I ran over to her as soon as I saw her, but the blank expression she wore made it clear she wasn’t all that pleased to see me. It had been months, and I'd almost thought she'd gone home, or hadn't had a bright enough spark after all. I could have jumped and yelled from excitement to see her.

“Khea?”

“Lark, have you met my mentor Mathias?” She turned to look at a middle aged man who stood behind her. I couldn’t get a read on either one, though it was hard to tell in the commotion of the training area. He wore the gray coverings that all mentors wore, and despite the age on his face, his golden hair matched the yellow pendant about his neck; which itself was inlaid with a black stone spider.

“Where have you been all this time?”

“Training, of course. Haven’t you?”

“Well, yes, but—Why haven’t I seen you?”

“Mathias is responsible for all my lessons.” She was cold and dismissive, almost as if I bothered her. I couldn’t believe it. Why is she being so weird? I only wanted to make sure she was safe, that she was taken care of. What happened?

With a wave of dismissal she walked past me to challenge Parvani and I was sure my mouth dropped to the ground. Does she have any idea what she’s doing?

“Is she crazy?” Micha asked. He seemed more worried for her mental faculties than her general well-being, though I couldn’t disagree.

They stood and faced each other as Sinha commenced the fight. Khea was at least a full foot shorter than Parvani and looked like she could be her toy. I didn’t imagine Parvani was going to let her down easy.

In a moment of what must have been suicidal desire, Khea lunged, blocked a punch, and landed her fist square on Parvani’s cheek before the larger girl dropped onto her back on the ground. It was the most impressive display I had ever seen. Once she knew what she was up against, Parvani put in real effort to fight, and for a while, it seemed as if they were evenly matched. The final blow came when Khea grabbed Parvani's wrist, spun around her, and forced her to the ground. “Yield,” Parvani let out, defeated.

Without a word to me or Micha, Khea walked back to Mathias and he led her away. It was all I could think about the rest of the day, and into the next morning. What happened to Khea? Where has she been all this time and why is she so distant now? And since when was she some sort of combat master?

The next day Khea returned alone and challenged Shaz, a move that made me feel that Micha might have been right. Unlike Parvani, Shaz only lasted a measly few minutes before the pain in his leg prompted a yield. That time I was able to catch her before she left.

“Hey, Khea. What’s going on? Why won’t you talk to me?”

“I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to.”

“You’re not allowed to? Says who? That Mathias guy?” It seemed outlandish that anyone should be prevented from seeing me, particularly Khea.

She nodded before she replied, “I’m not supposed to talk to you. Please leave me alone.” Right then a boulder fell from the sky and crushed me. I just wanted to make sure she was alright. Why would someone prevent that? What made it worse was that she went along with it. She hadn’t fought against it or refused to follow his rules. My insides ached in a new kind of pain.

She began to walk away, but she turned around suddenly and leaned in close. “Meet me at the gardens after dinner,” she whispered. A wide smile pressed into my cheeks; my friend was in there somewhere. Mathias may have convinced her to follow him publicly, but somewhere and in some small part, she was still my friend.

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SPIRITS

“Lark—” Khea’s hand stroked my sweat-covered chest like she did on so many nights. My eyes fluttered open to find nothing but more darkness. After a moment, I could make out the faint hint of moonlight around the edges of the thick velvet covering the east windows.

“You had a nightmare again,” she added, as if I didn’t know. In fact, there was no denying they were getting worse. It had been at least a month since a night when I was free of the torment. Beside the haunting visions, my Spark gave me greater insight to the events, offering the pain as Micha felt it, the fear of death and leaving Isuet alone which he experienced in his final moments. My chest still burned from the heat of his blood even as Khea’s hand moved back and forth to calm me.

The familiar shame crept up into my cheeks. I missed Micha. I loved him as my lost friend, but it didn’t make it any easier to endure the night terrors or admit how lost I had become. And I hated to show how much his death affected me in front of Khea.

A man should be strong. A man should protect his wife. Even without the Affinity to keep us bound together, I felt the strong urge to protect her courtesy of the trace of my mother’s Spark which lived within me. Technically, we weren’t really married and, according to Nakben law, we never would be. Even with a child in our future, the queen could never take a husband—though that hardly changed the reality of our relationship.

The only defense against my disgrace was the thin band of copper I wore on my left hand. Khea had charmed my father’s ring with a hawk’s image to keep out Readers, but I doubted my recent use was what she had in mind. It was quite clear she hated it.

I moved my arm to wipe the beaded moisture from my brow and attempted to roll away from her. My love for Khea was eternal and transcending, but I didn’t want her to see me at my weakest. Despite the rise of my shoulder off the feathered bed, a small yet strong hand pushed me back down.

“You can’t avoid this, Lark. Talk to me.” The wall sconces burned with light that hadn’t been there a moment before, the sudden flames a clear sign of her resentment at being pushed away. The light illuminated the black band of tattoos wrapped around her upper arm, a repeating pattern of iconic suns representing the queen she had killed to save our lives and earn her title. Not only was it a horrific reminder of that night our friends were murdered, but it was also a barbaric and permanent mutilation of an otherwise perfectly beautiful young woman.