She narrowed her eyes at Caleb, who lay sprawled across the hammock. His legs dangled off one side, with his back lying across the thick fabric, and his head hung off the other end, viewing both of them upside down, a dazed look in his eyes.
“Is he okay?” she asked Asher.
Asher’s lips pressed into a thin line, contemplation clear on his features. “When is he ever okay?”
Caleb threw him a vulgar gesture, almost spilling his drink in the process.
The cot creaked as Asher stood and padded over to Caleb. “I think you’ve had enough for now.” He snatched the drink out of Caleb’s hands, the latter futilely attempting to latch onto the cup, and placed it out of reach on a shelf.
Caleb rolled over on his stomach, head resting on a fist, and pouted. “You’re no fun.” Then his eyes slid to Adara. He triedto suppress his growing grin, a vain attempt. “Have you kissed Dominic?” he blurted.
The blade she’d been twirling between her fingers ceased, suddenly heavy and cold in her palm. Adara’s eyes widened, and she almost spit out her drink as she recalled the feeling of Dominic against her, skin tingling as if she could still sense his lingering touch. She had not expected him to ask such things, and it was too late to hide the guilty blush heating her face.
“Wait, what?” Asher said, shocked.
“Ha! I knew it!” Caleb exclaimed.
“If only you knew the other things we did,” Adara murmured, purposely loud enough for them to hear, eyes averted to the floor. She continued casually flipping the knife in her hand. If they were going to ask about her relationship with Dominic, she was going to make sure to torture them with it.
Both of their eyes widened so much it looked like they’d pop right out of their sockets.
Caleb sat up abruptly in his hammock. It tipped over, and he landed in a heap on the floor with a thud. “Excuse me?” He gasped, sitting up and rubbing his shoulder from the impact.
Asher only stared at her, mouth still agape.
Adara merely swigged from her drink, returned her knife to her vambrace, and stretched out in the chair, with her ankles crossed on the floor in front of her. Both boys continued to stare at her incredulously.
“Oh, don’t judge me,” Adara said with a dismissive wave of her hand. Then a teasing smile spread across her face. “Caleb, given your preference, you should try it sometime.”
Caleb’s jaw dropped, eyes bulging in disbelief. “Adara! Ew!” He audibly gagged. “Ash, please put an arrow through my head so I can get that disgustingly horrific image out of my brain.” He braced his hands against his temples, face twisted in repugnance.
“You got it,” Asher responded. An arrow flew across the room, skimming right over Caleb’s blond curls, sinking into the wall with athunk.
Head whipping around, Caleb stared wide-eyed and speechless at the arrow in the wall. Then he slowly turned his gaze to Asher, mouth open in shock. “What the Hel!” he yelled. With a hand over his chest, he said, “Youactuallyjust tried to kill me!”
“Oh, come on, you know I wasn’t going to hit you,” Asher argued, setting his bow against the wall next to his bed.
Adara let out a low whistle. “Could’ve fooled me.”
Caleb gestured to her. “See, even she agrees with me, and she never does that.”
“He’s right.” Adara shrugged.
“You should invest in a cot. I’m tired of you scaring the shit out of me when you fall.” Asher shifted his attention to Caleb, now climbing back into his hammock.
Caleb glared at him. “No,” he said sternly, an immature tone to his voice. “And don’t change the subject like that. We’re not done interrogating you.”
“Nothing else to say,” Adara muttered, taking another drink. She was too sober to be having this conversation. How could she possibly explain anything else to them when she didn’t fully understand the situation herself? She and Dominic claimed to hate each other, but they both knew there was something else deep down they wouldn’t admit. Too afraid to love again from the scars that marred their hearts.
“Does this mean someone won the game?” Asher asked cautiously, as if he didn’t want to hear the answer. His eyes were sorrowful, expecting her to say yes.
When she responded with a firm “No,” he visibly relaxed, filled with relief.
“Look, I don’t know where whatever we have going on between us will lead, but I’m not losing this war.” Adara’s unrelenting tone was enough to tell them that this particular conversation was over. She would not let herself love again, at least not during this game of deceit. All of Dominic’s pretty words could be lies. Until this was fully over, she could never fully trust him, even though that’s all she truly wanted.
That was the tragedy of war.
“Where are we going?” Adara laughed, struggling to keep up with Dominic.
