Before I Let Go (Skyland #1)(27)

I pushed the few sheets of parchment to the side and stared down at the delicate gold chain. I lifted it in my fingers, careful not to harm it, and stared at the small crescent moon that dangled from the chain.

There was a small tag attached to it, and my name was written across it in crisp, masculine letters. There was nothing more. No indication of where it came from.

It could have been Evren’s or someone else’s, but I had never seen him wear it. But the metal had a familiarity to it I couldn’t explain. I could feel it as the gold pressed against my fingers.

The necklace called to me, and I gripped it in my fingers as I thought about putting it back where I found it. But that churning in my gut wouldn't stop.

Before I could think better of it, I pulled off the tag and slipped the gold chain over my head and tucked the crescent moon between my breasts. The metal hummed against my skin, but I tried to ignore it as I made my way out of Evren's room and closed the door behind me.

“Took you long enough.” Thalia pushed off the wall where she was leaning next to my door. “I thought I going to have to come in and rescue you, but I didn't know exactly what was going on in there.” She grinned, and I let her quip roll off my back.

I started walking down the hallway toward the courtyard where we had trained the day before, and she jogged to catch up with me.

“What'd you think about the book?”

Shit. I completely forgot about the book. I was pretty sure it was still sitting somewhere in the mess of Evren’s bedding.

“I didn't get to it.” I ran my hand down my face and over my neck. The gold still buzzed against my skin, and I let my fingers trail down the length of it. “I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.”

“You must've been really comfortable.” Thalia bumped her shoulder against mine, and I could feel a blush of embarrassment creeping up my chest.

“Are you going to tell anybody about this?” I didn't know why, but the thought of Sorin or anyone else finding out about the poor little Starblessed sneaking into their prince’s room in the middle of the night while he was gone didn't sit well with me.

It made me feel weaker than I already was.

“Your secrets are yours and yours alone.” She looked at me sincerely, and I trusted her word. “But you might want to think about the staff. Mina was already in a tizzy over the fact that you didn’t open your door for dinner last night.”

“Shit. I didn't think about that.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Thalia turned until she was facing me and walked backward toward the courtyard. “Mina’s nosy, but she won’t tell anyone. Just tell her you'll be sleeping in Evren's room if that's what you want.”

My chest ached as I thought about what she just said, and I open my mouth to ask her a question before I could think better of it. “And what do you think about me sleeping in his room last night? That it was foolish of me?”

“I think that you’re confused.” She looked at me with sympathy, and I hated it. “And that your mate brought you here to a kingdom you don't know and then put himself at risk once again. It's okay for you to be angry with him, to hate him even if that's what you feel, but it's also okay for you to worry about him. To miss him. Crave him.”

My steps faltered as I looked up at her. “I don't crave him.”

“Like I said, your secrets are yours alone.” She winked at me, and I knew that she could most definitely see my blush now.

We pushed outside into the courtyard, and before she could ask, I set my dagger down along the edge. “What are we working on today?”

“More of the same.” She bounced on her toes. “We need to focus on building your balance and your strength if you're to get anywhere else, then we’ll work on your magic.”

I was caught off guard by her words. I hadn’t thought we would get to it so quickly. “My magic?”

“Yeah.” She motioned toward my hands that were still stained black from where I had used my magic before. They resembled Evren’s hands after he used his power, but I had seen no one else with the same markings, not in this kingdom or beyond it. It was only him and I. “Your magic is different than mine. I'm not quite sure how different, but it appears to resemble Evren’s much closer than it does my own.”

“Do all Starblessed have magic?”

“No.” She shook her head. “And most don't realize the magic that’s inside them until they are fed from. I didn't have a clue until Gavril took and took and took from me.” Her gaze darkened as she spoke. “I could feel it stirring inside me then, but I didn’t know how to control it. It wasn't until I came here, until Evren helped me train, that I realized just how much power I held.”

My chest ached for this woman in front of me. For everything that she had endured and survived. When I first laid eyes on her, I had hated her, envied her for the things I thought she had done, but every bit of that had dissolved and had been replaced with something new.

“Okay.” I nodded and widened my stance just like she had shown me the day before. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

By the time we got through the first portion of the training, I was sweating, out of breath, and certain I would wake up with several bruises in the morning. Thalia had taken it easy on me the day before, and even that had been hard. But today? Today she showed me what she was capable of.