Page 121 of This Dark Descent
The foyer door cracked open, and Mikira peeked through. She lookedas exhausted as Reid. Her braid was a mess, her clothes wrinkled, and her sleeves unevenly rolled. Still, she smiled when she saw Ari. It faltered when Reid glared at her.
Mikira hovered in the doorway, returning Reid’s stare with all the force of a burning fire. Then, without a word, Reid rose and poured her a cup of tea. He set it before one of the chairs. Mikira crossed the room and sat down, picking it up.
“Do I even want to know?” Ari asked.
“No,” they said in unison.
“Right.” Ari settled back into the chaise just as Damien emerged from his bedroom. Unlike the rest of them, he didn’t have a single hair out of place.
He paused at the edge of the sitting room. “Is there a reason you’re all glowering at me?”
“Ari,” Reid said.
“On it.” She woke the cord between her and the hawk perched by the desk. Mazal spread her wings and with a flurry of beats, sent a gust of wind straight into Damien’s face.
A single curl of hair dropped across his forehead.
Ari groaned, thrusting a hand at him. “He looks even better like that!”
“We could try the talons instead?” Mikira suggested lightly.
Damien rolled his eyes. “If the three of you are done, we have some things to discuss.” He sat down in the empty chair.
“Maybe we can start by someone telling me what happened to you two yesterday?” Mikira’s gaze slid to Damien’s shoulder, where the edge of a bandage peeked out from beneath his collar. Mikira’s own injuries were still tightly wrapped.
Damien’s expression grew grim. “My brother tried to kill Rezek with the help of a friend who betrayed me. We stopped them.” The bitterness inhis voice surprised Ari. How strong did that emotion run that he couldn’t rein it in?
Next to her, Mikira had grown very still. The hand on her teacup trembled.
“I should receive the funds from the race winnings by the end of the week,” Damien continued. “I’ll have it transferred to your account, and I’ll oversee your father’s return from Rezek.”
“I tried to get him back after the race.” Mikira’s voice warbled. “But the guard refused to even tell Rezek I was there.”
Ari looked to Damien, who sighed. “That would be because his father was murdered.”
Mikira gaped at him. “Eradas Kelbra is dead? But Rezek—” Her voice pitched, and she regathered herself, starting again. “He was the only thing that kept Rezek from spiraling out of control. He’s been defeated on two fronts and humiliated. What will he do now without his father to control him?”
“We’ll handle it,” Damien said, unwavering. “Don’t worry.”
Mikira’s jaw tightened, and she stared down at her half-empty cup, but she didn’t argue.
Ari squeezed her arm. “I owe you my thanks, you know. For much more than just winning this race. You helped pull me out of a life I hadn’t realized I’d stopped living. I’m grateful to have met you, and to call you my friend.”
Mikira smiled weakly at her. “I’m glad we’re friends too.” She stood, her cheeks flush with color. “I just came to see everything was all right, but I promised Nelda I’d take her for a ride on Atara before the ball.”
They hardly had a chance to say goodbye before she was out the door. Her departure itched at Ari, and a moment later, she followed her out.
“Mikira!” she called, stopping her at the edge of the corridor and joining her. “Is something wrong?”
Mikira’s lips pressed together as if to trap the words inside, and sheshook her head, but Ari didn’t believe her. She’d been acting strange for days, avoiding them, sitting in icy silence with Reid, looking at Damien as if—
“Oh,” Ari breathed.
Mikira’s fingers curled into fists. “Did he kill those men?”
“He was protecting me,” Ari said swiftly. “They nearly killed me, and they would have exposed me.”
But Mikira was already shaking her head as if to block out the words. “He’s amurderer, Ari!”
