Gates of Thread and Stone(81)

I finally understood what he’d been asking me. Although I hadn’t recognized it at the time, there had been jealousy in the way he’d spoken about Reev. Not the petty kind—a sad kind of jealousy.

But it was too late now to give him a proper answer, no matter how badly I wished otherwise.

I should have told Avan how I felt. I should have protected him. I shouldn’t have let him come with me. I shouldn’t have been such a coward.

I turned my face into my elbow. I’d have to tell his parents sometime. I owed him that.

Tucking my feet up under me, I twisted around to face the pond. Lights flashed beneath the water whenever a fish swam close to the surface.

Reev’s footsteps were soft as he approached. He did that on purpose so he wouldn’t startle me. I knew he could move without a sound.

“I’m done studying for now. Want to spar?”

He thought beating up on him made me feel better. It didn’t. It made me feel worse.

“Not now.”

He reached out, hesitated, and then clasped his hands awkwardly in front of him. I didn’t have to force a smile as I patted the seat beside me.

Things between us had been awkward at first. Reev had been as much a pawn as I had, and he’d been through enough already without me flinging accusations at him. With him just as worried about hurting me, neither of us knew how to talk.

But I had missed him so much—his presence, his safety, his voice—that this time I shut away the fear and asked my questions. Once I learned that Reev hadn’t known who I was when he took me in, my doubts about his love had faded. Kronos had erased that part of his memory to protect me, and Istar’s mention of missing spans of time supported that truth.

Reev had known, instinctively, that he was meant to protect me, but it wasn’t until I used my power to steal another Sunday that he realized why.

We had been designed to find each other, but Reev’s love was genuine.

He took my hand now. “Did you want to go for a w—”

A shout interrupted him. We both looked to see Mason and Irra coming up the path. Mason waved, smiling brightly. The sight of him brought an echo of the relief I’d felt when I first discovered he was safe.

“Reev,” Irra said, “I’m going to review the store of energy stones if you’d like to accompany me.”

Reev wanted to learn about how the energy stones were created. More than that, he wanted to learn about traditional, nonmagical methods of producing energy. Kalla had confessed that the energy stones were her creation and not Ninu’s, so the city wasn’t at risk of collapsing from an energy shortage. But it was still much too dependent on magic, and we needed to revive the technology that had been lost after Rebirth if we wanted to progress and survive. Reev had spent the last two weeks studying the old texts.

I went back to watching the trees and then glanced over my shoulder when something brushed against my leg. It was Irra’s oversize tunic.

Looking up at him was a strain on my neck, so I didn’t bother. I waited for him to speak first.

“You should be aware that Avan said he wouldn’t regret his choice to join you in the Tournament regardless of what happened.”

My fingers scraped over stone. Even though Irra had been here for a week, he’d been so busy with Kalla that, aside from the initial greeting, we hadn’t spoken. Why was he telling me this now?

“I was unaware of what Kronos had done to him. But when I realized, I gave him a choice. I would have given him a choice regardless.”

“But you didn’t warn him.” I dug my nails into the gazebo’s ledge.

“He knew the risks. He made his decision.”

“Irra,” Reev said, a warning in his voice.

“This was meant to comfort her.” Irra sounded genuinely baffled. Mason shot me an apologetic look as Irra stepped away to join Reev on the path.

Once they left, Mason took the spot beside me. “So,” he said lightly, “nice day.”

I rubbed my temple and attempted to regain the tentative calm I’d felt before Irra showed up. “It was.”

“We missed you in the training center yesterday.”

“I didn’t feel like being Hina’s punching bag.”

“The only reason she doesn’t go easy on you is because she knows you can do better,” he said, his instructor tone creeping into his voice.

I knew he was only trying to steer my thoughts away from the conversation with Irra. “I’ll come tomorrow,” I said.

“Good. Because Hina’s planning to drag you there if you don’t show up.”

My lips twitched. “Thanks for the warning.”

He relaxed against the stone, his eyes softening at the glimpse of my smile. “Have you decided what you want to do now?”

Sucking on my bottom lip, I turned his question over in my mind.

“I want to tear down the wall around the White Court.”

“And how exactly are you planning to accomplish that?”


I didn’t know. Everything was different now. Going back to the Labyrinth was no longer an option. I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere in the North District without the constant reminder that Avan wasn’t waiting behind the counter at his dad’s shop.

Honestly, thinking about the work it would take to clean up Ninurta overwhelmed me, but with Ninu gone, all those promises he’d made about improving the North District seemed possible. With the right leaders, of course.