He stood, towering over me. “If you show up as anything else, they’ll ask questions. When they discover what you can do, you’ll never leave that summit alive.”
“Then I won’t go.”
“You just demanded I take you!”
“Not like that!”
He stepped closer, glowering at me. “What terrifies you about pretending to be mine?”
My heart hammered. “I’m not.”
“You’re shaking.”
I was. Damn him.
“You’re scared of what happened in the woods. So now you’re running again.”
“I-I’m not.”
“You are.” He took another step, and I had to tilt my head to hold his gaze. “You’d walk into the fucking wilderness alone. But gods forbid anyone thinks you're mine.”
My chest tightened.
“If you want to see Vaeris, you’ll have to stop fleeing from me long enough to sit beside me. That’s the deal.”
I wanted to argue. Wanted to shove him back and tellhim he didn’t know anything about me. But my tongue wouldn't cooperate.
Fine. Yes. I was terrified of turning into that desperate girl that forgot she had a sister to save.
He searched my face. “Either you pretend to be mine, or you don’t come.”
“Alright,” I said through gritted teeth.
He turned and headed out.
I sagged against the table. What had I just agreed to?
29
DRESSED FOR WAR
The door banged open.
I sat up as Thessia and Elwen sailed into my bedroom. I’d barely rubbed the sleep from my eyes before Elwen yanked the blankets off my feet.
“We need to move.”
I winced as cold bit my toes. “What?”
“It’ll take hours to prepare,” she muttered, splitting the curtains. “You can’t go until you’re ready.”
I swept my legs over the bed. “I didn’t realize I needed so much work.”
Thessia handed me a steaming towel, and I pressed it to my face.
Elwen paced. “They will be watching everything. How you’re dressed, whether you speak. It’ll all be analyzed.”
“Because I’m human?”
