Spencer slipped his hands into his coat pockets, keeping his posture deliberately relaxed. “My brother and I were hired by the Smokeclaw clan,” he said plainly. “We were told to locate the missing heir and return her home.”
There, straight to the point, no games, no pretending. Edith stared at him for a long moment.
The wind tugged at her hair again, pushing strands across her face, she didn’t move them and also didn’t look away. The silence, for the first time ever, made him a little uncomfortable.
Spencer expected denial, what he didn’t expect was for her to look him dead in the eye and say,
“I know.” She sighed “I’m the heir.”
Spencer blinked and tilted his head. Well, that was unexpectedly efficient.
Edith folded her arms tightly across her chest. “And before you start,” she continued fiercely, “I’m not going back, so you can piss off.”
Spencer stared at her for half a second longer than was socially acceptable. Because honestly? He had prepared for lies and excuses and a possible chase, definitely not this tiny furious woman sitting on a swing, openly admitting she was the target of the largest bounty he’d ever accepted.
“You’re very direct,” he said eventually.
Edith gave him a flat look. “You’re very annoying.”
“That seems premature.”
“You followed me.”
He shrugged as the silence once again stretched briefly between them.
The wind rolled across the cliffs again, carrying the scent of salt and spring flowers from somewhere nearby. Spencer studied her carefully, she looked angry, scared, and tired all at once. But there was something else too… relief. Like finally saying it aloud had loosened something inside her.
Edith kicked lightly at the ground, setting the swing moving again in small, restless motions.
“So,” she muttered. “Now what? You try and throw me over your shoulder dramatically? Drug me? Tie me up?”
Spencer’s expression sharpened slightly. “How do you know about that?”
Edith barked out a humourless laugh. “Because I know my family.”
That landed harder than he expected, making Spencer frown. “They actually told you that?”
“They toldyouthat,” Edith corrected. “Violent. Unstable. Dangerous if cornered?”
Spencer didn’t answer immediately, because yes, that was exactly what the brief had said.
Edith shook her head once, bitterness flashing across her face. “Funny how women become ‘unstable’ the second they stop obeying.”
The words settled heavily between them and Spencer’s instincts twisted sharply again. The whole thing felt increasingly wrong.
Edith looked away from him then, gaze drifting back toward the sea below. “I won’t go back there,” she said quietly.
Spencer watched her profile carefully. “Why?” he asked.
Edith laughed softly under her breath. Not amused, just done. “Because they sold me.”
The wind seemed to still for a moment. Spencer’s jaw tightened.
Edith kept talking before he could respond.
“They called it an alliance, obviously. Sounds prettier.” Her fingers tightened around the swing chains. “But it was still selling me to a male with an aggressive reputation towards women because his clan had strong bloodlines.”
Something cold settled low in Spencer’s chest.
