Now or never, Aevrin told himself. He'd gotten her to himself, outside the house. He couldn't cockatrice out. He just had to do it.
“Miss Cassia?” he asked abruptly, and took off his hat. His grip was so tight he was stretching the rim.
“Yeah?” she was moments from wandering into the next room over. He watched her lean forward and peer through the open door, her back to him.
“Can we talk?”
She looked back at him, a startled expression on her face.
“...about what?” she sounded guarded.
“That kiss.”
He saw the hesitation on Cassia’s face. The subtle shake of her head.
“What about it?” she asked carefully, turning her body towards him but coming no closer. They stood on opposite sides of the room. Aevrin shifted his grip on the hat. This was scarier than the cow had been.
“I dunno, exactly. I mean, I know it’s just been complicated in general, lately, but…”
“I’m sorry,” Cassia blurted. “It’s my fault.”
“Well…” Aevrin crushed the sides of his hat inwards with his hands. “I know you said we should just forget it, Cassia, but I’m finding that a little hard to do.” He hesitated, waiting, but she didn’t say anything, just looked at him with something like horror on her face. That was hardly the expression Aevrin was hoping for. “...listen, it’s fine if you’re not interested in me,” he said gruffly.
“That’s not…” she started.
“I know you just got out of some kind of relationship…”
“I didn’t,” Cassia blurted. “That wasn’t… I wasn’t involved with anyone. I’mnotinvolved with anyone.”
His lips moved silently for a moment as he processed this.
“The man who…” Aevrin trailed off with a frown.
So Cassiawasn’tpining over some asshole? But then why wouldn’t she tell anyone what had happened? If she wasn’t protecting some violent lover, who was she shielding from the law?
“It wasn’t like that,” she said.
Then why keep it a secret? Maybe she wasn’t a rustler’s woman, but a rustler herself. An outlaw woman, through and through. Except he couldn’t picture that. And he wasn’t even sure he’d care, even though he knew he ought to.
Cassia exhaled hard and squeezed her eyes shut, then shook her head.
“Someone I know pretty well got in trouble,” she said, voice shaking. “And I was meant to be a kind of lesson to them, I guess.”
A muscle in Aevrin’s jaw flexed. He took a jerky step towards her, then paused, breathing hard.
“Who?” he demanded.
“I can’t say.”
“Who, Cassia?” he demanded, louder.
“Ican’t,” she repeated sharply. “Why do you need to know anyways?”
“Because it’s wrong.”
“Saints, Aevrin, drop it.” She looked close to tears. He froze, fighting his bodily urge to close the distance between her and sweep her up, keep her safe. “It’s private. But I wasn’t involved with him, if that’s what you thought. It wasn’t romantic. I wouldn't want to be with someone like that.”
“I don’t understand, Cassia. I wish I did. But I don’t. I don’t know how you can keep it a secret when someone else did wrong by you.”
