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Einar shoots me a bitter smirk. “It’s my turn now.” He parrots my words back at me. “What did she want with the rose?”
“I don’t know.” That’s true enough. The more I think about Madame, the less her motives make sense.
He opens his mouth to argue, and I hold up a hand.
“She is not exactly forthcoming. All I had was a sketch and an order.” Well, two orders, but now is hardly the time to bring up the other one. “Did you see a sign of the man or his body?”
He stares at me like he’s trying to determine my motives for asking. “No. There were bones in the cave, but nothing identifiable and no sign of anyone leaving.” He’s trying to hurt me, but relief calms my frantically beating heart.
“Was everything you said a lie?” He looks like he wants to take the question back as soon as it leaves his lips, but I take my easy out.
“Strictly speaking, nothing I said was a lie.” I could have just saidno, but I want him to know that much before I leave this place forever. He shakes his head, clearly not believing me in the slightest, so I ask my final question.
“How long have I been here?”
He glances at the tall clock in the corner of his room. “Five hours.”
My jaw drops, and for a moment, I wonder if he is being petty, returning what he believes to be a lie with one of his own. My injuries had to have been severe, but they are largely gone. Then it comes to me. The caves, the springs.
“Why would you do that?” I breathe. “Why wouldn’t you just leave me in that cave to die?” Dying for a man who cared for me would have been far less painful than being dragged back here to face his hatred, even if I do deserve it.
“I needed answers.” His eyes don’t meet mine, and I know it isn’t the full truth. But it’s the only one I can afford to think about right now, so I take him at his word.
“All right. Well, I’m out of questions.”
His lips part, and I continue speaking to stave off his indignation.
“But I will answer all of yours for the next hour, if you will agree to let me go immediately thereafter. With Khijhana and Gideon,” I tack on.
The giant cat stirs at the sound of her name, nuzzling closer to me.
Einar scoffs. “Oh, you care about the chalyx now, do you?”
I refuse to falter under his reminder that I was forced to abandon her, especially when he can’t begin to fathom why. Instead, I meet his discerning gaze evenly, ignoring the way the air seems to crackle between us.
“Why do you want to leave so quickly?”
Because my sisters are in a danger they don’t even understand. Because I could bear all manner of physical torture before enduring another second of that expression I have so effectively put on your face. Because if I stay, I may never find the strength to leave. Because I may break down and tell you everything and lose you even more completely than I already have.
I clear the unspoken words from my throat, from my head, before responding. “That sounds like a question you’d like the answer to. Shall I take that as acceptance of my deal?”
“No.” The word is almost...panicked. “I need more time than that, and I don’t seem to be in quite the rush you are.”
“I don’t have more time than that,” I bite out, holding fast to the kernel of anger I’ve discovered at his ignorance of the severity of my situation. “Since you ruined what I set out to do, people will be looking for me.”
“And what exactly is it you set out to do?”
Die.
I make a show of clamping my lips shut, indicating that I won’t speak until he agrees to my terms.
He tilts his head, as if he can will himself to pluck the answers from my brain. He appears to deliberate for a long moment before deciding on what to say. “Everyone thinks you’re dead.”
I go still. “What?”
“As far as anyone knows, you fell from that wild hestrinn you insisted on purchasing. I carried your limp body in here last night, and have not reported out since. Only myself and three other people know that you’re alive.”
I can’t bring myself to ask why he would do that. There is no reason to let anyone assume I am dead unless he intends to make it so but doesn’t want questions to be asked.
