Flashback ( PDFDrive )

THIRTY-THREE
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SIT?” Alvar asked when Sophie didn’t respond
to his greeting. “I hear you’ve been unwell.”
He stood and offered her his chair, and Sophie noticed that he’d put
on weight since his Tribunal, already looking a little less frail. His hair
was also trimmed and neatly combed, and his embroidered tunic
looked like it had been tailored just for him.
Other than the gruesome scars, he looked like the Alvar Sophie first
remembered meeting—the charming older brother home to visit his
perfect family.
“She wasn’t unwell,” Fitz snapped. “Your little friends tried to kill
her—and you already knew that. Stop pretending like you’re so
innocent.”
“I had nothing to do with that attack,” Alvar said calmly.
“This time,” Fitz argued. “So sit back down—no one wants your
stupid chair.”
“Careful,” Sophie whispered as Fitz rubbed his chest and took a
long breath. “Save your strength for the probe.”
“Probe?” Alvar repeated, his smile collapsing with a sigh. “Another
memory search?”
“Scared?” Fitz countered. “You should be.”
Alvar sat down slowly, turning to stare out the window. “Fear has
nothing to do with it, little brother. But has it ever occurred to you