“Don’t you anyway?”
He smiles and his eyes gleam. “A day ago, you were going to drag me into the barn. What changed?”
“You broke into my house.”
“I didn’t want to wake you. But Lord Tycho was ordered to return to Emberfall, and instead he has come to Briarlock. He’s lost the king’s favor. I thought he might come here for answers.”
“So you’re making sure I don’t say the wrong thing.”
His eyes don’t leave mine, and that sword doesn’t leave my throat. “I’m making sure you’re not in harm’s way.”
My heart is pounding so hard that it might wake Nora. I don’t know who to trust or what to believe.
“Desperate people do desperate things,” he says.
“Are you talking about him or you?”
He startles, then smiles, but it’s a little vicious. “Likely all of us.” The cool steel of his blade touches my throat.
Then he leans in and brushes his lips against mine.
I plant my hands on his chest and draw up a knee to hit him right in the crotch.
He’s a good enough fighter that he drops back, avoiding my hit, but it gets that sword off my neck. I duck and spin away from him, swiping Mother’s sword off the floor in one movement.
This time his smile is real. “As I said.”
“Are you just using me?”
“Look at the state of your bakery. It seems we’re using each other.”
I flush. “That’s not what I mean and you know it.”
“What is it you want, Callyn? An oath of devotion? A profession oflove? A declaration of innocence? What would you trust, if not all my actions up to this point?”
“I’d settle for you putting away your sword.”
The weapon slides right back into its sheath. “Done. Now you.”
That felt too easy.
He takes a step toward me, and I raise my sword a few inches.
He lifts his hands, but he doesn’t stop. He touches a fingertip to the blade again, pushing it to the side lightly before stopping right in front of me.
“I think the problem is that you don’t want to admit whatyouwant,” he says softly.
“That’s not true.” I swallow. “I want to be true to my parents. I want to protect Nora.” I take a breath. “I want to be a good friend to Jax.”
“None of that is aboutyou.” He steps closer. “If you want me to leave, I’ll leave. I can watch your house just as easily from the outside as the inside.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.” His blue eyes are shadowed and cool. “When have I ever forced anything on you, Callyn?” He reaches out and strokes a thumb across my cheekbone. “The choice is always yours.”
When has the choice ever been mine? My choices have always been shaped by the decisions of others.
Until now, I suppose.
