Callum scoffs, leaning back against the wall.
"I think it’s a bit late for that."
I don’t have patience for their games. My pulse is already hammering in my ears, a slow, creeping dread curling in my stomach.
“Tell me now,” I urge through gritted teeth.
He looks at Celaena, then back to me, as if weighing something, as if deciding whether he should say what’s already sitting heavy on his tongue.
He swallows hard.
"My father has been stealing and securing secrets from your father. For King Sarris. He’s been spying on your father, trying to uncover what he’s been searching for all these years."
The confession slams into me like a physical blow as disbelief and anger swirl together in a storm I can’t contain.
“Spying on my father?” I echo, my voice trembling.
Jason’s gaze doesn’t waver.
“It wasn’t my choice, Lailah. I didn’t?—”
“You didn’t come back to the castle to marry me at all, did you?”
The words cut through the air, harsh and bitter.
Jason flinches, his lips parting as if to protest, but the truth in his eyes tells me everything I need to know. He takes a step forward, his hand lifting slightly as though to reach for me, but I step back, putting space between us. The movement makes him falter, his expression cracking under the weight of my rejection.
“And who is she?” I ask coldly, my gaze flicking to Celaena. She stiffens under my scrutiny, her hands gripping Jason’s arm like a lifeline. “Why is she still here?”
Jason doesn’t answer. His silence cuts deeper than any words ever could.
“He didn’t come here to let off some steam,” Callum interjects, his voice smooth and dripping with amusement. He tilts his head, his eyes gleaming with delight.
“No, he came to trade secrets with his father’s whore.” He flicks his gaze toward Celaena. “Or, to be more accurate, just a whore. Isn’t that right, gorgeous?”
Celaena’s face flushes with anger, but she doesn’t rise to Callum’staunts. Instead, she retreats further behind Jason, her grip on his arm tightening. Jason turns to Callum, his eyes blazing with fury.
“Enough,” he growls, his voice low and rough, but Callum’s grin only widens.
“Touch a nerve, did I?” Callum leans back against the rock, crossing his arms as if settling in for a show.
Jason turns back to me, desperation in his gaze.
“Lailah, please. Just listen to me.”
“You’ve been working with your father,” I say, my voice hollow but accusing. “Spying on mine?”
“It wasn’t like that,” Jason insists, his voice cracking. “I didn’t?—”
“You didn’twhat?” I snap, cutting him off. “You didn’t come here for me?”
The realization hits me like a blow to the stomach. My voice trembles with barely restrained fury as I continue.
“Did you know your father’s men tried to kill me?”
Jason freezes, his features slack with shock. My words seem to hang in the air, heavy and damning. He takes a hesitant step forward, shaking his head as if trying to clear the disbelief.
“What?” His voice cracks, barely above a whisper. “When?”
