Oh crap.
“Stop!” I shout. “We don’t need to be enemies!”
My own power seethes beneath my skin, begging to be released, but I grit my teeth, trying to hold it down.
This man isn’t actually angry with us. We have a common enemy.
He just might not realize it yet.
Sin pulls back his power a fraction, but his fingers never leave the hilt of his sword. “Who the fuck are you?”
I spent well over an hour this morning telling the others about how Need is an escaped titan who wants to breed more power. The news didn’t go over particularly well.
With that in mind, I decide it might be better to gloss over this man’s identity.
It seems like the kind of news you give after a crisis.
“We haven’t confirmed where Need escaped to, yet. But you’re welcome to join us in the war against her. Or, if there’s somewhere else you’d like to go, we’re happy to help you get there.” There’s a slight waver in my voice, but I think I manage to sound friendly.
Look at me, nailing this diplomacy thing.
Of course, the titan has to go and ruin it. “I couldn’t care less that you’re god-touched. I don’t need your help, and I don’t give a flying fuck where Need crawled off to.”
The room gets even colder, and tension ripples under his skin, like he’s a second from losing it. “Now, I’m going to ask you one more time. Where. The. Fuck. Is. She?”
My attempt at diplomacy dies a quick, frozen death. “Well, asshole, if you could stop playing dress-up as a thermostat and be a little more specific, maybe I could answer you.”
Sarah, Conner, and Isaac look properly impressed by my insult. Most of the others look at me like they’re trying to remember what a thermostat is.
“Way to tell him, Vivi!” Sarah chirps.
The titan narrows his eyes, and the temperature stays locked at ‘Arctic death.’ “The little witch who kept me in my cell. Where is she?”
He’s talking about Nymara, I realize. I glare right back at him. “You’re not hurting her. She was being controlled by Need.”
Fury flares in his gaze. “I will do whatever the fuck I want to her. She is the reason I was in chains.”
Anger pulses under my skin, and once again, I shove it down. If Sin’s power can’t hurt this man, then we really don’t want him as an enemy.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to let him hurt Nymara, though.
“No, she isn’t. She doesn’t have any power. She was a pawn. So, if you want to hurt her, then we’re going to have a problem.” I keep my tone measured, even as I reach for blades that aren’t there.
Right – I’m still in a damned dress.
I miss my fighting leathers.
Sin’s chest expands at my show of strength, and even though I can’t see his face, I can feel his pride. I’m proud of my response, too, right until the titan storms forward and walksthroughSin’s shield.
The room freezes – literally. Specks of dust hang suspended in the air, and everyone goes still, as if someone pressed the pause button.
Everyone except Ragna and me.
She turns to me, looking even more shocked than I am. But already, my attention is whirling back to Sin.
He isn’t moving, not even a twitch.
Something vicious and protective rips through me at the realization that he’s been trapped. He’s powerless to defend himself.
