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“If they come for you, Deyanira, you will have to. And that’s what makes you dangerous. Or have you forgotten those two guards so quickly?”
My skin bristled, cheeks heating as I realized she’d been watching me. “You know I haven’t.”
“But you saved that child. A child with a lot of power for such a little thing.” Ro pinned me with a stare. “Don’t you agree?”
“I don’t … Are you confirming Quill has magic?”
“You are not the foolish princess you used to be, Deyanira. Why else would the king want her?”
“That wasn’t for power. Drexel forced my husband to marry me because he wanted to slight the new king. Icharius took Quill as punishment.”
“Interesting theory. But why is Orin being punished by his keeper for following his commands?” She drew the last sentence from me as if she already knew the answer and wanted to lead me down the path of understanding. But I hated the proverbial leash and the upper hand she wielded so casually.
“Because he’s a fool and made a deal for my safety, and Drexel is trying to break him, make him ask for something else instead of protecting me.”
She swirled a finger along the edge of her teacup, considering the facts. “I think you need to pay closer attention to those you keep company with.”
I regarded her with a hint of skepticism, my gaze lingering longer than usual. “What do you know?”
“When it comes to Icharius Fern and Drexel Vanhoff, they keep their secrets locked very tight. I have few facts and many suspicions.”
A wash of cool calmness settled over me as I leaned forward, placing the teacup on the table, prepared to slip back into the predator I’d always been. Because, after everything that’d happened, I couldn’t trust her any more than I could trust Orin Faber, even if I desperately wanted to.
“And when it comes to my bonded husband and his housemates?”
She thrummed her fingers together, a smile creeping across her face as she matched my energy, scooting in, entering the battle of wits I wasn’t sure I was prepared for.
“Why did you agree to stay in their house?”
Wondering if this was a time to stop sharing information with Ro, I chose my words carefully. “Where else would I go?”
“Do not answer a question with a question and expect to get information from me.”
“That was a genuine response. My father’s castle is abandoned but probably still being watched by Drexel and King Icharius.”
“Yet you visited the clock tower to collect trinkets to sell to Visha. You could have slept there.”
“And then you delivered me to my husband so he could stab me in an alley and capture me. Which one of us is the asshole here?”
She stood. “He stabbed you because you’re a godsdamned fool who wouldn’t stay put. You cannot go to Visha and ask for a single thing. She’s trouble, and she’ll bind you to her, and then where will you be? Naked on the streets? Bent over her filthy couches for whatever scum she welcomes in her doors? A thug? A lackey? Turning Visha into a crime lord with power that will overtake Drexel. That’s what you will become. He collects magical people, but you’re the ultimate prize here, and somehow you forget that.”
“I haven’t forgotten a single thing!” I rose to stare into her eyes, irritated that she was so much taller than I was. “You could have let me come here, but you didn’t fucking answer. I had nowhere else to go, and I was trying to protect myself. You think I don’t know what these assholes want from me? You have no idea what I’ve been through.”
She softened, if only a little. “I know what you’ve been through. But sometimes we have to take the journey alone. Even if I wanted to be there for you, had I stepped in, would you be where you are now?”
I considered that, deflating. “No. But you make it seem like I shouldn’t be there anyway.”
“Oh, you definitely need to be there, Dey. You just need to keep your eyes and ears open. Be smart.”
“Then tell me what you know and what you suspect, and let me be the judge of where I should and shouldn’t be.”
“Quill is powerful. But you must keep in mind that they are all bound to Drexel. If he demands it, they must listen. Even if it means lying to you.”
“Then how do I free them?”
She faltered, a gasp catching in her throat. “You don’t. You stay far, far away from that man.”
It didn’t really matter if I kept my distance because he was always going to be a problem until I solved it. And I was done with hiding in a house and watching the only people around me suffer because of him. I needed to steer the conversation away from that, though. Ro wasn’t going to solve that issue.
