Daughter of No Worlds (The War of Lost Hearts, #1)

by Carissa Broadbent

“He had the resources to have gotten you out, and chose not to.” “It was not his for doing. He could not free every slave he met in Threll.” I spoke casually, but the truth was, the first two times Zeryth came to visit, I dreamed that he would take me with him when he left. It took a few years for me to decide that my freedom would have to be my responsibility and no one else’s. I couldn’t fault Zeryth for not taking that upon himself, especially since he spent so much time teaching me and indulging my questions. Lighting that fire in my stomach was its own kind of freedom. At least, that was what I told myself. Max shook his head. “That just isn’t what I would consider a friend.” “You do not have friends,” I tried to joke, but Max shot his answer back with decisive intensity. “I have one excellent friend who is far better than I deserve. And if Sammerin was in that position, I would never, ever allow him to stay there.” His words slid between my ribs and twisted in my guts. In that moment, my mind was far, far away from Zeryth. No, my thoughts furled only around Serel. Around my mother. My cheek and forehead burned, scars left by everyone I had abandoned. “It is never so simple,” I shot back, too quickly, too loudly. And perhaps the vehemence of my answer told Max that somehow, we had started talking about something different, because his face shifted in the beginnings of concern.

does he speak as he knows this, or can he learn from her?