Any possible embarrassment had died several drinks ago. Instead of flushing like she normally would have at his insinuations, she looked him square in the eye with a smirk. “Must not have been memorable for me.”
A gleam entered his eyes. “Whatever you need to tell yourself.”
Keeping her in his sights, he stalked behind the bar, making her heart race.
Low and deep, his voice washed over her, tugging at her just the same as her curse. “Iremember everything about that night.”
Her hackles rose at the sight of his body blocking the exit. She cut him a brutal look.
“Just stop. Stop your playing. Stop your flirtations. Stop pretending.” She pushed a final sort of severity into her voice. “Whatever we had died when you left me to do the same.”
A flash of guilt had him pausing. “You know that isn’t what I intended. Nothing went right that night. I never wanted anything to happen to you.”
His hand moved as if it wanted to reach out to touch her, but she automatically stepped back, bumping against a stack of glassware.
Her voice became as cold as the winter sea. “Yourintentionsleft me damn near dead and killed innocent people.”
Face devoid of emotion, he answered. “I’m well aware.”
Breath short and heavy in her chest, she pinched her eyes closed and shook her head as if that would do the trick. “Either kill me, or let me go and forget my name. I will haunt you past the grave if you turn me in to your father and his men. I swear to the undead gods, I’ll find a way to do it. I will not be put on display in the square like?—”
“Like all the ones you sent there yourself?” He gave a sad laugh when her eyes shot to his. “We’re more alike than you want to admit.”
“I wasexploited.”
“You’ve had a choice for a long time now, Lys.” His now harsh stare tore out the foundations of the stone walls she had built up around her choices. Walls that allowed her to carry on living in spite of the terrible decisions she’d been forced to make. Green eyes bore down on her. “You haven’t been a child for years. No one can fault you for choosing your life over theirs, but you have the choice to do it differently now.”
Hot tears threatened to break free. His words made her feel sick. Because he was right.
Warm palms cradled against her face. “I will do everything I can to keep you safe. Just tell me your plans—I know you’ve got something up your sleeve. Even if you hate me, I swear to you, I will not make the same mistake twice.” His words brushed against her skin, soft and gentle.
A single, unbidden tear rolled out. Blinking back the emotion, Elysia pried his hands away. She shook her head, frustration stealing her eloquence.
“No.”
She barged past him, trying to find the words. He didn’t follow her this time. She stared at him once there was enough space between them that she felt safe again. Her eyes stayed on her feet.
“You don’t get to judge me,Prince.You were my light. My single good thing in this life and you left me for dead.” Jagged and sharp, she threw each word like a javelin. Her heart went numb as she brought her eyes to his. “Whatever you’re trying to achieve, I don’t care. If we’re alike, then I feel sorry for you—because that means you gave yourself away long ago, and I’m not sure there’s redemption for people like us.” Bleak and terrible, she meant every blackened word.
The wide angles of his face gave away nothing, and she hated it. She wanted her words to pierce his heart and shatter the courtly mask he now wore to hide himself from her. Arms crossed, he didn’t shirk away from her condemning words or gaze, though.
“I will lose myself a thousand times over to save this land,” he answered slowly.
A bitter laugh fell out of her. “Oh, you’re a hero now? Is that it?” She gave a little clap, the sound echoing in the empty room. “People fall like bloodied leaves while you just taint that precious soul. It’d be poetic if it wasn’t such utter shit.”
The corner of the prince’s eye twitched and a flash of satisfaction flitted across Elysia’s face. His fingers clenched once, then twice. Offering him a dark smile, she leaned back against the table behind her. “If you were so interested in saving this kingdom, then you wouldn’t have led your dogs to the one group of people who might have done something.”
The prince looked away, then back at her, his green eyes flashing with specks of light. “I know you’ve been working with the rebel women who survived, and I want tohelp.”
She grabbed a steak knife, weaving it between her fingers before snatching it by the handle. “And why would the Crown Prince care? A broken kingdom is easy to control, and you’ve never seemed to care before.”
“Did you ever stop and think that maybe I told you as little as you’ve told me?”
The knife clattered to the table, and a pang ricocheted in her chest. It was hypocritical of her to be hurt by his lack of disclosure. But the heart minds its own logic and his words stuck into her like the sharp end of betrayal.
She cleared her throat. “And it appears I was right to withhold. Why are you folding now? I have nothing to give you.”
The prince took three long strides, stopping once he was close enough to stare down into her face. “I want to know what you know. About magic disappearing. I want to know what your plan is, and I want to help.”
