Dimitri’s eyes go wide, and his face becomes ashen. “Who told you that?”
“And that you searched me out just so you could get it?”
Dimitri shakes his head, his jaw locked. “I don’t know who told you that, but they were lying.”
“No, Dimitri. You lied to me.”
“You are not the same girl I met in Primewood,” he sneers.
“Perhaps I’m not, but it’s your fault.”
He growls and stands. Without another word, he strides from the tent. My feigned indifference crumbles as soon as he’s gone, and I bury my face in Pika’s fur.
I was a fool to think I was in love with Dimitri. I now know what love feels like—and at the moment, it feels like pain and despair, longing and loss. But as mad as I am at Galinor for leaving, I just want him to come back.
“Lady Anwen?” someone calls from outside the tent.
Two men enter, and both look at Pika uncertainly. The taller man steps forward. “Dimitri has asked us to collect the glasseln so she can be fed.”
“Absolutely not,” I say. “She goes nowhere without me.”
“You may come as well,” the man offers, his voice a little too smooth.
I know there’s a trick somewhere, but I’m not sure what it is. I won’t let Pika go off alone, but if she doesn’t go, they might not feed her.
“All right,” I agree, and I attach the lead to her collar.
I let Pika out first, and the men follow behind me. Pika sniffs the air and then immediately goes to a smallpile of meat near the tent. It’s not enough for a full meal, and I’m about to tell them as much, when an arm goes around my neck, cutting off my air.
Pika eats happily, not realizing what’s going on behind her. The other man grabs the lead from my hand, and my attacker drags me back into the tent. My vision begins to swirl with little black dots.
“We won’t hurt her as long as you cooperate.” The man releases his grip just enough I can gasp in a breath.
“What are you doing with her?” I demand.
“We’re locking her up,” he answers. “We can’t have a wild animal chasing Dimitri out of his own tent.”
“Dimitri is a snake,” I spit out. “I swear the next time I see him—“
I don’t have to wait long because he walks in. I lunge at him, but the other man holds me back. Though I kick and scream, he doesn’t let me go.
“Do you think this makes me happy?” Dimitri asks, frustrated. “Do you think I want it to be like this between us?”
“Tell him to let me go, Dimitri,” I hiss.
Dimitri motions for me to be released. The man tosses me on the cot and steps away before I can turn on him. He leaves when Dimitri dismisses him.
I stand and straighten myself. “I’m leaving. Give me the stone and bring me back my cat.”
Dimitri comes forward and rests his hands on my arms. “I can’t let you do that, Anwen.”
“What is this?” I throw my hands in the air. “First you leave me, and now I’m your prisoner?”
“Of course not,” he says, trying to soothe me. “Butyou’re so distraught right now; you don’t know your own mind.”
“I will never love you,” I snarl.
His eyes are hard, and then he begins to morph forms. I recognize the motion—I’ve done it enough myself—but what he changes to almost brings me to my knees.
