. But this is something else. I thought so the first time I saw it, too.
I happen to catch Reven’s gaze on me as I pivot, and I still because of the way he was watching me. The need lighting his eyes with a blue-green fire.
Fire he immediately banks, his face back to expressionless.
He was right.
The realization is like having cold water thrown in my face. Knowing that he still wants me and that he’s deliberately making the choice to keep us apart might be worse than thinking he simply didn’t care as much as I did.
He clears his throat. “Why do you think they were only looking at me?”
I glance away, touching the frosted, jeweled wall with a fingertip. “I’ve spent almost nineteen years learning how to be invisible.”
“So have I.”
“With shadows and darkness, yeah.”
His gaze narrows. “Which means what?”
“It means you’ve relied heavily on your power. Maybe a little too heavily.” I’m pretty sure a pat on the arm would make him even more disgruntled. “Am I wrong?”
He opens his mouth to argue, pauses, then closes it.
“At least Cain wasn’t with us to see all those stares.” I honestly meant it to be a good thing, but the way his face goes dead blank, I have to bite my lips together to keep from laughing. I really wasn’t trying to poke at him.
If this was before, I’d tease him more. But the way we’ve been lately… I study the room instead.
There’s no fireplace in here. No warmth. Everything—and I mean everything—is covered in a fine sheen of ice, giving it an extra sparkle and making me shiver. A desert girl is not meant for this cold, harsh place.
“Vida should have made you a thicker coat,” he grumbles.
I’m not sure what he expects me to say to that. “I’ll be fine.”
“You say that, but getting sick wouldn’t help us now.”
“We’ll be in the Shadowood soon enough.”
He grunts.
We both stare at the portal, the silence growing longer. I shuffle my feet. “Speaking of Vida, I asked her to keep her ear to the ground.”
“For what?”
“The traitor.”
Reven frowns. Is he going to say I shouldn’t have told Vida and put this on her shoulders the same way I shouldn’t have told Achlys about Eidolon’s book?
“Good idea. Vos has cleared the Vanished, but Vida interacts with the Wanderers more than most.”
I fist my hands on my hips and stare at him. “Hold on. When did Vos clear the Vanished?”
“He has a network in the Vanished and reached out to them for information these last few days while we prepared for this journey.”
No surprise Vos has a network. “Uh-huh. And you were going to tell me when?”
“I’m telling you now.” He cocks an eyebrow at me. “The same way you’re telling me about Vida now.”
“Yeah, well. I’m glad it’s not the Vanished.” But that means it’s one of the Wanderers, and I can’t be glad about that.
