“And cause a scene inside?”
“You could have knocked them out or something. And if you were able to see me in the hall, that means you were behind me, near the side door I came in.”
He capped his waterskin and tossed it aside. “There wasn’t enough time to dispose of both guardsandget you out before someone noticed.”
She huffed. “You’re the king’s killer. You could have incapacitated them in a multitude of ways, so why didn’t you? Why did you wait so long to get me out?”
He stepped toward her. “Are you seriously complaining that I was the one that messed up here?”
“No, I’m just saying, you had time and there was no one else in the hall but us.” He owed her a better explanation than the one he was giving her.
A vile smirk twisted his lips. “You needed to learn a lesson. And guess what, you learned, didn’t you?”
Her mouth fell open. “You let me be painted in front of everyone and taken to a room thinking I was about to be raped, all to teach me a lesson?”
He cocked his head. “Smarter than she looks.”
She freed a dagger and went for his stomach. Vade blocked her, but Orelia twisted his arm, bringing the tip of the blade to rest at his throat.
His smile widened. “So, your lover did teach you a few tricks.”
Anger boiled her blood to a scorching heat. She shoved him away as hard as she could. “I can’t believe you! You put me through that torment for your own amusement!”
He tried to approach, but she stuck the seidr dagger out between them. “Don’t you dare come any closer,” Orelia said through her teeth. “You’re a monster.”
He scoffed. “A monster? I just saved your fucking life. You should be thanking me, witch. You could’ve been stuck in there for your entire life if not for me.”
She angled the blade in his direction. “Go ahead and tell yourself whatever you need to in order to sleep at night, but what you did was damned heartless.”
He pointed at his chest. “You thinkI’mheartless?”
“You are! You kill for a living, and you let me go through all those terrible thoughts thinking I was about to be assaulted just to prove a gods-damned point. So fuck you!”
He was in her face in a second, weapon slapped from her hand and her collar in his fist. “I paid triple Doyle’s price so none of those slimy assholes could get their hands on you first! A little more gratitude might be fucking nice!”
Shadows snaked around his arm, coiling at his wrist, the tendrils so close they were almost touching her face. Vade’s nostrils flared like it was taking all his restraint not to pummel her. When his shadows didn’t recede, Orelia lost a bit of her nerve. In his own twisted way, he had saved her from a potentially wretched fate.
Her eyes fell to the ground. “I just wanted to help them,” she whispered.
Vade released her collar, and his shadows retreated to wherever it was they came from. She waited for him to continue his ridicule, but he simply said, “Your bleeding heart is going to get you killed one day.”
sixteen
It was near middaywhen they made it to a stream. Orelia cleaned the gold off her body and the residual paint off her clothes while Vade sat under a tree sharpening his knives. He’d barely spoken to her, but at least he hadn’t reprimanded her further.
The afternoon sun shone through the trees in thick rays, the day becoming increasingly hot. Orelia tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear before removing the last patch of gold from her arm. Her limbs were raw and red from scrubbing using only water and a piece of her ruined skirt she’d torn on their first day in the forest.
She lifted her hand and called on the wet pile of clothes lying on the ground. With a flick of her wrist, the tunic and pants laid themselves out across a boulder to dry.
The crunch of leaves gave away the fae’s approach. “I need to see your swordsmanship. I need to know you can defend yourself if a time arises where I might not be able to help you.”
She dried her hands off on her pants. “I told you, Tommen taught me to fight. I already know how to use a sword. I just don’t like to.”
Vade drew his greatsword. “Show me.” The blade stretched, and the steel glowed.
The seidr sword was too long for her preference but featherlight. Orelia cocked a brow. “You’re going to let me use this?”
“Mhm.” Vade freed his battle axe and stepped back a few paces.
