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A sht never wake up the way I did His choices could be set in stone But that can’t be true I see the way he looks at her, and I won’t give up so easily I only wish I could solve all this with ht even be enjoyable

Quite honestly, anything would be e House at dusk, searching for Mare Barrow This is a chore and a bore

Elane is gone, so an eye on General Farley while Ptole arena A routine that nicely aligns with Cal’s own schedule The would-be king is oh-so-married to his workouts, especially now that he can’t burn off his energy with a certain lightning girl

I pass through the gallery halls, dragging ers across statues of reflective steel and polished chro like water disturbed on a still pond Outside, the sky purples, and stars prick to life across the western horizon The city of Pitarus glows in the distance, severalon Reds and co shadoar I wonder what that must be like, to read about battles and hear of cities torn apart, and know you have no part in the conflict No influence No power should war come to knock on your own door

And it certainly will

This war has un Norta will be a rotting carcass one day, with the Rift, the Lakelands, Montfort, Pied over her corpse

I step onto the upper terraces, facing into the eastern darkness A chill hovers on the air, and I think we ht face a summer cold front before the week is out

Barrow isn’t alone when I find her, to rin She looks up at the stars while her Red boy stretches out at her side, long lile of blond hair and bronzed, sun-da his rounded chin in eline," Mare replies Her knees are drawn up to her chest She doesn’t ht "To what do e this honor, Your Highness?" she drawls

I chuckle and pause to lean against the railing edging the terrace tile Biting to the last "I find myself in need of distraction"

Mare shakes her head, aht that’s what Elane is for"

"She has a life of her own," I"I can’t expect her to live atnot to pine for her, and now here you are, in the sa aze onnight sky Then she looks back at the stars "What do you want to know?"

"Nothing at all I don’t care where you and Cal scampered off to today, or why you both were so incredibly late to aabout the survival of your own people"

At her side, the Red boy tenses, his brows knitting together

Mare tries not to rise to the bait or the implication She waves a hand, dismissive "It wasn’t important"

"Well, if you ever need assistance with your unies I can show you Ways to get around the Ridge unseen" I tipher as she pretends not to listen to , near my rooms, in case you’re interested"

Her head snaps up "I alowers, his eyes a dark green, the color of my mother’s stor Mare?"