“Oh, I think you two are a cute couple. Do you want something to drink while you wait?” She’s already walking down the hall under the staircase toward the kitchen, so I follow.

The Lodge’s bright chef’s kitchen is empty when we walk in. I’ve never actually been in here before, since most of the meals are catered in, and very few of the Legendborn seem to cook for themselves. It’s a large, square room with white cabinets, two stainless steel fridges, a gas stove on a center island, and gleaming gray-and-white quartz countertops. Sarah pulls out two glasses and fills them with water while she talks.

“People are such gossips around here, but honestly, it’s not a big deal that you’re hooking up with Nick. There are some Pages who might be jealous. Ainsley, for one. Sydney. Spencer too.”

I settle into a bar stool, cradling my shoulder in its sling. “Wonderful.”

“Nick lost it on Vaughn, by the way. Kicked him out of the tournament. Said there’s no place for vengeance at the Table.” She shakes her head. “Vaughn thought that being the best combatant made him the best Squire for Nick, but it doesn’t work like that. It’s not just the fighting. It’s the match.”

The way she says that last word, the emphasis she puts on it, reminds me that she’s got more than Tor’s speed now. She has access to her emotions. She’ll always know when she’s in danger. They’re in sync now and forever.

And her life span has just been capped. I can’t think of a polite way to ask how she feels about the Abatement, so I ask another question instead.

“What does it feel like? To be bonded?”

She considers my question. “Tor and I were already bonded in a way. We’re in love, so I thought this would feel like more of the same, but it’s not. It’s deeper. More intimate. I don’t know how it feels to other people. Maybe it depends on how long they’ve been bonded or how well they already knew each other.”

“How long have you and Tor been together?”

“Couple of years. Before that she was with Sel, and I was still in high school.”

I hadn’t forgotten William’s revelation, but now that it’s out in the open… “About that… I’m having a little trouble imagining it.”

Sarah laughs. “Yeah, that was Tor’s rebellious phase. I think she did it just to piss her parents off.”

“Dating Sel pissed her parents off?”

“Dating a Merlin would piss any Legendborn parent off.” She rolls her eyes and tips her glass back.

That surprises me. Sure, Sel is a jerk, but does that mean all Merlins are? “Why?”

Her nose wrinkles. “It’s just not done.”

“But—”