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“Tell me again,” I insisted. “In three weeks?”
“Possibly,” he said evasively.
My eyes narrowed slightly. Did I detect a note of wistfulness in there?
“Possibly?”
“Briar…” Rachel murmured under her breath in a warning. “Why don’t you just eat your breakfast, and we’ll talk—”
“No!” I cried defiantly. “I’m asking him. When can I get out of here? I want to go home!”
Ash’s face hardened, and he glowered at me. “For the last time, Little Bunny, you’ll go home only if the debt is paid, and not a second before that. Now, if you have anything else, ask Rachel. I have work to do.”
“Ash—” I sputtered, but this time, he didn’t turn again, leaving me alone in that too-big dining hall with Rachel, my shoulders trembling, throat parched.
“Come and sit down, honey,” Rachel urged. “You need to eat something.”
Numb and conflicted, I turned dejectedly toward her, shaking my head uncomprehendingly.
“Why is he like that?” I demanded. “What did I do?”
Rachel gave me a small, compassionate smile. “It’s not always about you when others lash out,” she told me wisely. She nodded at the plate again and gestured for me to pick up my fork. “Please eat something. If I’m in charge of you and you fade away into nothingness, it’s going to reflect badly on me.”
I didn’t have the slightest appetite for anything and said as much aloud.
“Just a few bites, Briar. You can’t get through these next weeks on air. Please, don’t get me in trouble.”
The line struck me. I hastily forked a mouthful of hashbrowns into my mouth, but I barely tasted anything, my gut still upset from the way Ash had spoken to me.
“Eat up, and when you’re done, we’ll finish purchasing some new clothes, okay?”
“I don’t want clothes,” I muttered, reaching for the glass of orange juice in front of me.
“It’s just something to do,” Rachel insisted. “What else is there?”
I swallowed the sweet liquid and set the glass back down with finality, staring deadpan at the fae.
“I want you to tell me the truth,” I told her angrily. “I want to know everything about what I’m doing here.”
“Briar—”
“If you want me to trust you, Rachel, you’re going to have to give me something,” I cut her off. “So either tell me the truth, or bring me back to my room and leave me alone for the next three weeks.”
Chapter10
Briar
“No one has ever lied to you, Briar,” Rachel told me sternly, her gray eyes flashing with the suggestion. “Not once.”
“Withholding the truth is the same as lying.”
Rachel grimaced and sat back in her chair, folding her arms over her ample chest.
“You’re putting me in a very awkward spot,” she said. “I work for Ash, not you.”
“Your job is kidnapping unsuspecting women? You must be very proud of yourself.”
Rachel sat forward, splaying her hands over the surface of the tablecloth, her face darkening.
