“I owe you no explanation.”
“Pity.” He sighs. “You were just starting to get interesting.”
He’s in chains. He is aprisoner. Somehow, though, he speaks as thoughIam lesser.
Of course, it’s a game. He’s trying to belittle me. Why? What is he planning?
I could outright ask him. I would know if his answer was the truth ... or a lie. Though, as my last visit taught me, he’s more than willing to ignore me completely.
Or—
What if I gainhistrust, somehow?
He won’t tell me his plan if he despises me. But if he thinks I’m onhis side...
“I refused to gild a thief,” I say.
Silence. He looks surprised by my answer.
“Why?”
I clench my jaw, already regretting my plan. But if this is how I stop another war ...
“Same as you,” I say, recalling his words from before. “Useless death doesn’t interest me.”
My plan is over before it begins, because I can’t control the fury building in my chest, the anger surging in response to the smirk on his face. “See?” I hiss. “It is, in fact, possible to refuse a father’s order.”
He says nothing.
I’m not done. No, I can’t stand here and pretend he didn’t murder my people. I lean forward, gripping the bars. “You killed thousands.Thousands. Good soldiers with families.”
Hatred fills his eyes. He tilts his head to one side, sneering. “And you? Did you think our soldiers were mindless murderers when you were killing them?” He laughs without humor. “They were fighting because they were following orders. Same as yours.”
“You attacked first,” I say through my teeth, voice rising.
“Heattacked first,” Grimshaw says, his voice cutting.
We are not our fathers. Calder’s voice is in my head.
“We were defending our lands,” I hurl back.
“And they were protecting their lives.” Grimshaw looks at me like I’m dirt. “My father imprisons his soldiers’ families. If they run away or fail him, he kills everyone they love. He rules them byfear.”
Truth.
I blink, rearing back. Monstrous. It’s monstrous.
I feel an unexpected spike of guilt. I led our armies. We killed thousands of Nightshades.
No. I burn the feeling. I refuse to feel pity for the enemy. “And you?” I demand, finding my way back to my hatred. “What did he take from you? What did he threaten?”
He doesn’t answer. But there is something—I can see it in the flash of pain behind his eyes.
Good. I’m glad he’s capable of feeling pain. Because I’m going to inflict more of it on him. When he tells me what he’s planning, I’ll betray him. I’ll do anything I can to hurt him the way his family has hurt mine.
He sighs loudly. It echoes through his cell. “If you’re going to kill me, please do get on with it. It’s pathetic, watching you stand there, glaring at me.” He motions his chin toward the fire curling in my palms. “Go ahead. I’d rather burn alive than see your ugly face for another second.”
The fire in my fists rages. My eyes narrow.He’s begging for it, I think. Taunting me.
