Sitri rises to a stand in the most ridiculous display of bravado. “Would you like to test how you’d do?”
“SITRI!” I march forward, placing myself in between them, ready to fight him if I have to. When I glance up, he’s frozen, blinking rapidly in stunned silence. “It’s not her fault. She just came to check on me, and I begged her to bring me with her. We made sure no one even saw us until Valik came in here.”
It’s evident that he isn’t buying a word of what I’m feeding him. “Well, I’m glad to hear you have one minuscule fucking speck of common sense between the two of you. Remember when we talked about doing reckless things, pet? This—thisis exactly what I mean. Gods, you have no fucking clue what I’ve gone through—you have no idea—“
“Sitri! Would you sit down?” I snap. “You’re making everyone nervous.” He blinks. “Sit. Down,” I demand. He blinks at me for only a moment longer before he plops down on the stool. A little violently but nevertheless.
He turns his attention back to his plate. “I’m surprised to see you still even here,” he grumbles.
“What?”
“What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
He glances around the kitchen and back to me, mystified. “You’re still here. Haven’t run away again.”
“Did you think I was trying to escape? We were just hanging out, Sitri.”
His head swings back down to his plate. Thatiswhat he thought. “You could’ve left a note,” he mutters.
“What do you mean?”
“You could’ve left a note explaining where you were. So I didn’t think you’d been abducted or murdered or…”
It’s my turn to blink at him. “I didn’t think you would be back yet. You said three days.”
“I said three days at the most. And, hasn’t it been three days?”
I falter at that. Had it? I suppose if you counted the day he left. I turn back to seek out Vera but she’s nowhere to be found. I stride forward to the counter across from him. The movement makes the room spin slightly. The adrenaline had lessened the potency of the wine slightly but it was still very much there and I trip over my own feet a little on the way. I look up to check if he’s noticed and he shakes his head in disapproval. “Why would you think I was abducted if no one can get into your chambers?”
“It’s not impossible,” he gruffs.
“You haven’t mentioned it.”
“Didn’t want you to worry.I, at least, take that into consideration.”
The corner of my lip tries to quirk and I fight it down. This man, sour because I didn’t leave a note is so at odds with the one that said he wouldn’t mind being rid of the thorn in his side. “I’m sorry I didn’t leave a note,” I say softly.
His returning stare is deadpan.
“You should apologize to Vera.”
“No,” he says curtly. “She needs to understand that she put you in danger. If I can scare her out of doing that again, I will. The Gods know I can’t scare you out of anything.”
I scrutinize his face. I’ve seen this man tired before, but this is a whole new level.
“You’re bound and fucking determined--“
“I think you need a nap, Sitri. You’re being a massive dick.”
“Pandora,” he says sternly. That one word still stirring an unfamiliar and discomforting jolt through me. “What do you think would’ve happened to you if I hadn’t shown up?”
I prop my elbows on the counter and lean my head into my hands with a sigh. I feel weighted, sloppy from the wine. It’s probably for the best. I would’ve reacted worse to Sitri’s tantrum without it. “You wouldn’t appreciate being rid of thethorn in your side?”
He releases a low growl. “I would appreciate if the thorn in my side would stop being such a thorn. Be more like a stem of a….daisy.”
“A daisy?”
