AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I pull out a wrapped piece of teek and break off a small portion, then place the rest back into the bag. Tying Della’s bag to mine, I nibble on the flat, dense cake, and do my best to ignore his stare.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Lawrence says. “You have nothing to offer the oracle.”
My head snaps up, my teeth biting through the chunk of bread. It crumbles and half of my meal drops to the ground. “Excuse me?”
“As much as I would like for your little plan, or—non-plan as it were—to work, you need to be realistic.”
I take a swig from my waterskin, deciding not to respond to the bait. However, it seems he can’t stop himself as he continues, trying to wound me with his words like picking at a scab.
“I wonder… If I confessed my love for you too, would you drop this silly quest and return to Nightwich with me?”
My anger flares and I’m on my feet in a flash, cutting the distance between us in three strides. I yank the dagger from the sheath and pin my forearm to his chest. The sharp point presses into his jaw without breaking the skin.
“I’m not here to prove myself to you, Mr. Harkstead,” I say through gritted teeth. “But don’t even think about sabotaging me.”
“Or what,slayer? You’ll kill me, too?” Lawrence says in a mocking tone loaded with meaning. “I will only be another notch on your belt.”
His lip curls when my pressure on the dagger eases from the sharp accuracy of his words.
“Don’t call me that,” I hiss.
He arches a brow. “Call you what? A slayer? But youarea slayer, Clara. It is your title, and you’ve earned it.”
“You can keep your titles.” I clench my jaw. “Why did you come along?”
His green and gold hazel eyes glint with a mixture of mischief and malice as he debates his next words. “Alaric is my friend. You are not the only one who cares about him.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“Partially,” Lawrence says honestly. “I have my suspicions… I don’t want to see him hurt, not by the likes of you.”
Suspicions?
Taken aback, I release him and move away, putting distance between us. He rubs his neck where the dagger pricked him and scoffs when he doesn’t find a single droplet of blood.
“You’ve taken it upon yourself to act as my chaperone because you think I will betray him.” It isn’t a question.
“Can you blame me, Clara?” Lawrence asks darkly.
“Why would I try to break the compulsion if I thought for a second that I could stand the idea of leaving him?” I ask barely above a whisper.
“Guilt over what you took from him,” he offers.And me.
The unspoken words hang in the air between us.
Clearly Lawrence has even more to say because he continues on, “I see the way you are with Cassius. It wasn’t that long ago when you acted nearly as affectionate with Alaric. Now Cassius has also declared his love for you.”
So, he and Della did overhear our conversation.
“You talk as though you understand, but you don’t. No matter what I say or do, you only see what you want.”
There are times when Lawrence is more neutral toward me than others, but this is one of his harsher moments.
Ignoring me, Lawrence continues, “Alaric has been through enough… Does he need a broken heart on top of everything he’s already endured?”
My face burns with embarrassment as I sheathe the dagger.
I want to tell him that he’s wrong, that I’m doing this for Alaric. How can he not see that? I should point out that I had no say in Cassius becoming my new master.
