Said she lacked control.
But he’d never mentioned the one thing that would have guaranteed her removal.
It was as if … he’d neverwantedthem to know.
As Will led her from the main deck down a long dark hallway, Aya felt herself settle into that cool, dark place that often brought her vicious clarity. He was still speaking – his words a low buzzing in her ears as they walked past a row of small state-rooms.
He knew.
He knew Ronan was on duty at the Squal the night she caught the tradesmen; and the guard had wound up dead.
Will had been missing from the beginning of the Dawning ceremonies; and the wolves had escaped.
He had tasked Liam to find that dagger, had insisted she stay behind while Tova went off on her own; and her friend had nearly been killed.
He had been there at each and every turn.
Perhaps they wouldn’t need Lena’s investigation into who was colluding with the Kakos.
Not if he was onboard this ship with her now.
How?
How had she not known?
He steered her into a small state-room lit by a solitary lantern. It was a cramped space, with a wooden desk bolted to the floor and a small bed anchored to the wall on the left. It was there that Will led her, his touch surprisingly gentle as he forced her to sit at the foot of the bed.
He crouched down before her, his gray eyes scanning her face. There wasn’t a speck of green to be found in them.
‘Aya.’
Her name was a match to the fury burning inside of her.
She snatched the knife from his belt, her shoulder knocking him backward as she stood. He tried to keep his feetbeneath him, and Aya used it to her advantage as she raised the knife and made to slash it viciously across his face.
Will raised his arm just in time.
Blood splattered from his forearm as the blade sliced through his skin.
His shout of pain only fueled her anger more.
Distantly, she heard Tova’s screams in the back of her mind.
The floor jerked, and Aya stumbled.
The ship … it was moving. And it was just the distraction Will needed.
He grabbed her wrist as his foot hooked behind her ankle, and Aya crashed onto the bed behind her. Will managed to wrestle the knife from her hand as he pinned her, and she felt the cool kiss of the steel edge as it settled against her throat.
Aya lifted her chin, feeling the edge of the blade pierce her skin. ‘Do it,’ she challenged softly.
He wouldn’t. Because Will needed her. Perhaps he thought she’d help his cause.
She’d rather die.
His grip tightened on the wrist he kept pinned to the mattress, her other arm held in place by his elbow. His bared teeth were a flash of white in the low light of the lantern. ‘Have you lost your mind?’
‘How long?’ she spat, her chest heaving. ‘How long have you been aiding Kakos? Have you ever been loyal to Tala? To the gods?’
