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“Purrscilla.”
My brows rose in surprise. “Has the scraggly old cat learned how to speak in the last couple of decades?”
“Hilarious,” Zoei quipped. “But nothing quite as extraordinary.”
She slipped the dagger back into its sheath. “I found a few of your hairs clinging to Purrscilla’s claws.”
“Ah.” I nodded, fighting a frown. “Foiled by the feline.”
Zoei’s lips twitched, and I thought perhaps she was suppressing a smile.
“Look,” I said, as a frown reappeared on her brows, creating deep indents on her forehead. “I admit I was in your suite, and I have no explanation for it other than curiosity. But that doesn’t mean I hired an assassin to take your life. I have no wish to sever this precarious peace between our kingdoms.”
“What were you curious about?” she asked, crossing her arms again.
“Oh.” I blinked, not expecting a follow-up question tothatpart of my statement. “Um, just you, I suppose. The person you grew into.”
“Why?”
I thought perhaps my cheeks were tinted with a blush.
“I’ve just… you know… wondered,” I said with a shrug. “I wanted to see if there were remnants of the old Zoei. The one I used to know.”
“And?” she probed, tilting her head as she waited for my response.
I glanced away, clearing my throat. “I don’t think you should ask that question, especially after what happened between us.”
Her scent had heightened with interest just moments before, but as I spoke, it was snuffed away by something darker.
“The Zoei I used to know would never have donethatto me or anyone else,” I continued foolishly.
“Funny,” Zoei returned, venom laced in her voice. “The Olympia I knew would have begged for more exactly like you did.”
Shame and hurt swelled, blotting out any niceties that lingered between us.
“You can’t speak to me that way,” I stated in a tone I was almost proud of.
This time, a smirk lifted a corner of her lips. “You forget, Olympia—you are my prisoner. I can speak to you as I please. I can do to you as I please.”
I was suddenly all too aware of how close she was. The tip of her boots bumped against my own, and I could feel the warmth of her skin through two layers of clothing.
“You will not like the consequences once I return to Vetri.”
“Is that a threat?” Zoei growled, leaning in. The brush of her breath singed my skin.
“Merely the truth,” I stated with the sparse air in my lungs.
“It is not in your favor to threaten me, Olympia,” she snarled. “And it is bold of you to assume you’ll ever set foot in Vetri again.”
My lips parted to protest but she continued without pause.
“Perhaps your corpse will.”
I aimed a punch to punch her shoulder, but found my wrist caught in an unyielding grip. Her skin was much too warm, warning me that her powers were close to the surface.
“You need to stop making jokes about killing me,” I stressed, attempting to pull away to no avail.
“Who says I’m joking?” she retorted.
