ZURI

The walls of my chamber pressed in on me like they wanted to suffocate me. Maybe they were actually suffocating me. I wanted to rip my hair out and scream.

I could still feel the sting of Tyr’s words in the council room and feel the way his sea-green eyes had pinned me down when he demanded that I show him magic.

I had nothing to give him. Nothing. My tongue had gone dry, my body had frozen, and I had turned away like a coward. The shame burned inside me.

That was why, the moment I ...