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“Shut up,” Indigo muttered irritably.
Melaina started to laugh at him. “You worried for nothing, boy.”
“No, I didn’t.” He sighed impatiently. “Because it could’ve been dangerous. If those two hadn’t been the laziest pair of guards I’d ever met, all three of us could be dead right now.”
“But we’re not,” she sang merrily.
“Fine,” he snapped. “You were right. I was wrong. You had a fail-safe plan to get us into the pass. Are you happy now? Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Yes, actually. It was.”
He sniffed moodily and rolled his eyes toward the sky.
Humming a cheerful tune to herself, Melaina rode ahead, calling a greeting to a handful of men she passed going in the opposite direction.
Indigo swung his attention to me. “And you’ve put up with her for eight years now?”
Since it was fairly dark in the canyon and he couldn’t see my expression, I grinned. It was kind of nice to have someone else around who shared my aggravations about Melaina.
“I’ve put up with Melaina my entire life,” I corrected.
“Christ Almighty,” he murmured in sympathy, shaking his head slowly. “You deserve an award.”
Chapter 22
Quilla
We made it through the canyon and out the other side with no hiccups. I mean, aside from the physical brawl that nearly broke out between Indigo and Melaina due to the fact that my aunt couldn’t stop heckling him about how flawlessly her plan to disguise ourselves to get into the canyon had worked.
At one point, after we were already through the pass—and Melaina was still harping on about how ridiculous his concern had been—he pointedly turned to me and asked, “Just how important is she to you again?”
Before I could answer, however, Melaina snorted. “Oh, that’s rich. You’re thinking of harming me now, are you, High Clifter? Just because we had a little difference of opinion? That’s so open-minded of you.” She rolled her eyes before lifting a finger. “Now, let me tell you something. You should kiss the ground I walk on. Because I was the sole caretaker of your one true love since she was eight years old. I hid her in her own home for nearly four years, disguising her as my servant so the rest of the family wouldn’t find her and try to kill her for her powers. And when she was discovered, I sent her to a girl’s academy with my own funds I’d accumulated over the years, because it was the safest place I could think to hide her. My husband tortured me for six years, trying to get me to tell him where she was. But did I ever break? No. The only reason Quilla is alive today—”
“Okay!” Indigo cut in harshly, lifting his bound hands in surrender. “Fine. I’ll stop imagining how nice the silence after your murder might be. And I thank you for everything you did for her.”
“No,” Melaina snarked back, not ready to forgive him. “You know what would be really nice?” she demanded. “Your face not being around here anymore. The girl and I had a fine system going before you came along and disturbed our peace with your unwanted, intruding, and super annoying presence.”
Indigo glanced at me, making an exaggerated expression. Not for one second did he believe there’d been any peace between me and her before he’d come along. And he was right. It amused me how well he already knew that.
And that look on his face. So comical.
I blurted out a laugh without meaning to.
“Yes, it was so peaceful,” I stressed sarcastically, lifting one hand to my heart as if swearing by the lie.
Grinning, he watched me with such avid fascination that I became self-conscious.
Tucking a piece of hair behind my ear, I muttered, “What?”
He shook his head slowly. “Nothing,” he mumbled before immediately glancing away as if self-conscious. “It’s just nice when you smile. That’s all.”
My brow furrowed as I continued to watch him, wondering what he was thinking. Wondering what he was feeling. I was so curious about the inner workings of him that I began to wish I could get one of his marks, so I’d know right now exactly what his heart wanted. And that was such a surreal realization for me. This man right here could be my entire future. If I’d just allow it. All I had to do was accept him. That was all.
Except what if I did put my trust in him and the whole love-mark thing ended up being a ruse after all?
It was a leap of faith I couldn’t risk.
“That’s it,” Melaina spoke up suddenly, making me jump because I’d forgotten for a moment that there were other people in the world aside from Indigo. “I’m done for the day,” she announced. “Let’s find somewhere to unpack and camp. Preferably somewhere near a brook so I can take a nice relaxing bath.”
