Chapter Six
‘Wasn’t sure I’d see you again,’ Czarina said.
Sophia closed the grille on the door so Ark couldn’t hear. He leaned against the wall outside, his attention seemingly elsewhere.
Czarina sat on the edge of her bed, her bandaged arm now without a sling. Her lips were pale and her hair had grown enough to cover her eyebrows.
‘Olesya told you what’s happening to me?’ she asked.
Sophia nodded. The colors—the emotions—she could see flowing around Czarina were like the ocean at night.
‘I know that look,’ Czarina said. ‘You’re blaming yourself, like you always do.’
Sophia paced the room, barely making it to the far wall before stopping. ‘I was so focused on finding new allies, I didn’t notice the ones I’d already lost.’
‘I guess it just didn’t work out,’ Czarina said.
‘Didn’t w
