He leveled eyes with me and tugged on the chain until I was inches from his face. His gaze melted through my hatred like a flame. Why did I want to lick him? “We’re chained together until we get along, I’m guessing, so you might as well try.”
I stared him down, trying to shove my hatred toward him, but as we locked eyes, a flash of an apology appeared. It was gone just as fast as it had come. Vanished. I was so much better with anger. I understood it as a part of me, a language I spoke so fluently. Fury was a safety net. A wall. Attraction? That was the loss of control I so desperately feared. I pulled on the rage escaping me, willing it back into place, wrapping it around me. “Is this the part where the feral monster becomes the domesticated housewife and does everything she is told like a good little maiden?” I put the single free arm I had on my hip.
He rolled his eyes at me. Rolled. His. Eyes. “Just try to get some sleep. Greeve, take watch.” His direct order grated on my nerves.
With one hand, I shook the blanket from my bag and tossed it haphazardly to the ground. He snorted and bent down to straighten it for me. It was an almost kind gesture. Almost. I laid down, jerking the prince with me, and listened to the soft voices of the others long into the night until the last of them drifted off to sleep.
I shifted on the ground several times and finally gave up on sleeping. Every night since I’d opened Nealla’s book, I woke screaming anyway. If the southerners’ fire didn’t draw a hungry forest creature, that definitely would.
“Can’t sleep?” the prince asked, pulling on the stupid chain.
“Good gods, can’t I be sleep deprived in peace at least?”
“Sorry,” he answered.
“What do you want, Prince?” I sat up to look at him, pulling him to sit as well.
“Well, for starters, I’d love to know what we are doing in the maze forest.”
“Okay, well first of all, I have no idea whatyou’redoing here. I have to go west. This seemed like the quickest route.”
“Depending on how far west, it might be, but not if you don’t know how to travel here.”
“How the fuck does anyone know how to travel here?” I sneered.
“We rely on trackers,” he said in a flat voice.
“Then I guess you’ll have no problem getting back to Coro’s fancy castle.”
“I’ve already told you, Ara. I’m not leaving.”
“And I’ve already told you, Fenlas, I don’t want you here. But apparently, words are like lesser fae around here. No one seems to care.”
“Too far,” he warned.
“Don’t even try to play self-righteous with me. I was in that alley in Hrundel. I would have saved those two lesser fae if you hadn’t because, unlike you, I’m not playing a part. I’ve been doing nothing but fight for them since I left Aibell’s cottage.”
He leaned back, and for the first time I think, he noticed the suit Nadra’s mother had crafted for me with her magic. “What have you been doing?” Fire lit his eyes.
“Killing assholes for sport,” I shrugged.
“This is not a game.” He let his strained voice rise above a whisper. “What are we doing? Why are we in this forest?”
“I don’t know why you’re here. I’m just passing through.”
He scowled and shook his head. “Where are you going?”
“That’s my own business.”
“I have imagined you a thousand different ways in my life. Not once did I think you would be a spoiled, selfish brat.”
“Surprise,” I said, smiling at him sweetly.
He growled, literally growled, and laid back down, turning over and jerking me with him, though he kept his arm behind his back. I heard a snicker from the sleeping pile of fae near the fire, and it sparked a deep embedded rage within me.
“Watch what you’re doing,” I snapped and laid back down awkwardly.
His fingers laid inches from mine in the dirt, and I knew he was just as wide awake as I was. I stared up at the dark forest ceiling and contemplated all the ways I could kill Aibell instead of Fen. I rolled to my side, letting my arm twist behind me. Hey, that had to be progress, right?
