“There you go,” she said.
We both turned to look out at the wind playing on the water. We were both silent for a long time.
“She got the better of both of us,” I said.
“And despite my best efforts,” she said, “it would seem I really am going to marry someone much like my father.”
I winced.
“I’m only talking about you indirectly,” she said. “This marriage was always between Mab and me. You were merely her surrogate.”
“We’ll get you out of it,” I said. “I’ll figure something out.”
“You’re going to outwit the Queen of Air and Darkness?” Lara asked, amused. “A creature who has been weaving webs of illusion and deception for centuries upon centuries before either of us was born?”
“No,” I said. “But maybewecan. I’m not exactly without resources.”
Lara folded her arms and inhaled deeply.
“There are factors,” she said. Her raven-dark brows beetled into a faint frown.
“Like what?” I asked.
She gave me a long stare. Not a kind one.
“I want to help,” I said quietly.
“Your help has been—” She shook her head and cut herself off. She closed her eyes and took a deep, deep breath. “I can accept that you did not intentionally inflict this harm upon me,” she said. “But nonetheless. The deed is done.”
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “She used us both. The question is, what are we going to do about it?”
She opened her eyes again, warily.
“You got out from under your father’s control,” I said quietly. “And he’s a berjillion years old and twisted and sneaky and all that, too. For you, this is just the next challenge.”
Something flickered in her eyes.
“And I’m a pretty handy guy to have around in situations like this,” I said.
“What’s in it for you?” she asked.
“I don’t like being used,” I said, my voice turning a little hard. “I don’t like being manipulated. I don’t like it when someone tries to control me. What’s in it for me?” I shook my head. “I get to be my own man. I get to be free.”
“Idealism,” she said, gently chiding, “is foolish.”
“Too much of it, maybe,” I said. “Too much of anything is foolish. But so is letting people think they can pull your strings. Mab thinks she has you in her pocket. Me, too. We’re going to show her she’s wrong. But to do that, I’ve got to understand what I’m up against.”
Lara considered me for a long moment and folded her arms.
“I’m going to give you some,” she said. “And we will see what you can give in exchange.”
“Good place to start,” I said.
She frowned for a moment, considering her words.
“What you…did to me,” she said. She swallowed. “For me. Even thinking about it now, I…ache. Want more. My Hunger has never been so, so…quiet. Such silence, within.” Her eyes went slightly out of focus. “I have lived for centuries and never had so much peace. Such…”
“Surcease,” I said gently.
