Page 34 of A Cruel Kindness

Right as I turned back to face the Bridge, I was assaulted by a mass of orange and reds.

I blinked, realizing that no one had thrown paint at me, it was just someone’s hair.

She was rather … difficult to look at. Not a bad thing at all, she was just striking, her beauty almost too potent for her body. I wasn’t sure what to make of her at first. It took several seconds for me to actually take in her face rather than stay shocked by the force of it.

Her features were quite elvin—her limbs long, her cheekbones high, her nose thin and straight, the line of her lip sharp against her pale skin.

It made her freckles stand out too, a smattering of soft tans and coppers across her face that matched the vibrant red of her hair.

She stuck her hand out to me with such force I thought the bone might break. The move made her bicep stand out, which spoke to a quieter strength held under her slight limbs. “Hi,” she said, a wide smile blooming over her face. “I’m Freya.”

“Bellamy,” I said, slipping my hand into hers for a quick shake. She clearly wasn’t shy, which was why I felt comfortable saying, “You haven’t been here for the last week.”

Freya’s smile only widened, a bright, wide pull of her lips that brought small creases to the corner of her sharp eyes. “Esme said I’d like you. I just got in last night.”

The tightness in my chest eased a little. I’d never really had any friends. People were too scared to get close to me for fear of my father’s wrath. I could really use some. “Where from?” I asked, making sure my smile was genuine instead of practiced.

Freya cocked her head over her shoulder.

“The Bridge?” I asked, my mouth dropping open. “I thought—”

“You were only allowed to Cross supervised?” Freya asked, her lip curving up in a grin. “For most people. I’m just special.”

A genuine laugh fell from my lips for the first time in as long as I could remember. “What did you and your Match do to earn such an honor?”

There was a second where I thought Freya’s smile fell, but it was back up so quickly I couldn’t tell if I was making it up or not. “Oh, it’s all me. This Match is only about three years old, but I’ve been doing this since I was twelve. Twenty-four now.”

Twelve years old. Good God. “I don’t know if I should be impressed or scared for you.”

Freya’s head tipped back with a laugh. “Both, probably. We’ll see when all the travel catches up to me. But I didn’t introduce myself to talk about me. It’s you I’m curious about.” She cocked her head as if to study me like an animal she’d never seen before.

“What would you like to know?” I asked carefully.

Freya plopped down next to me, crossing one leg over the other. “I wanted to know how you’re doing. First Cross is a big deal.”

“How obvious was I?” I really thought I’d hid my panic well.

“Not too bad,” Freya said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m good at recognizing the signs. You don’t have much to worry about. It’s not as bad as everyone says. What is it you’re worried about?”

I laughed incredulously. “The whole going to another planet thing to start.”

Freya smiled, but there was something wistful about it. “You’re a paranima. It’ll be easy for you.” She perked up again, that moment of dreaminess in her startlingly green eyes chased away. “Speaking of, where is—”

“Right here, Frey,” Soren said from behind me before swooping in and picking Freya up for a tight hug. My throat seized, feeling like someone was squeezing it with the intention to crush my trachea. When Soren set Freya down and ruffled her hair, the feeling only got worse.

“You’ve done quite well for yourself in my absence, Soren,” Freya said, looking up at him with affection, which I was sure was friendly. The Bond, however, was none too pleased. It was going off like a feral rodent in my head, gnawing through my sanity.

Soren’s hand fell to my shoulder, pushing warmth through my limbs and making the Bond calm down. Freya’s eyes tracked it, then traveled up to my face.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, then fell into a fit of laughter. “Oh, no, no, no. Oh, that’s hilarious. NO! No. Definitely not.”

Soren caught on then, a low laugh breaking from his chest. My head turned to him as if pulled by a magnet. When our eyes connected, the invisible hand released from my throat. “Freya was the first person I met when I got here. Closest thing I have to a sister now.”

I nodded, even though my ears were still buzzing. Soren leaned in, and I could feel the curve of his smile against the shell of my ear. “Glad to see you aren’t as unaffected as you’d like me to believe.”

My whole life had been a practice in acting unaffected even if there was a war raging below the surface. That training was the only reason I was able to turn slowly to him and say, “And which one of us is touching the other?”

Soren’s grin fell, his hand flying off my shoulder. It felt like a punishment, depriving me of his touch, though I was sure he didn’t intend it that way. Or maybe he did and he was just trying to get a rise out of me.