Somehow, I still manage a calm voice. “Why?”
“She wouldn’t say.” Tahira shifts her weight from foot to foot. “But Aleksander’s with her.”
Of course he is.
“Annora?” Tahira takes a step closer. “You look pale.”
“I’m all right,” I say as I force my legs to move, to climb the steps, each one feeling like scaling a mountain.
“Did Asha seem angry?” I ask after a moment.
“No. She seemed happy.”
Asha’s happy?
She’s never happy these days—more like morose and empty. So very empty.
I walk quicker, determined to get this over with as fast as possible.
Tahira glances over at me, her brow pinching together as she speaks. “Are you certain you’re all right, Rora?”
“Yes,” I lie—and the gods know I hate lying to my sister—but I cannot tell her how I’m falling apart inside.
Chapter Twelve
Aleksander
Sunlight streams through the window,casting a warm glow over Asha’s study. I sit, mindlessly turning a piece of false gold in my hands.
The light catches the edges of the rock, making it gleam like true gold should. For a moment, the illusion is perfect—a flawless shimmer that could fool anyone. Just like it fooled me all those summers ago.
I slam the thought away as the door creaks open, and Annora steps inside, her pale skin standing out even through the thin fabric she wears over her face.
Does she know she doesn’t need to wear the veil? Especially not here?
She stops in the center of the room and glances between me and her sister.
“Please sit,” Asha says.
Annora settles into the chair beside me and smooths the front of her gown.
Asha leans toward her sister as she speaks. “Aleksander and I are betrothed, and we wanted you to know.”
The color drains from Annora’s face as her eyes dart between Asha and me. For a fleeting moment, guilt tugs at my consciousness, but I push it aside, knowing I have no room for guilt.
I slip the false gold into my left hand as my father’s words echo in my ears. “You’re nothing, Alek. You’ll always be nothing.”
Asha’s voice fades into a distant buzz as she tries to justify our choice to Annora while my thoughts spiral.
I’mnotnothing, and I’ll prove it by reshaping House of Crimson and House of Silver. I’ll build something greater than Jasce ever could.
I lean forward, propping my elbows on my knees. “Come now, Annora. Surely you can muster a smile for your brother?”
Her jaw tightens as she glares at me with the intensity of a thousand suns.
“What? No congratulations?” I press my hand to my chest in mock offense. “And here I thought we were becoming such good friends.”
“Alek,” Asha warns.
