She wished she’d allowed her eagle to end his life the night he burned her or allowed Dorian to finish strangling Rhaif when he found out about it, even after Aydra had spared Rhaif’s life. She wished they’d overthrown the Council. Secured Aydra’s place as High Queen, her brother’s place as King, and Draven's place as High King. She’d have placed herself in charge the new Council they would have surely had to put in place.
But she hadn’t.
She hadn’t allowed any of that to happen. Thinking she was doing the right thing at the time. Doing what her sister wanted. It was her biggest regret, and the one she would always go back to for blaming herself for Aydra’s death.
“The only power I want is the power to take my home back,” Nyssa finally affirmed. “To fulfill the promise I made to the true King and Queen before their deaths.”
Gail’s left brow quirked a minuscule fraction, and a knowing smile spread over his features. “That’s right… Greenwood finally living up to his full potential. I didn’t realize he had it in him until the end. Shame he couldn’t go all the way through with it. Take the crown. Take our world back—”
“Draven wasnothinglike you,” Nyssa interjected. “Draven did not care for those things. He wanted peace for his people. If he’d officially taken the High crown, it would have been to rule beside my sister, not take over our kingdom and put her in chains.”
“He was weak,” Gail spat.
“Draven was thegreatestKing to ever walk this land.”
The words seared through her strangled chest with a seethe she rarely recognized. She didn’t realize she was straining against the bindings until they jerked her wrists. Gail’s sharp eyes met her over the fire, his glare tearing through her with what she was sure would have been his deadliest stare. But she held her ground, feeling her nostrils flaring as she dared herself to blink. Dared herself to give in to the game. Dared herself to let him see her flinch…
It was Gail who shifted first.
"The greatest King..." He scoffed and shook his head. "That man murdered your people. Set your castle aflame with creatures of the night. And you think he was the greatest King to ever walk this land?"
"Perhaps if they hadn't condemned her, he wouldn't have had to. If they'd only allowed them to love one another, he could have been everything we needed. A great, passionate king loving of all his people and fiercely loyal to them. They could have united everyone—Theydidunite everyone. Those people repaid them with treachery."
"What if I told you you were wrong?" he asked. "What if I told you he did it all on purpose? That he truly did seduce her with intentions of taking her kingdom?"
"Then you would be grasping at straws to get me to turn against them."
"How are you so sure?"
"Because I knew my sister. I saw them together. They werereal—“ Nyssa paused to stifle the breakage tugging in her chest. "He poured vengeance onto a kingdom undeserving of its title," she said, more calmly this time. "That place was a prison. Those crowns were a sentence to slavery beneath Arbina's thumb—“
"Is that why you gave yours up?" he cut in before she could continue.
Nyssa straightened herself, forced a long breath into her lungs, and lifted her chin. "My brother and I left so that we could finish what they started."
Gail considered her a long moment. Again, Nyssa dared herself to blink. The fire cracked and bent in her peripherals. Finally, he stood and picked up a canteen. It was only two steps for him to cross the space to her, and he held it out for her to take.
“Drink,” he urged her.
She eyed the canteen, her mouth dry still from only getting a whisper of drink when they’d first settled. Her hands reached—but he pulled it back a smidge, and the crooked smirk flowed over his features.
“Say the magic word,Nyssari,” he mocked in a glowering tone that should have made her hair stand on end.
She felt her teeth grinding as she glared up at him. “I’d rather die than say anything that would bring you even a flinch of satisfaction,” she said. “You needme. Not the other way around.”
Gail seemed to contemplate her words.
He didn’t hand her the water. Instead, he unstuck the cap and proceeded to pour it over her head. Nyssa allowed herself the flinch this time as the cold liquid drenched over her face and matted her sideways bangs to her skin.
The canteen was thrown at her feet, and he crossed back to his seat, flopping onto the ground.
Nyssa dropped her head and wiped the water out of her eyes. She ran her tongue over her mouth, savoring the liquid but still firm in the satisfaction of not begging for his kindness.
Gail had pulled his pipe and herb from his pocket and was leaned against the tree, beginning to pack the end, when she looked up. Nyssa pushed her hair out of her eyes and brought her knees to her chest as she continued to stare at him, making sure he knew she had not been affected by his antics.
“You’re making me blush, girl,” he said not long after. “All this staring.”
“What will you do when you lose?” she asked, determined to keep him talking. “When my people strike Man down and send them back over the ocean?”
