“But you will.” She stood abruptly, fury radiating from every line of her body. “You’ll do it because Daddy commands it. You’ll do it because you’re a good soldier, a good son. You’ll force yourself on a Boundary whore while the Heart’s elite watch and applaud—”
“Stop.” He was on his feet now too, something breaking inside him. “You think I want this? You think any part of me is excitedabout—” He couldn’t even finish the sentence. “I would die before I forced myself onto any woman. I would put a bullet in my own head before I became that kind of monster.”
She stared at him for a long moment, then she bolted for the kitchen sink, barely making it before her body rejected everything, violent heaves that shook her entire frame. Greyson stood frozen, turning away to look at the wall, to swallow the sickness that was rising in his body.
He didn’t turn back around until the sounds of retching were replaced with a cupboard opening, a cap being unscrewed. He watched her drag the bottle of vodka across the counter and lift it to her lips as she headed toward the balcony without a word.
She didn’t bother shutting the door behind her, but for a moment he waited, trying to control his own rapidly beating heart.
Eventually he followed her out, leaning against the railing and watching as she sat on the patio couch drinking from the bottle with her legs pulled underneath her.
“I shouldn’t have said that.” She didn’t look over at him.
A heavy sigh fell from his lips as he scrubbed a hand down his face. “I don’t blame you for thinking it. What the Heart is, who I am, gives you no reason to trust that I wouldn’t.”
He hated that truth, but it was the truth. She had no reason to believe he wouldn’t hurt her.
“You have given me a reason,” she said, finally glancing up at him, and he stilled. “You stood up for me to your father when you didn’t have to, knowing it would only cause trouble. You took a bullet to protect your sister.” She paused, taking another drink. “I think you hate me, deeply, because of what I am—because of what happened to your brother. But if you wanted to hurt me, you would’ve done it already. You would’ve done it knowing it would make your father proud, but you haven’t.”
Greyson hesitated. Now wasn’t the time, but it might be the best opportunity he got. He took a step closer, pulling the bottle from her hand and taking a swig before handing it back.
“Do you know what happened to him? Do you know who killed Brooker?” He kept his voice cautious, calm.
“No.” She shook her head. The answer sounded honest. “I had no idea his death was at the hand of a Daggermouth until you said it.” She met his eyes from over the bottle. “I think you’re missing the bigger picture here.”
His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“God, you’re dense.” She rolled her eyes. “No one in the Boundary or Cardinal has the kind of money needed to purchase a contract. “The hit on your brother, on you, came from inside the Heart.” Shadera lifted a brow and smirked at him. “He was dead long before a Daggermouth ever got to him.”
Greyson froze. He hadn’t even considered that fact. He’d been blinded by Jaeger’s signature on the contract, by his hatred for Daggermouths, that it hadn’t fully clicked that the only ones who could afford the hit, were the ones living outside the rings.
“Looks like your precious Heart has a snake in it,” Shadera said, snapping him from his spiral.
He took another step toward her, snatching the bottle from her hand, and took a long pull as he fell onto the couch beside her. She pulled away from him as their thighs brushed, watching him carefully from the corner of her eye.
Neither of them spoke for a long while as they passed the bottle back and forth, drowning their reality as it raced toward implosion. Greyson finally broke the silence.
“Would you tell me, if you did know who killed him?”
She finally turned to look at him. “No.”
Greyson couldn’t hold back the smile this time as the corners of his lips lifted. It was not the answer he wanted, but it made him trust her. She was honest, remained loyal even when it could get her killed, and he admired that.
A groan escaped his lips as he tilted his chin up toward the sky and rested his head on the back of the couch. There was still so much she needed to know.
“What?” she asked, pulling the vodka from his fingers and downing the liquid.
He turned his head to the side to look at her. “Do you want to know more about what happens after the ritual?”
She only nodded.
“Women who have taken the Vow are no longer seen as individuals to the Heart. You will technically become my property under Heart law.” He watched her teeth clench and her eyes pull shut as he continued. “You will have no rights, no authority. You won’t be permitted to stand beside me or any man in public, only behind. You’ll speak only when spoken to. Your body will belong to me legally, and any children . . .” He couldn’t finish the sentence, revulsion closing his throat.
“I figured as much,” she whispered, leaning forward to rest her chin on her knees, her gaze returning to the city below.
Greyson watched her profile, noting how her arms tightened around her legs, the flutter of the pulse in her neck. Something was breaking in her, something that all her training, all her hardship in the Boundary hadn’t managed to crack. The realization sent a surge of protective rage through him so unexpected it left him momentarily breathless.
The Heart consumed, she’d said, and he was finally realizing the depth of that statement. Her identity was all she had, what kept her alive in the Boundary. She was giving up everything she was, to protect not just one person, but thousands.
