Once my ribs no longer threaten to puncture a lung each time I take a step—at least for the brief window of time that Coal’s magic still simmers in my blood—Autumn walks me to the Citadel’s infirmary, a low ivy-covered building near the library. The cheerful blue sky and nodding flowers mock my insides as we make painfully slow progress across the grounds, the clusters of fae we pass watching me unabashedly and whispering the moment we’re past.

“Ignore the idiots,” Autumn says quietly after the third such encounter, then louder, “They’ve never trained hard enough to injure themselves.”

“If they knew what training did this, it might motivate a great deal of study.” My cheeks heat when I realize I said the thought out loud. I clear my throat. But the small perk in Autumn’s step says it’s too late to backtrack.

“So,” Autumn says, shooting me a sideways glance. “Coal.”

“Coal,” I echo flatly.

“Coal.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. “I can name a dozen females who’d likely come just from seeing the bastard naked.”

My cheeks flush a second time, suddenly for a very different reason. Is Autumn possibly one of said dozen? I’m fairly certain the female enjoys both genders but . . .

A corner of her mouth twitches. “You really should do something about that habit of flashing your thoughts for everyone to see. No, silly, I don’t think of Coal that way. I mean, I appreciate a good set of everything as much as the next being, but he feels too much like a brother. And when you already have a brother like River, that designation is an incredible turn-off.”

I clear my throat, some of the tension easing from my shoulders. “It was . . . good. Different. Intimate in a very . . . explosive way.”

“Considering how long it took Coal to put his bedchamber to rights, I imagine that’s accurate.” Autumn bends to snatch up a flower, twisting the long stem between her fingers. “It’s good for him. For both of you.”

I rein in my voice to normalcy. “Scientifically speaking, it’s fortunate that we discovered the mechanics of Coal’s magic in advance of next week. So at least there’s that.”

Next week. I sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Autumn asks quietly, her tone preternaturally perceptive.

“Next week’s trial is all River talks to me about now. As if I’m some child whose attention must be focused lest I should wander off and drown in a bathtub.”

“River—” Autumn cuts off, folding her arms over her chest. I brace myself for another River-is-the-commander lecture like the one Coal gave me, but Autumn just shakes her head. “River can get himself out of this mess. I’m not making excuses for the bastard anymore.”

I open my mouth to push her then stop. With my all-encompassing pain lifting, I finally mark the dull, cloudy look in Autumn’s eyes, the faint gray bags underneath. I’ve never seen the female like this before, not even during the intense aftermath of the second trial. “Autumn?” I say, my voice soft, the change of topic clear from my tone. “What is it?”

She looks at me, smiling quickly, though it doesn’t reach her eyes. “It’s nothing. Just. It’s day two now. Kora and her quint have been out for a full night. I thought maybe . . . I don’t know what I thought.” Her hand goes to the little emerald stud in her ear, twisting it mindlessly. “I’m being silly.”

I squeeze her arm, though it’s barely a change from the pained death grip I already have on it. “She’ll be back,” I say firmly. “She has to be back.”

After Shade’s intimate healing touches, the Citadel healer’s magic feels uncomfortably intrusive. I all but bolt from the infirmary a few hours later, running in to Tye, who I discover waiting by the door.

“Not a fan of healers, lass?” Tye says, a hint of amusement glinting in his green eyes as he gathers me comfortably against his side.

I wrap my hands around my shoulders, snuggling into Tye’s pine-and-citrus scent. “I don’t know why it feels so different from Shade,” I confess before catching myself. Between coupling with Shade and now with Coal, I’m not sure where I stand with Tye.

“Of course it feels different.” Tye snorts. “You’d likely feel uncomfortable walking into the supper hall naked, though that little seems a problem at other times, aye?”

My cheeks flush and Tye chuckles softly, running a knuckle across my cheek in a way that sends a blaze of heat down to my toes. Maybe he does want me. With all the teasing and lack of follow-up, the confusion is starting to eat at me. Ask. I should just ask. I make my voice light despite my suddenly pounding heart. “If you are maneuvering to drag me into a bedchamber for the sake of testing Autumn’s theory, you should just confess now.”

The male stiffens, the sudden hurt flashing in his face almost too quick to catch. “I never confess to anything, lass,” he says with a wink. “It’s safer for me that way.”

I catch Tye’s arm before he can pull away, the humor leaving my voice. “What did I say?”

“Nothing.”

“Tye.” I pause, an unwelcome feeling now burning in the pit of my stomach. “Do you . . . do you not want me that way?” I ask quietly.

He pulls his arm back, his hands going into his pockets. His usually sparkling green eyes are opaque, the angles of his beautiful face carefully expressionless. “If by that way you mean as a curiosity or a training aid or a bloody toy, then no, lass. I don’t.”

My breath catches. I open my mouth to protest but Tye shakes his head. For a split second, I see a whole new male behind the forever-amused mask, a whole life and past that I know nothing about. For a split second, Tye seems all of his five centuries old.

Leaning forward, he brushes a soft kiss over my lips. “We’ll know when it’s time, lass,” he whispers into my ear. “And it isn’t just yet.” The mask of mischief is back on his face before I can respond, and he pokes my newly healed ribs. “Let’s get back to the suite. Autumn was cleaning when I left, and if there is a greater sign of trouble than that, I’ve yet to learn it.”

Unfortunately, Tye proves correct, the suite looking disturbingly ordered when we arrive, a gray cloud of tension filling the air.

When, a few hours later, a knock sounds at the door, Autumn sprints to answer it so quickly that she steps on Shade’s tail.

The wolf yips his indignation, but when the door opens to reveal Klarissa, and Autumn’s body turns to stone, I know no apology will be coming. “Kora?” Autumn’s thin voice cuts the air. “Is . . . Are . . . What’s happened, Elder?”