Chapter Thirty-SevenNyla squeezed her eyes shut as she held a quivering Sarja. She wanted to yell at her friend, to shove her away, to open her eyes and realize no, it couldn't be. Sarja wasn't there, she was far, far away from deadly danger. Not here. Anywhere but here.
“Why?” Nyla whispered in her Promised's ear. “Why don't you ever listen? You stubborn, single-minded …” The rest of her sentence was lost as her throat constricted in dismay.
“I'm sorry, Ny,” Sarja said. “I … I just couldn't go. I'm not going to hide in a cave a hundred miles away while you risk your life.”
Nyla cupped Sarja's cheeks. “Your mother's going to kill you, you know that? And if she doesn't, I will.”
Sarja gave a wobbly smile. “I love you too.”
Nyla sighed and shook her head. “You and I are going to have to
