Page 43 of Their Rejected Queen

“You’re not fine,” Sofia chides. “You still have that vial you used sometimes on the ship?” She glances at the doorway, but nobody is there. “I’ll keep watch.”

I shake my head. “I don’t have the tonics with me.”

Sofia blanches but then slowly nods. “Maybe that’s a good thing. If one of those girls got their hands on them, we’d be finished.”

Sofia is the only one who knows my secret and, furthermore, is the only one who has proved trustworthy.

“True,” I say.

She holds both of my hands, and I blink up at her. “You came back for me, didn’t you?” she asks. “Ulara told us that you’d sneak in through the window because you wanted revenge on Coraline, the one who tried to drown you. But I know you. You have a sister on this island. You wouldn’t risk your life over revenge when she’s still out there.” She squeezes my hands. “You came for me.”

I nod, and tears well up in her eyes.

She sighs and presses my fingers to her cheek. “You’re such an idiot. You hardly know me. But… thank you.”

“We spent enough time on that ship that I know you better than anyone else,” I whisper. “You’re the only real friend I have.”

That’s a secret I had intended to take to my grave, because my entire life has been spent looking over my shoulder.

None of the Elite families are raised with the kinds of values that produce meaningful friendships. I don’t know how Sofia escaped all of it, but she did.

Just like I did, I suppose.

Sofia releases me and wipes her tears away. “Stop it. I am not.”

I don’t argue with her, but we both know it’s true.

“So, what’s sleeping with the pack master like?” Sofia asks, drastically changing the subject and making me choke again.

“What?” I ask.

She chuckles. “Well, I heard you spent the night in his tent, right? You seriously want me to believe that all you guys did in there was sleep? He chose you, specifically, as a bedmate.” Her eyes sparkle. I can tell that had we still been in the Magic Sector, she’d be the kind of friend who always had the latest gossip but would never do anything devious with it. She’d just have fun.

“All I did was sleep. Sorry,” I tell her.

She groans. “Really? Then why did he have you in his tent?”

I shrug. “I honestly don’t know.”

I don’t tell her about the Outcast, or Arwan. Instead, I listen to all of Sofia’s updates about the cute shifters she eyed on the way here and how she was told that after preliminary physical training, there will be an opportunity to volunteer for servant work.

I hope that’s true, for Sofia’s sake, I think but don’t say aloud.

Sofia’s soft voice is familiar and comforting, and it’s not long before I drift off to sleep.

“You can take my bunk,” she whispers. I barely hear her through the haze of my dreams, but her fingers tangle through mine as she tugs me off the pile of towels.

There are eyes on me, but Violet’s decree was only that I couldn’t eat anything. My stomach rolls with nausea anyway, so the idea of food repulses me. It works out.

Water must be allowed, because Sofia gives me some. “At least it doesn’t have that bitter aftertaste like the sweet water on the ship,” she whispers.

I don’t remember a bitter aftertaste, but I don’t comment on her account.

The bed is wrapped in coarse furs, and I gratefully curl into them. They’re not as plush as Godric’s, but they’re warm, and I snuggle into them as I sleepily blink and try to stay awake. I don’t try to sort these into piles. That urge doesn’t seem as prevalent here as it was in the alpha’s tent.

The girls keep themselves occupied with various activities and games. Someone has a pack of cards, and the pleasant chatter dances through my dreams. Sofia periodically checks on me, making me feel cared for as I try not to think too hard about the sharp pains running up my left arm.

Whatever happened between me and Arwan, it’s getting worse.