She almost asked, Is there a part of you that doesn’t want to hate me, then? But she kept silent as he walked past her. Anything else she said might hurt him more, and she didn’t need to know the answer to that question.

She was no longer just a Blade that Kohl had fashioned her into. She could make something more of herself. Whether Ryuu ever forgave her or not didn’t matter—what mattered was stopping Bautix’s plans and cutting Kohl out of her life for good.

38

Four hours before midnight, Ryuu and Raurie departed for the Tower in a carriage. After packing her supplies for the night in silence, Aina joined Teo in the entrance hall of the mansion.

The sun had set by the time they set out, leaving them in near-darkness. A light rain cascaded onto the grass as they crossed the fields to reach the entrance to the sewers.

It was her first chance to speak with Teo alone since their conversation on her parents’ rooftop. She considered what to say on their way to the sewer entrance. When they finally reached it, their boots crunching in the gravel near the shore of the river, the words came out easily.

“You were right,” she said in a low voice.

“I’m right about a lot of things, so you’ll have to be more specific,” Teo responded with a wink.

She brushed wet strands of hair out of her face, hoping her hand would block the heat rising onto her cheeks. She wondered if this warmth she felt around him had always been there, hiding under her connection to Kohl, or if it was something new. And if it was new, how could she trust it? He was her best friend. She couldn’t ruin that.

“You were right about me,” she said. “I owe myself more. And you were right about Kohl. He really made me believe he cared. Some part of me is still convinced he does. Why didn’t he kill me last night? It would have been so easy.”

“That’s how he works, Aina. He hurts you and then he twists it, so it looks like he’s helping you. Don’t let yourself fall back to him again.” He looked away from her then, his gaze trailing across the river. “You deserve better than that.”

“I know,” she said, swallowing hard. “He told me he’s the one who killed my parents. He said he saved me six years ago because he felt guilty, but really I think he just wanted to own me.”

After a long pause where Teo took in what she said, he placed a hand on her shoulder, and she relaxed under his touch. “All you need is to be brave, like you always are, with everything. Kohl taught you how to kill, but you taught yourself how to live. Don’t forget you survived on your own for years, even if it was hard. Now you have to prove to yourself that you can cut him off too.”