Still he doesn’t answer, and I sit up, clutching the towel, growing angrier by the minute. I like to think of myself as a kind, caring, even-tempered person, but gods, he makes me more furious than anyone I’ve met in my entire life. “I won’t do it,” I say. “I won’t stay here and be your royal healer. The people of my region need me, and I need them. I won’t be a ghost of myself, starved for love, trapped in this palace, bound to this broken city.” I get to my feet, my cheeks burning, my fists curled tightly around the edge of the towel. “After the Calling I’m going home, and if you want to
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