“Her lips, the arch of her nose, and your personality.” A sad smile pulls at his mouth. “You resemble her more than you think.”

“I don’t know if that’s apliment.”

“I’m aware that we both made mistakes as parents. Maybe she was harsher in some ways, but I assure you, being in her shoes was veryplicated.” He sits on the edge of my bed, which looks ridiculously smallpared to him. “She was born to please a man, given no purpose beyond that, and when she refused to conform, she was condemned to a series of horrors no one should ever endure. She was a girl, just like you are now, with the same hunger to live and enjoy life. They tore it all away before she even had a chance to begin.”

“Do you miss her?” I ask, a lump in my throat.

“Do you miss Cassian?”

Color rushes to my cheeks, and he chuckles when he notices my shynessb. /b

“Love is the most powerful force, ra. Hatred fades when you reach things like revenge or forgiveness. Love, on the other hand, is infinite.”

I open my mouth to respond, but Atarothz vanishes before my eyes as the sound of the door alerts him. Punctual as always, Naida and

rissa enter the room with pitchers of hot water and smiles stamped on their faces.

“Good morning, Miss ra, it’s be a habit to find you already awake.”

“I guess my internal clock got used to it.”

They smile as they head to the bathroom, where they diligently pour the hot water into the tub. Naidaes closer and helps me undress, as if1 weren’t perfectly capable. I step into the bath and feel my muscles rx and release tension after practicing my gifts with Atarothz. I run the sponge over my limbs.

“Do you two feelfortable here?”

The question takes them by surprise.

“Of course, yes, I suppose so,” rissa replies hastily.

I narrow my eyes.

“You suppose?”

“What rissa means is that they treat us well here, and we’re happy to be wherever you are.”

“But?”

“But we’re loyal to Cassian.”

Hearing those words brings me too much relief. It lifts an invisible weight I didn’t realize I was carrying. I’m about to tell them this won’tst much longer, but I hold back at thest moment. You never know who might be listening. I finish the bath as quickly as possible, step out of the tub, and let them dry me with fluffy, soft towels. Naida starts heading off for what I already know will be a dress, so I stop her before she

leaves.

“Please; I’d prefer to wear pants today.”

She frowns but nods without protest. Minutester, she returns with ba /bpair of leather trousers perfect for horseback riding. I slide my legs into the undergarments, then pull on the pants tightly, along with a shirt and a small corset belt. rissa, as always, handles my hair, ithis /itime

braiding it into a fishtail.

“Do you need anything else?”

“No, everything’s perfect,” I respond with a smile. “I guess I’ll see you before dinner.”

“Of course, heaven forbid you show up to dinner improperly dressed.”

rissa’s ironic tone makes meugh. I don’t dy much longer and head straight for the gardens. I reach the training fields without difficulty. I’ve walked this path a few times now. Abraxas stands with his arms crossed over his shirt, which does nothing to hide the muscles beneath. To my surprise, he has chosen a face I’ve seen before. When I get close enough, I notice theck of light in his eyes, confirming this

isn’t his real face.

“I hope you rested. I’m not going to go easy on you.”

*I don’t expect anyone to go easy on me.”

He tosses me a wooden sword, and I rely on memory to position myself just as Eleazar taught me. I haven’t let myself think about anything rted to him until now. I take my stance, and Abraxas’s gaze seems approving. There’s no countdown or anything like that to signal the start of the training. One moment to the next, Abraxas lunges at me. I dodge the first strike thanks to my reflexes and speed, but I make sure to

block the second with the sword.

“You’re a very good student. I should congratte your former master.”

“I’d prefer we didn’t talk about him.”

I see curiosity swirling in his eyes. He lets it go–for now, at least–and proceeds with the next thrust. Sweat slowly slides down my back, and my breathing–though not asbored as it would be if I were human–is already bing difficult. Every now and then, I remind myself to act as if I don’t possess powers and abilities simr to a vampire.

“You’re fast, but youck muscle,” he points out. “You should eliminate your enemies as quickly as possible before they weaken you with their strikes. It’s only a matter of time before your sword falls.”

And right then, he puts all his strength into a precise blow that, if the sword weren’t wooden, would have been lethal. The weapon falls to the ground, and I clench and unclench my hand to ease the pain shooting from it up to my shoulder.

“Did I hurt you?”

He grabs my wrist before I can respond. His palm wraps around my knuckles and forces me to open and close my hand.

“It’s nothing. The impact just caught me off guard, that’s all.”

“I see.” He watches everything with a kind of curiosity. I don’t know why, but Abraxas sends chills down my spine. I feel like one look from him is enough to see right through me. It’s terrifying. “Tomorrow we’ll work on building up your muscles. That’ll be best.”

I keep my mouth shut, let him massage my arm, and in doing so, he takes away some of that paralyzing pain.

“I’ve heard there’s a party soon. Are you excited?b” /b

“Why should I be?” I ask while watching his fingers massage my palm.

“You’ll get the chance to see Cassian.”

“I thought I’d made it clear I have no interest in him.”

“My brother is far too blinded by his need to love and be loved to realize you never will–at least not him. But don’t take me for a fool, ra.”

9

14:10 Sat, bAug /b

Iswallow and look away, ufortable.

b“/bAnd you? Will you be going to that party?”

“I don’t know.” He finally lets go of my hand. “Normally I wouldn’t, but there’s something in the air that unsettles me.”

And just like other times–he disappears.