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Scion pushed off the wall and stepped in front of me to open the door and, huffing an angry breath through his nose, gestured for me to walk ahead of him. Then he stopped and stood in the doorway, frozen for a moment, his too-intense gaze fixed on me. I stared back, perplexed, and finally took a step forward to walk ahead of him.
“No, never mind,” he muttered, stepping into the warmth of the tavern and motioning for me to follow. “Get behind me.”
“Struggling with manners versus station, my lord?” I breathed. “Are you truly that concerned with letting the human filth walk in front of you?”
“No,” he snapped back. “I was trying to decide how best to protect the human filth, given that she goes out of her way to taunt death at every opportunity.”
“I see no one here more likely to murder me than you.”
He sighed. “You are certainly testing my resolve, I will give you that much.”
20
LONNIE
THE CUTTHROAT DISTRICT, INBETWIXT
Ipeeked out from behind Scion’s armored back as we walked inside and saw that the room beyond was nothing more than a tavern, unremarkable as compared to any other I’d seen. The few patrons grew quiet as we crossed the room to the bar. All conversation stopped, and a lonely flute player in the corner gave up his tinkling tune and stared slack-jawed and terrified.
This time, I was positive it wasn’t me they were staring at, but Scion barely seemed to notice as he reached for the nearest empty stool and sat down. Begrudgingly, I took a seat beside him.
At least this tavern was bound to have food, I told myself.You’re doing this for your dinner.Wonderful, warm stew. Tasty, flakey biscuits…
“What are you smiling about?” Scion asked.
“I am imagining your death.”
“And when you imagine it, are you still there tormenting me? Or am I finally at peace?”
“Could you achieve peace if you hadn’t killed me first?” I snapped back. “Has that not been your singular purpose for quite some time?”
“I told you. I’m not going to hurt you.”
I had to think for a moment to recall when exactly he’d said that. In my room—his room—I supposed, though I had not taken it all that seriously. I was more inclined to believe Thalia’s rumor that he’d tried to prevent my death in the second hunt for some inscrutable reason, if only because there was more clear evidence. Still, I couldn’t understand why the sudden change of heart.
“Tell me again, then,” I said. “I’m not sure I believed you.”
He looked me directly in the eye, and it was a struggle not to look away. As if I’d been sucked into a pool of silver, haunting, hypnotic. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He sat perfectly still for a moment, and then his face contorted, as if in pain, and he added, “Right now.”
I tore my eyes away.
“Ha!” I should not have been pleased to hear he wanted to murder me, but it was simply the fact that my world made sense again. “Because you need me, but how long will that last?”
He ground his teeth. “We will never be able to do a single thing if you constantly question my every motive.”
“Then say what you mean, my lord. You evidently cannot say that you will not hurt me.”
He smirked, and his gaze turned heated. “What if you liked to be hurt?”
Heat rose to my cheeks. “I know what you’re doing. You cannot constantly distract me with sex.”
“Evidently, I can, rebel. Why stop when it works so well?”
I swallowed thickly.Bastard.“Answer the question.”
“It’s too broad of a statement.” He scowled, looking annoyed with himself. “I should have said I have no intention of killing you.”
“Do you?”
