Total pages in book: 214
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
The door opens and Mireen slips into the room, carrying a tray with steaming bowls. Her eyes widen when she sees me awake, her face breaking into a radiant smile that makes my chest ache with affection. Her copper-red hair is braided and pulled back and her blue eyes threaten to water at the sight of me.
"Nessa!" She rushes to the bedside, nearly spilling the soup in her haste. "Thank the gods! We've been so worried."
“Hold—” Raith says, lifting his palm and stopping her. “Password?”
Mireen gives him an annoyed look, but answers. “Fish slap.”
Raith shifts sideways, letting her move to my beside.
“Can’t be too careful,” she says with a shrug. “How are you?”
I stare up at her, confusion furrowing my brow. "Raith… told you? And you said ‘we’. Did he tell Beck and Ambrose, too?"
"We didn't give him a choice,” Mireen confirms. “Beck and Ambrose are outside keeping watch," she explains, setting down the tray. "We've been taking shifts with Raith. Making sure no one suspicious gets too close." She brushes a strand of hair from my face with a gentleness that seems at odds with her usual boisterous nature. "Even Bastian comes by every so often, though Raith won't let him in."
My heart swells at the thought of my friends standing guard. "You didn't have to—"
"Of course we did," Mireen interrupts, her typical smile replaced by unusual seriousness. "There's a siphon loose in Confluence, Nessa. One that specifically targeted you and Raith."
I take her words in stride before realization stabs at me. She knows about the siphon. That means Raith had to have told her…
I glance at Raith, who remains expressionless. "How much did you tell them?"
Raith hesitates. "I was... not myself when I saw the state you were in."
"He was so worried about you," Mireen cuts in, a gleam in her eye that I recognize all too well. "I do feel a little bad for taking advantage of his state. But we may have pressed him for information a little... forcefully."
I frown. "What the hells does that mean?"
Raith runs a hand through his disheveled hair. "If there was a chance of telling them saving you, it was one I wanted to take. So I told them what I knew about you. All of it. You can be pissed if you want, but at least you're alive."
My stomach clenches, a cold dread spreading through me. I look to Mireen, expecting betrayal or anger on her face, but all I see is sympathy and hurt.
"You should have told us, Nessa. We could've been supporting you. Unbound? Siphons hunting you? Private lessons with Voss?" She shakes her head. "Gods, girl. I don't know how you kept it all to yourself."
I sink deeper into the bed, guilt washing over me. "I worried all of it would drag you guys into my mess. I didn't want any of you hurt because of me."
Mireen finally lowers her eyes and chews a corner of her lip, as if choosing her words carefully. "It did sting to know how much you hid from us. But only because we're your friends, Nessa. You should have known we'd want to take on that burden if it meant being able to help you more." She takes my hand, squeezing it gently. "So don't ever feel like you need to hide things to keep us safe again, okay? We're stronger together."
Her voice is adorably stern, even though she's stroking my hand reassuringly and leaning over me like a worried mother. Cool, refreshing waves of her water essence flow through the touch. She looks at our hands, eyebrows twitching up. “So that’s what the feeling always is when we touch. You know, I used to get offended that you never would let me hug you and flinched away when I tried to touch you. Now I get it.”
"I'm sorry." The words feel inadequate compared to the weight of what I've kept from them.
"Good. You should be. So... you can even heal scars, it seems?" Mireen wiggle her eyebrows and jerks her head toward Raith, the tension breaking as she returns to her usual teasing self. "I'm pretty sure he was already the hottest guy on campus. Now it's not even fair."
Raith looks away, clearly uncomfortable.
"Oh, I didn't want to offend you," Mireen says quickly, half-reaching for him and then seeming to think better of it. "It's just... you definitely pulled off the scars. Obviously. But they’re more subtle, now. You get the badass and rugged vibe without so much of your face being hidden. It’s… nice.”
Beck slips into the room as Mireen is talking, his large frame filling the doorway before he moves to stand beside her. "Mireen's right, Nessa. Put his scars back. Give the rest of us a chance."
He's trying for humor, but I can see the genuine relief in his eyes when he looks at me. He's been worried. They all have.