And holy fuck.
Fucking shocking.
How does he know that?
Why does it sound creepy when he says it like that?
“I did not!” As soon as I speak, I wish I could take back the outrage in my voice and spew it back out into a sound of honest composure instead of a yapping dog whose tail just got stepped on.
“Oh, you did.” He nods like it’s all clear and coming together now.
He leans in closer on the messy bedspread to really analyze—whatever the fuck it is that gives him the sixth, seventh, and eighth senses.
Is he a guilt whisperer? A shame senser? A sex seeker?
Side note: if he’s looking for that last one, I’m offering.
Focus, Cersia!
I blink the mystery of his knowledge away and lean up in bed to really talk to him like an adult and not a pouting child caught in her lies.
“I told Zilo to stop the punishments.” I lift my chin high without remorse.
I did a good fucking deed.
And I wake to be interrogated for it.
“That was a bad idea, Cers.” He shakes his head back and forth, and I hate how much these ridiculous men fight to hold on to the pain in their lives.
But I do get it.
“I’m not telling him to disobey the Prince. I asked him to just…avoid the punishments. I-I hate seeing what it does to Roman, and even if he won’t show it, I know it hurts Zilo. He’s not as unbreakable as he acts.”
A beat of silence thrums between us, and when I look back at him, his gaze isn’t searching. It’s tragic.
“She told us you were beautiful. She didn’t say you were kind,” he whispers.
My heart skips and stutters as it tries to find its pace while I fall into the deep depths of his gaze.
“The witch?” I ask starstruck.
He nods.
“I want to meet her.” I should have met her from the start. She’s the reason I’m here. She should have met me at the fucking door.
“You already did. At the entryway.”
That was the witch?
Oh. Okay. I guess she did meet me at the door. Maybe I’ll calm down a minute.
“She was the eerie face in the darkness…” I try to think it all through, but she just saw me and barely lingered before she left again.
As if ninth-sensing my confusion, Avian says, “She isn’t welcomed in this kingdom. The Prince, he—he would kill her if he saw her.”
“I suppose she might really bring down the mood of this enthusiastic place with her talk of a peaceful future.” I blink away my annoyance at missing my chance to question the Night Witch.
“You’ll see her again,” Avian answers on that I’m-In-Your-Head voice he always seems to have.
