The Dark Knife by A.F.E. Smith

Author:A.F.E. Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thought provoking, female friendships, strong female lead, portal fantasy, ya epic
Publisher: IronWright Books

“Did you see Fabithe before he left?” I ask Oriana, a little later. Perhaps I’m being unfair, but I can’t resist getting her perspective on that particular scene.

“Yes.” A blush. I’m pretty sure that’s a blush. But she doesn’t look at me, concentrating instead on sorting the piles of herbs on the table in front of her.

“And?”

She glances at me. “And what?”

He hugged you. He desperately wanted to kiss you. He’s one hundred percent in love with you. But I don’t say any of it. I have rules about this stuff, and I’m going to stick to them.

“I just wondered how you felt about it,” I say instead.

“I will miss him. But it is for the best.”

Oh, come on. I watch as she picks up a leaf, rubs it between her fingers. Firelight glints off the signet on her thumb. Right … the signet. That might give me a way in.

“I’ve never seen you wearing that ring before,” I observe neutrally.

Her blush deepens. “It is Fabithe’s. From his old life. He gave it to me to – to remember him by. Until he returns.”

“He is coming back, then?”

“I believe so. He said he would.”

She continues to sort the herbs. Were it not for the telltale warmth in her cheeks, I could almost believe that she has no feelings about this subject whatsoever. And as a result, I can’t quite restrain myself.

“You’re leaving out the best part!”

“What do you mean?”

“He kissed you on the forehead!”

She turns to face me, folding her arms and trying to look stern, though a smile quivers at the corners of her mouth. “If you saw the whole thing, Alyssia, then why are you questioning me about it?”

“Because he kissed you on the forehead!”

“I am not sure what that is supposed to mean. He was just saying goodbye. One friend to another.”

“Well, was it a friendly kiss? Like, a one-armed squeeze, see-you-around sort of thing? Or was it more … romantic?”

I know how it felt to him, but I’m curious to find out what she made of it. Judging by her expression, they’re more or less on the same page.

“He held my face between his hands,” she admits. “As if I were precious to him.”

“And how often do your other friends touch your face that way?”

She looks thrown for a minute, before rallying. “Yes, but I had just kissed him, Alyssia.”

“My point exactly! When did you ever kiss any of us before?”

“I told you. It was to say goodbye.”

She looks distressed; straight away I stop teasing her, but I can’t help saying gently, “You know it’s all right to like him, don’t you?”

“Not in the eyes of the world. But it does not matter, anyway. We might be friends – close friends – but he will never want anything more. And that is good. It is safer that way.”

Of course he wants you! Have you never noticed the way he looks at you? But again, I don’t say it. Clearly it makes her more comfortable to believe otherwise, and I’ve meddled too much already.

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